Principles of technology evolutions for manufacturing process design

Current research activities in the field of manufacturing technology development increasingly focus on integrated approaches for process performance enhancements. As in many process development activities, systematic design methodologies such as TRIZ are either not applied or even unknown in such instances. The main problem in such research efforts of finding integrated solutions is getting the relevant information or knowledge. This paper shows some important trends in the development of production systems in high wage countries and highlights important directions for manufacturing process improvements that are necessary for future innovations. The research reported herein is based on the systematic approach of a design methodology for the development of hybrid processes that was presented at the 2008 ETRIA TRIZ Future Conference. This general methodology still requires the knowledge of other technology domains in terms of standard solutions according to TRIZ.