Manufacturing 101: An Education and Training Curriculum for Hardware Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Manufacturing 101 is an education and training curriculum designed to provide Cleantech1 entrepreneurs with the requisite manufacturing knowledge to effectively transition their functional prototypes into commercial products manufactured at scale. Participants in a June 2016 workshop laid the foundation for the development of a new education and training program built around four phases: Engage, Educate, Enhance, and Execute. The curriculum consists of eight modules that describe the topics in manufacturing most relevant to entrepreneurs during product scale-up. The modules described in this report are envisioned to be technology agnostic and applicable to a great majority of early-stage companies building physical products. The recommended curriculum is broad enough to apply to a range of different technologies, but is also sufficiently specific so that entrepreneurs can apply the lessons to their own Cleantech innovations. Upon successful completion of the Manufacturing 101 program, entrepreneurs will gain a basic level of understanding about manufacturing processes, and each student will also understand the current Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of their product. Topics taught in Manufacturing 101 will help entrepreneurs more effectively achieve critical product development and commercialization milestones, and will also give entrepreneurs the knowledge and vocabulary to engage with design engineers, consultants, and manufacturing companies during the product scale-up process.