What is distributed manufacturing?
Distributed manufacturing is a production model in which manufacturing capabilities are decentralised across multiple locations rather than concentrated in a single central facility. These distributed resources can be coordinated as a wider production system, with different sites contributing capabilities, capacity or proximity to demand.
Distributed manufacturing can involve company-owned factories, suppliers, specialist manufacturers, microfactories or other production resources. It doesn't require a particular manufacturing technology, factory size or ownership model.
How does distributed manufacturing work?
There is no single architecture for distributed manufacturing.
A company might operate several of its own production sites. It might coordinate manufacturing across a supplier network. Different locations might specialise in particular processes, or several sites might provide similar capabilities to serve different regions.
The facilities themselves can also vary considerably.
Distributed production can take many forms, ranging from manufacturing managed across geographically separated facilities to networks of smaller production lines or cells. The concept describes how manufacturing capability is distributed and coordinated rather than prescribing what an individual factory should look like.
Coordination between those resources becomes an important part of making a distributed model work.
Distributed vs centralised manufacturing
Centralised manufacturing concentrates production capability within one or a small number of major facilities.
This can make sense where production benefits from scale, highly specialised infrastructure or tightly integrated processes.
Distributed manufacturing takes a different approach by placing production capability across multiple locations.
Neither model is inherently better.
The appropriate architecture depends on factors including production volume, product characteristics, available manufacturing processes, logistics, workforce, infrastructure and the level of coordination required between sites.
Manufacturing networks can also combine the two approaches, with some production remaining centralised while other capabilities are distributed.
Is distributed manufacturing the same as local manufacturing?
Not necessarily.
Localised manufacturing generally refers to producing goods closer to where they are required.
Distributed manufacturing can support localised production because manufacturing resources can be positioned across different regions or closer to customers.
However, a distributed manufacturing network could also span countries or continents.
A global supplier network is still geographically distributed even when individual production sites aren't particularly close to the final customer.
The concepts overlap, but they aren't interchangeable.
Does distributed manufacturing require additive manufacturing?
No.
Distributed manufacturing is technology-independent.
Machining, forming, casting, assembly, inspection, additive manufacturing and many other processes can form part of a distributed production system.
Additive manufacturing is frequently discussed as an enabler of some distributed manufacturing models because digital production can make local, lower-volume manufacturing practical in certain applications. However, the suitability varies considerably by process, material, production volume and application.
But distributed manufacturing existed before modern additive manufacturing and isn't defined by it.
Does distributed manufacturing require microfactories?
No.
A microfactory can form part of a distributed manufacturing system, but distributed production doesn't dictate the size of the facilities involved.
A network could consist of conventional factories, specialist suppliers, microfactories or a combination of different production environments.
This distinction becomes important when discussing modular microfactory networks.
Microfactories describe one possible form of production capability.
Distributed manufacturing describes how manufacturing capability can be arranged across locations.
How are distributed manufacturing sites coordinated?
Distributed production creates a coordination problem as well as a manufacturing opportunity.
Different locations may need access to product information, production requirements, schedules, quality records and other manufacturing data.
Digital systems can help coordinate these activities by connecting information across different production resources and locations.
Research into distributed manufacturing has therefore overlapped substantially with developments in smart manufacturing, digital threads, industrial connectivity and cyber-physical production systems.
However, distributed manufacturing doesn't automatically imply that every site is connected through one sophisticated digital platform.
The level of digital coordination depends on the particular manufacturing network.
What are the challenges of distributed manufacturing?
Spreading production across multiple locations can introduce additional complexity.
Organisations may need to manage:
consistent product and process information;
production scheduling across different resources;
quality and traceability;
equipment and process capability;
cybersecurity and access control;
intellectual property;
logistics between locations; and
communication between organisations and systems.
Replicating a manufacturing process at another location requires consideration of differences in equipment, materials, process controls, environment and operator practices..
Equipment, materials, environments, operator practices and process controls can differ.
Distributed manufacturing therefore requires appropriate governance and coordination if production is expected to remain consistent across a network.
Does distributed manufacturing improve resilience?
Distributed manufacturing can reduce dependence on a single production location, because manufacturing capability may exist across several sites.
That doesn't automatically make a manufacturing system resilient.
A distributed network could still depend on a single material source, specialised machine, digital service, logistics route or supplier. It can also introduce dependencies created by the need to coordinate more organisations and locations.
Manufacturing resilience therefore depends on the design of the wider production system, not simply the number of factories involved.
Distributed production is one architectural option organisations can use when considering how and where manufacturing capability should be available.
How does distributed manufacturing relate to modular microfactories?
Modular microfactories are one possible way of deploying production capability within a distributed manufacturing system. Rather than every site requiring the same large, fixed production environment, manufacturing capabilities can potentially be deployed in smaller, configurable units according to what is required at a particular location.
But the two concepts remain distinct.
Distributed describes where capability exists.
Modular describes how capability can be configured and changed.
Microfactory describes the production environment itself.
Combining these principles creates the possibility of manufacturing capability that is both geographically distributed and adaptable.
How does distributed manufacturing relate to Open Modular Manufacturing?
In the Authentise Modular Systems model, distributed manufacturing is one of several established concepts that contribute to our wider approach to Open Modular Manufacturing. Distribution alone doesn't make a manufacturing network open.
A distributed network could still depend entirely on one supplier's equipment, software or operating model.
An open modular approach adds other principles, including interoperability, machine agnosticism and the ability to incorporate capabilities from different suppliers.
Together, these ideas provide a framework for manufacturing capability that can be distributed across locations while remaining adaptable as requirements change.
Related concepts
Modular microfactory — a compact manufacturing environment built around production capabilities that can be combined or reconfigured.
Machine-agnostic manufacturing — an approach in which the wider manufacturing architecture isn't inherently restricted to equipment from a single machine vendor.
Manufacturing network — a group of manufacturing resources, facilities or organisations that contribute to production across a wider system.
Manufacturing resilience — the ability of manufacturing capability to continue operating, adapt or recover when conditions change or disruption occurs.
Open manufacturing — in the Authentise Modular Systems context, an approach that prioritises interoperability, technology choice and control of manufacturing capability.
Learn how open, modular and distributed principles can support adaptable manufacturing capability.
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