Glossary & Reference

Distributed Manufacturing is a production architecture in which compatible Products or Components are manufactured across multiple geographically or organizationally separated facilities under shared technical, identity, quality, and conformance rules.

A Factory is a controlled facility possessing the people, equipment, processes, environmental conditions, records, and authority required for defined manufacturing activities.

A Microfactory is a smaller, adaptable production facility capable of manufacturing a limited but controlled range of Products close to the point of need.

Microfactory status does not imply lower quality, informal production, or exemption from applicable requirements.

Distributed Manufacturing shall support:

facility identity and qualification;

controlled engineering packages;

approved materials and processes;

calibrated tooling and measurement;

personnel or machine qualification;

secure transfer of released information;

consistent production records;

local inspection and conformance evidence;

recall and corrective-action capability.

Facilities need not use identical equipment or production routes. Equivalence shall be established through the applicable output, process-control, verification, and conformance requirements.

Local manufacturing shall not be described as System05-compatible solely because a digital file or nominal geometry was reproduced.