- Traditionally, there has been a strong division between manufacturing engineering and design engineering. Today, however, the boundary between these two functions is narrowing. Both groups work together in teams to assure soundness of design and manufacturability of the product.
- Manufacturing engineers must understand engineering materials and design besides having expertise in manufacturing tooling and processes, systems and technology. They design and evaluate the capabilities of manufacturing tools and processes, and interact with design engineers during the development of product specifications and tolerances.
- Todays manufacturing equipment is becoming increasingly computer-based. Manufacturing engineers must have a working knowledge of programmable equipment, as well as its interfaces with control hardware. They must understand the multi-layered control architecture of the integrated factory, and the computer-based technologies that enable it.