I work in the hardware space. Here’s what helped me get my feet wet the fastest:
1) Make friends with the technicians on the floor
2) Find ways to either shadow, observe, or actually learn to do what they do
3) Walk around the shop floor and watch (safely) and ask questions (safely)
MFR has a lot of nuance and you you won’t get a good grasp for the intuition behind being good at this until you encounter the problems and corner cases in person.
As for innovation: unless you have joined an “innovative” company, innovation will be hard to find. Iterating through manufacturing method is expensive, and each of the major methods (CNC Machining, Additive Printing, Metal Forming, Welding, and Automation) is an entire career’s worth of skill and knowledge on their own. Some of them are old and have been innovated already. Some face physical limitations in material science. Some have maxed out what’s possible under our laws of physics.
The leading edge right now centers around robotics and additive printing (especially metal printing). Try to get involved there.
Supply chain is almost purely an experience gain. You have to develop the muscle and intuition to navigate complex supply chain problems when they arise.
It’s a big field! Lots of unsolved problems. Good luck!
1) Make friends with the technicians on the floor 2) Find ways to either shadow, observe, or actually learn to do what they do 3) Walk around the shop floor and watch (safely) and ask questions (safely)
MFR has a lot of nuance and you you won’t get a good grasp for the intuition behind being good at this until you encounter the problems and corner cases in person.
As for innovation: unless you have joined an “innovative” company, innovation will be hard to find. Iterating through manufacturing method is expensive, and each of the major methods (CNC Machining, Additive Printing, Metal Forming, Welding, and Automation) is an entire career’s worth of skill and knowledge on their own. Some of them are old and have been innovated already. Some face physical limitations in material science. Some have maxed out what’s possible under our laws of physics.
The leading edge right now centers around robotics and additive printing (especially metal printing). Try to get involved there.
Supply chain is almost purely an experience gain. You have to develop the muscle and intuition to navigate complex supply chain problems when they arise.
It’s a big field! Lots of unsolved problems. Good luck!