U.S. needs to concentrate on seven manufacturing leapfrog technologies.

The United States must concentrate on making "leapfrog" jumps in seven strategic manufacturing technologies in order for the country's manufacturers to stay competitive worldwide, according to the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM). These seven "disruptive" technologies--sensors, nanofabrication, modeling and simulation, reconfigurable tools and systems, smart systems, solid free-form fabrication and visualization, planning and knowledge management--"are central to maintaining a robust U.S. manufacturing base, which is essential both to national security and to the global economic competitiveness of U.S.-based manufacturers," says NACFAM. "The aggressive development and use of these technologies will be critical to differentiate U.S.-based manufacturers from other manufacturers and keep work in the U.S."

The United States should make the development of these manufacturing technologies "a core competency of this nation," says NACFAM in a new report entitled "Industry Views Towards Categories of Innovation and Potentially Disruptive Advanced Manufacturing Technologies." "Global competitors will overtake the U.S. if it pursues only an evolutionary approach to technology improvement. Greater vision and leadership of top-level industry and government decision-makers to growing the nation's manufacturing base is paramount."

NACFAM worked with representatives from 44 corporations and research organizations developing its assessments of disruptive manufacturing technologies, future trends and areas for further research. The work was conducted under a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Engineering Lab. For a copy of the 66-page analysis, go to http://www.nacfam.org.