Advanced Manufacturing Technology
The term "advanced manufacturing technology" has been coined for this particular pathway to encompass the rapidly changing nature of this industry. In its simplest definition, manufacturing takes in raw materials to produce products that are useful for a customer. Advanced manufacturing builds on this definition by utilizing technology to improve products or processes; thereby increasing efficiency, reliability, and quality for newer and better products.
However, with the recognition of Industry 4.0 as an evolutionary integration of processes, equipment, and trained personnel, manufacturing must now account for an ever-changing, constantly-progressing wave of data and information integrated into combinations of technologies that impact products and processes in ways never before anticipated. For this reason, these educational building blocks embrace a broader definition of what it means to build a career in manufacturing.