Fundamental operations: Machining, forming, joining, assembly, and inspection are basic functions to be integrated and controlled in the automatic factory

The basic operations of manufacturing have not changed much over the years: drill presses, lathes, and milling machines still function much as they did in 1880. But manufacturing technology has not been stagnant. Operations from sheet-metal shearing to final inspection have been adapted to automation and computer control and have advanced as a result to astonishing levels of efficiency and productivity. New materials have made manufacturing machines more accurate, longer-lived, and more economical. And, to be sure, entirely new manufacturing techniques - chemical machining is an example - have been developed to do jobs that cannot be done by conventional methods.