Advanced manufacturing: What you need to know

Welcome to the brave new world of advanced manufacturing. Why brave? Because it requires a bold and powerful vision to step forward and embrace new ways of doing things.

The rate of innovation is astonishing, even to those of us who are part of it. There are new technologies, new materials, new processes coming online all the time. Advanced manufacturing is about riding that wave of innovation. It’s something to aspire to and aim for continuously because today’s advanced, is tomorrow’s common place.

Understanding Advanced Manufacturing

At its core, advanced manufacturing is about looking forward to the future. It means challenging received wisdom – reimagining and reinventing.

Advanced manufacturing focuses on efficiency, quality, and sustainability through increased connectivity and data analytics. Unlike traditional methods, it emphasises flexibility, agility and customisation. This is a response to increasing competition and the inherent uncertainty of complex global supply chains.

Key features include the use of technology, agility and flexibility to respond to changes in the business environment, the role of data, and the importance of sustainability.

Table: Comparison of advanced and traditional manufacturing

The importance of advanced manufacturing to global economies

Manufacturing has been the powerhouse behind the rapid growth and development of many of the world’s biggest economies and emerging markets.

Advanced manufacturing is a critical part of many modern economies. Its forward-looking approach drives innovation, productivity, and global competitiveness.

The aim of this approach is to create sustainable growth by creating a more resilient manufacturing sector with high-skilled jobs, increasing exports, and attracting inward investment. Advanced manufacturing also supports more sustainable economic growth by reducing waste and energy use, aligning with modern environmental goals. Its flexibility helps industries adapt quickly to changing market demands, ensuring a robust manufacturing sector in a competitive business environment.

In recent decades, India, Mexico and Brazil have all come to hold positions in the top 5 manufacturing nations. Their growth, which has displaced many traditional manufacturing countries, has often been supported by their willingness to embrace advanced manufacturing techniques.

Where advanced manufacturing meets digital transformation

Advanced manufacturing and digital transformation are two forces reshaping the industrial landscape, and their intersection is where the future of manufacturing truly comes to life. Digital transformation refers to the integration of digital technologies into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how it operates and delivers value. When applied to advanced manufacturing, it accelerates innovation, enhances efficiency, and unlocks new possibilities.

At this intersection, technologies like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) enable manufacturers to create smart factories. These factories are powered by interconnected systems that collect, analyse, and act on real-time data, providing unprecedented visibility and control over operations. Digital twins, a virtual representation of physical assets, allow manufacturers to simulate and optimise processes before making real-world changes, reducing downtime and costs.

The synergy between advanced manufacturing and digital transformation also drives customer-centric innovation. By leveraging data analytics, manufacturers can offer highly customised products and respond rapidly to shifting market demands. Moreover, digital tools enable seamless collaboration across global supply chains, improving resilience and reducing inefficiencies.

In essence, digital transformation amplifies the capabilities of advanced manufacturing, paving the way for a more agile, efficient, and sustainable industrial future.

Bridging the skills gap in advanced manufacturing

The Hexagon Advanced Manufacturing report highlights how the skills gap is one of the most critical challenges facing advanced manufacturing today.

As the industry evolves with the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, the demand for highly skilled workers who can operate these systems is outpacing supply. This gap is exacerbated by the retirement of experienced workers and outdated perceptions of manufacturing as low-tech, repetitive, and physically demanding.

Addressing this skills gap is essential for the continued growth and competitiveness of advanced manufacturing. Emerging technologies are playing a pivotal role in mitigating this challenge. For example, AI-powered copilots and digital assistants are helping to lower the barrier to entry for new workers. These tools provide real-time guidance, automate repetitive tasks, and assist with complex decision-making, allowing less experienced employees to perform at higher levels while they learn on the job.

Immersive technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are also transforming how workers are trained. These tools create engaging, hands-on learning environments that simulate real-world scenarios, enabling employees to build skills faster and with greater confidence. Additionally, advanced analytics and predictive maintenance systems reduce the need for manual troubleshooting, allowing workers to focus on higher-value tasks.

