48
Unit 1 Introduction to Manufacturing
raw materials.
Natural resources
found on or in the
earth or seas.
Manufacturing starts
with raw materials.
primary processing.
The first step in
transforming raw
materials into
products. Example:
Converting trees into
lumber at a sawmill.
standard stock.
Material output by
primary processing
operations, available
in standard size units
or standard
formulations.
enterprise. However,
be fore the technologies
are explored in depth,
let’s look at them in
general to see how they
interrelate.
Transformation
Technology
Tr a n s f o r m a t i o n
technology (material pro-
cessing) creates form
utility. It is people using machines efficiently and
appropriately. Material transformation generally
takes place in several steps. The steps are shown
in Figure 2-7.
All materials can be traced to a natural resource.
They all are some form of a material found on
earth. Most plastics come from natural gas and
petroleum. Glass is often made from silica sand
and soda ash. Steel is a combination of iron ore,
carbon, and other elements. Aluminum is found
in bauxite deposits.
The first step in the transformation process
involves obtaining the natural resources. This
may involve a search for deposits of ores or
petroleum. It may require planting, growing, and
harvesting trees or other crops. It may also
include obtaining materials from the sea. These
natural resources are the raw materials for the manufacturing process.
Next, natural resources are converted into a usable material. Trees may be
transformed into lumber, plywood, particleboard, hardboard, or paper. See
Figure 2-8. Petroleum may become a fuel, lubricant, or plastic. Metallic ores
may be reduced to copper, aluminum, tin, lead, or iron. These activities are
considered to be primary processing. This first step in transforming materials
into products is often performed by basic industries such as steel mills, copper
smelters, lumber mills, and petroleum refineries. They provide the basic
resources from which other products are made.
Generally, the output is produced in standard sizes. Lumber may be 1 × 12s
or 2 × 4s. Plywood, particleboard, and hardboard are made in 4' × 8' sheets. Metal
may be produced in standard-sized sheets, bars, or rods. Plastics with specific
chemical composition are available. These materials are called standard stock or
industrial materials.
However, standard stock has little value to most of us. What would you do
with a truckload of plywood? It only becomes valuable to you when it is made
into something useful. This process is called secondary processing. These
actions continue to change the form of materials. Lumber becomes furniture,
and plastic becomes dinnerware. Clay becomes flowerpots, steel becomes auto-
mobiles, and glass becomes bottles. See Figure 2-9.
Standard
Stock
Raw
Materials
Products
Figure 2-7. These are examples of stages in material transformation. (Georgia-
Pacific Corp., California Redwood Assoc.)
Figure 2-8. This photo shows trees being processed
into lumber in a sawmill.