And some effort is being made to develop standards for the data that virtual manufacturing systems will swap.

ECONOMIST: Manufacturing technology

This is symptomatic of the problem with virtual manufacturing: it is still, despite its promise, a sporadic and haphazard phenomenon.

ECONOMIST: Manufacturing technology

CAD, too, was first created by manufacturers for their own purposes (the pioneers were car makers, which may be why they are now so advanced in virtual manufacturing).

ECONOMIST: Manufacturing technology

This, perhaps, is virtual manufacturing in its purest form.

ECONOMIST: Manufacturing technology

Using YouTube videos to deliver virtual tours of their manufacturing facility has helped to speed up sales cycles.

FORBES: Connect

Once a design is set, different bits of the manufacturing process are tried out on computer: a virtual pipe-bending machine, for instance, makes sure that the fuel lines which snake their way through the airframe can be created without wrapping themselves around the machine and bringing it to a halt.

ECONOMIST: Manufacturing technology

Their plan: to create a "virtual car company" that would farm out most of the design, engineering and manufacturing work for the V-12 to outside suppliers.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Their plan: to create a "virtual car company" that would farm out most of the design, engineering and manufacturing work for the powerful V-12 to outside suppliers.

FORBES: Magazine Article