Manufacturing is the production of goods for use or sale using labor and machines, tools, chemical and biological processing, or formulation. The term is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing other, more complex products, such as aircraft, household appliances or automobiles, or sold to wholesalers, who in turn sell them to retailers, who then sell them to end users.
The manufacturing sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial design. Manufacturing units vary from small fabricating units to large industries. They combine manufacturing technology with management science. A production engineer typically works in large factories manufacturing different types of goods.
A production engineer needs to have wide knowledge of engineering practices and should be aware of the management challenges related to production. The goal is to accomplish the production process in the smoothest, most-judicious and most-economic way. Production engineering as a function is extensively used in large production plants that use heavy machinery. It encompasses the application of castings, joining processes, metal cutting & tool design, metrology, machine tools, machining systems, automation, jigs and fixtures, and die and mould design.