Manufacturing Processes and Technologies
Summary
Manufacturing processes and technologies encompass the methods and systems used to transform raw materials into finished goods with defined form, dimensions and functional properties. They range from traditional subtractive techniques such as milling and turning to advanced additive methods like laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition, as well as hybrid approaches that combine deposition with precision machining. The integration of robotics, real-time sensing and data analytics has accelerated quality control and flexibility, enabling both high-volume production and bespoke runs under an Industry 4.0 paradigm. Non-destructive evaluation techniques—laser-based ultrasound and pulsed infrared thermography—are increasingly embedded in-process, closing the loop between manufacture and inspection. Concurrent advances in materials science, computer numerical control and digital twins underpin smart factories in which adaptive process models refine parameters on the fly. Together these developments support higher yield, shorter lead times and greater energy and resource efficiency, meeting global imperatives in competitiveness and sustainability.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Unsupervised learning-enabled pulsed infrared thermographic microscopy has been applied to laser powder bed fusion components, revealing subsurface defects in stainless steel with sizes down to 100 µm. By clustering spatial–temporal thermogram sequences and refining segments with morphological filtering, researchers achieved micrometre-scale resolution without contact probes, extending NDE capabilities within production cells.
All-optical laser-based ultrasound interrogation of metal additive manufacturing builds has demonstrated real-time mapping of melt-track features and voids. Surface acoustic waves are generated and detected remotely to characterise both surface and sub-surface discontinuities, with finite-difference simulations validating measurements against high-resolution X-ray computed tomography.
Research from all publishers
An in-process non-destructive evaluation system combining ultrasound and eddy-current sensors within a multi-robot deposition cell has shown sub-millimetre defect detection immediately after each layer of directed energy wire-arc additive manufacturing. Automated layer-wise scans enable prompt repair strategies, reducing scrap rates and enhancing part reliability.
Laser-induced phased array ultrasonics have been used off-line to locate internal features in additively manufactured components. By synthesising virtual phased arrays from pulsed-laser ultrasound signals, investigators mapped sub-surface cylindrical cavities of 0.2 mm diameter through complex geometries, with results confirmed by computed tomography.
Pulsed infrared thermography processed with wavelet-based denoising and principal-component analysis has been shown to resolve subsurface porosity in high-strength corrosion-resistant alloys. The clustering-based segmentation workflow reliably reveals defects near 100 µm, offering a rapid, non-contact NDE route for critical builds.
Manufacturing Processes and Technologies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in manufacturing processes and technologies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Additive manufacturing (AM): A production method that builds three-dimensional parts layer by layer from digital models by depositing or fusing material.
Non-destructive evaluation (NDE): Inspection methods that assess internal or surface defects without impairing functionality.
Surface acoustic wave (SAW): An elastic disturbance confined to the surface of a solid, used for detecting near-surface flaws.
Laser-induced phased array (LIPA): A remote ultrasonic imaging technique that generates and detects ultrasound with lasers and digitally focuses beams.
Pulsed infrared thermography (PIT): A technique that applies a heat pulse to a surface and records transient infrared emissions to reveal hidden defects.
Digital twin: A virtual model of a manufacturing process or component that updates continuously with real-time data to enable predictive control.
References
- In-process non-destructive evaluation of metal additive manufactured components at build using ultrasound and eddy-current approaches. Journal of Manufacturing Processes (2023).
- Laser Induced Phased Arrays (LIPA) to detect nested features in additively manufactured components. Materials & Design (2020).
- Laser-based ultrasound interrogation of surface and sub-surface features in advanced manufacturing materials. Scientific Reports (2022).
- Unsupervised learning-enabled pulsed infrared thermographic microscopy of subsurface defects in stainless steel. Scientific Reports (2024).
- A review on additive/subtractive hybrid manufacturing of directed energy deposition (DED) process. Advanced Powder Materials (2022).
- Review of Intelligence for Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing: Current Status and Future Prospects. Micromachines (2023).
- Manufacturing Processes.
About these summaries
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