By integrating these technologies and investing in upskilling programs, manufacturers can not only bridge the skills gap but also attract the next generation of talent. The future of advanced manufacturing depends on empowering a workforce that is as agile and innovative as the technologies it operates.

Technological innovations in advanced manufacturing

The changing role of data has been one of the key innovations driving the change to advanced manufacturing.

Everything we do creates data. Advanced manufacturing technology takes us from individual snapshots of key data points to continuously monitoring streams of real time data across their entire operations. This is a fundamental shift and it changes everything.

The role of data in advanced manufacturing

Perhaps the most important innovation here is the way we use the data we collect. Instead of storing it all away for future reference, we’ve begun putting it to work in the most extraordinary ways. The sheer quantity and variety of data makes it impossible for even the smartest human brains to process. Luckily, at the same time as this explosion in data creation, we have seen a complimentary technology capable of dealing with it all: artificial intelligence (AI).

With the widespread introduction of AI, automation has given way to autonomation. Automation is where machines perform tasks with little oversight and adaptability. Add in the power of AI and those machines are able to detect and respond to issues independently. They can monitor vast amounts of data in real time, spot patterns that human operators might miss, and optimise operations on their own.

Key technologies: Generative design

Another key technology in advanced manufacturing, and one that also makes use of data and AI, is generative design. Unlike traditional design, where engineers and designers manually create and refine models based on their expertise, generative design leverages algorithms to explore all possible design solutions within a given set of parameters.

Product designers simply enter their parameters, or specifications, into the software and the AI gets to work creating a potentially unlimited number of solutions that fall within the specifications. A human product designer looks at a problem through the lens of a lifetime of ideas and experiences. Generative design doesn’t have those preconceived notions so the solutions it suggests are often quite different involving organic looking curves and structures.

Key technologies: Additive manufacturing

Generative design is frequently used in conjunction with additive manufacturing, which in itself has become synonymous with advanced manufacturing. While traditional manufacturing is “reductive”, meaning that it involves cutting and machining to subtract material to create a final product, additive does the reverse. It builds layer upon layer, adding material only where it’s needed.

In this way, it can create shapes and designs that would be impossible to make with traditional methods. We can consolidate multiple components into just one piece, and we can build items that require far less material to make, waste less, and might be prohibitively expensive to make with traditional techniques.

Future trends and challenges in advanced manufacturing

The vastly increased quantity and variety of data we collect has exposed the limitations of previous systems.

Managing data

One of the biggest challenges is how to manage the vast amounts of data generated and the persistence of data silos. Silos are isolated systems or departments where data is stored but not shared. Silos prevent the integration of information creating inefficiencies, blind spots, and missed opportunities that inhibit collaboration.

By unifying data across the organisation, manufacturers can gain a wide view of their operations. When every department can see and understand more about their wider context of the product, process and people involved, they can make smarter decisions, faster, and in many cases, proactively. Here we are finding technology is again coming to the rescue. Cloud computing provides part of the solution for scalable storage and access, and artificial intelligence makes it possible to process and analyse vast data sets.

Making it sustainable

Sustainability is becoming a central focus in advanced manufacturing as industries face growing pressure to reduce their environmental impact. From energy consumption to material waste, manufacturers must find ways to balance efficiency with environmental responsibility. Many traditional processes are resource-intensive, and the challenge lies in transitioning to greener practices without sacrificing productivity or profitability.

Solutions are emerging through technology and innovation. Circular manufacturing, which emphasises recycling, reusing materials, and designing for end-of-life recovery, is gaining traction. Advanced data analytics can help optimise resource use and minimise waste, and investing in energy efficient solutions will reduce our carbon footprint.

Sustainability should really be seen as a competitive advantage. By adopting environmentally responsible practices, manufacturers can meet consumer expectations, comply with regulations, and drive long-term growth while contributing to a more sustainable future.

Check out Hexagon’s Advanced Manufacturing report

To really get to grips with Advanced Manufacturing, in partnership with the leading research and consultancy Forrester, we’ve put together Hexagon’s Advanced Manufacturing report as a free download to all interested parties.