The 4 themes shaping new manufacturing

U.S. manufacturers are finding that long-standing production models are no longer keeping up with the way products are designed and built today. New technologies are changing the tools used in production, supply chains are becoming more complex, and factory work increasingly involves digital and automated tools.

At the same time, the sector’s economic performance has weakened, John Hart, co-director of the MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing, said in a recent presentation  organized by the MIT Industrial Liaison Program. Productivity “has more or less stagnated for the past 15 years,” and too few new workers are entering the field, he said. 

Global competition is also intensifying. Hart cited a United Nations forecast that predicts that “manufacturing in China by 2030 will be an astounding 45%” of the total value added by manufacturing worldwide. 

These pressures — stagnant productivity, a tightening workforce, and rising global competition — have pushed manufacturing back into focus in the U.S. They have also raised a pressing question for American companies: What kind of production model will be competitive in this environment? 

What is new manufacturing?

MIT uses the term “new manufacturing” to describe the changes needed in how companies design and run production. It includes building new factories in some cases, but the emphasis is on updating operations with new technologies and fresh methods of working. Hart said that the goal is to help companies “do more with less, or do more with new approaches.”

The idea is applicable across sectors. Whether the product is a semiconductor, a consumer good, or a biomanufactured material, production systems need new ways of integrating people and technology. “The next generation of manufacturing … is about understanding how to build an equilibrium between knowledge, technology, data, and, of course, humans,” Hart said.

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The four themes shaping new manufacturing

1. Technology is upending production. Companies across sectors are using new tools to change how products move from design to manufacture. Hart pointed to examples such as rocket maker SpaceX, where fast design and build cycles, plus 3D printing, help improve engine performance and reduce costs. This reflects a broader shift “from complexity to simplicity” in how products are made, he said.
   
   Hart also cited a young metal-casting company called Fabri that is demonstrating how the use of digital tools — including 3D printing and simulation — can significantly shorten the normally slow process of preparing and producing cast-metal parts. Both examples illustrate how technology is changing the pace of production.
2. Productivity depends on people and technology working together. Stagnant growth in productivity and too few new workers entering U.S. manufacturing are putting pressure on companies to rethink how people and technology work together. 
   
   Hart linked the shortage to long-running trends, including offshoring, declining expertise, and the fact that many people no longer view manufacturing as a modern, rewarding career. He said that a key question for leaders in manufacturing now is how automation can be paired with human effort when tasks vary from one job assignment to the next, such as machine repair and maintenance.
3. Scaling is a priority but looks different across industries. Different industries are scaling their production in different ways. Hart noted that electric-vehicle makers like Tesla and Rivian have built large software-driven factories that can change products and processes fast. Other types of manufacturers, such as craft breweries, scale by opening many small production sites that can adapt to local demand. These sites are “modular” — easy to add or replicate — giving companies a flexible way to grow without relying on a single large plant.
   
   Hart says this contrast raises a bigger question: “Where is manufacturing going giga, and where is it going micro?” The point is that companies must choose the approach that best fits their products and markets.
4. Artificial intelligence is becoming central to how production evolves. AI is developing in ways that let manufacturers use information from both production and design alongside human judgment. Hart expects it to guide more decisions in how products are developed and manufactured. The idea is that AI will improve production overall, not just automate individual steps in manufacturing. Work at MIT reflects this shift, including the development of tools to help detect quality issues or plan assembly steps, and robotics projects.

What companies can do now

Hart’s examples point to practical ways companies can strengthen their production systems. One is updating existing operations with tools that shorten the path from design to manufacture, such as 3D printing or digital simulation. These approaches, he noted, can reduce development time and help improve the performance of the parts being made.

His examples also show that different products demand different production models. For companies, the task is to understand which models align with what they make and how their markets change.

AI is starting to support everyday production work, from spotting quality issues to helping plan assembly steps. As these tools develop, they are likely to become a more routine part of how products are made.

John Hart is head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, director of the MIT Center for Advanced Production Technologies, and faculty co-director of the MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing. His research focuses on manufacturing processes, machine design, and the integration of computing and automation in production systems.

The MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing, co-chaired by Richard Locke, the John C. Head III Dean at MIT Sloan, aims to drive research, education, and collaborations to transform the future of manufacturing in the U.S. and beyond. Specifically, INM seeks to drive production technologies, systems, and organizational approaches that improve energy production, health and life sciences, computing infrastructure, national security, the built environment, and more.