Chapter 1 - Overview of Micro-Manufacturing

This chapter discusses manufacturing, as a general term referring to industry, is to make products that have been designed for certain application. Manufacturing has been influenced not only by the increased demands on producing routine products and creating new products but also by social, economic and even political changes. There are ever increasing demands on miniaturized/micro products/systems and components, e.g. MEMS (micro-electric-mechanical systems) and micro-systems, micro-reactors, fuel cells, micro-mechanical devices, and micro-medical components, which are now popularly used in vehicles, aircraft, telecommunication and IT facilities, home appliances, medical devices and implants. Micro-manufacturing concerns manufacturing methods, technologies, equipment, organizational strategies, and systems for the manufacture of products and/or features that have at least two dimensions that are within sub-millimeter ranges. Micro-manufacturing engineering is a general term which concerns a series of relevant activities within the chain of manufacturing micro-products/features, including design, analysis, materials, processes, tools, machinery, operational management methods, and systems.