Learners will create a roadmap to achieve their own personal goals related to the digital manufacturing and design (DM&D) profession, which will help them leverage relevant opportunities. The culminating project provides a tangible element to include in their professional portfolios that showcases their knowledge of Industry 4.0.
Understand Manufacturing’s Fourth Revolution
Learn how manufacturing is evolving with advances in digital-based technology.
About This Specialization
Whether you’re a high school graduate exploring manufacturing careers, or an operations manager hungry for an understanding of the newest manufacturing technologies, this specialization will provide a foundation in how digital advances are changing the landscape and capabilities of factories. Ten courses – developed with input from the manufacturing industry – touch on digital manufacturing and design practices, the concept of the digital thread, the Internet of Things and Big Data. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0
Created by:
Industry Partners:
10 courses
Follow the suggested order or choose your own.
Projects
Designed to help you practice and apply the skills you learn.
Certificates
Highlight your new skills on your resume or LinkedIn.
Projects Overview
Courses
- Beginner Specialization.
- No prior experience required.
COURSE 1
Digital Manufacturing & Design
Upcoming session: Aug 28 — Sep 18.- Commitment
- 2 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
This course will expose you to the transformation taking place, throughout the world, in the way that products are being designed and manufactured. The transformation is happening through digital manufacturing and design (DM&D) – a shift from paper-based processes to digital processes in the manufacturing industry. By the end of this course, you’ll understand what DMD is and how it is impacting careers, practices and processes in companies both large and small. You will gain an understanding of and appreciation for the role that technology is playing in this transition. The technology we use every day – whether it is communicating with friends and family, purchasing products or streaming entertainment – can benefit design and manufacturing, making companies and workers more competitive, agile and productive. Discover how this new approach to making products makes companies more responsive, and employees more involved and engaged, as new career paths in advanced manufacturing evolve. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the first course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 2
Digital Thread: Components
Upcoming session: Aug 28 — Sep 25.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
This course will help you recognize how the "digital thread" is the backbone of the digital manufacturing and design (DM&D) transformation, turning manufacturing processes from paper-based to digital-based. You will have a working understanding of the digital thread – the stream that starts at product concept and continues to accumulate information and data throughout the product’s life cycle – and identify opportunities to leverage it. Gain an understanding of how "the right information, in the right place, at the right time" should flow. This is one of the keys to unlocking the potential of a digital design process. Acknowledging this will enable you to be more involved in a product’s development cycle, and to help a company become more flexible. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the second course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 3
Digital Thread: Implementation
Upcoming session: Aug 28 — Oct 9.- Commitment
- 5 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
There are opportunities throughout the design process of any product to make significant changes, and ultimately impact the future of manufacturing, by embracing the digital thread. In this course, you will dig into the transformation taking place in how products are designed and manufactured throughout the world. It is the second of two courses that focuses on the "digital thread" – the stream that starts at the creation of a product concept and continues to accumulate information and data throughout the product life cycle. Hear about the realities of implementing the digital thread, directly from someone responsible for making it happen at a company. Learn how the digital thread can fit into product development processes in an office, on a shop floor, and even across an enterprise. Be prepared to talk about the benefits, and limitations, of enacting it. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the third course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 4
Advanced Manufacturing Process Analysis
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Sep 18.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Variability is a fact of life in manufacturing environments, impacting product quality and yield. Through this course, students will learn why performing advanced analysis of manufacturing processes is integral for diagnosing and correcting operational flaws in order to improve yields and reduce costs. Gain insights into the best ways to collect, prepare and analyze data, as well as computational platforms that can be leveraged to collect and process data over sustained periods of time. Become better prepared to participate as a member of an advanced analysis team and share valuable inputs on effective implementation. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the fourth course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 5
Intelligent Machining
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Sep 25.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Manufacturers are increasingly utilizing machine tools that are self-aware – they perceive their own states and the state of the surrounding environment – and are able to make decisions related to machine activity processes. This is called intelligent machining, and through this course students will receive a primer on its background, tools and related terminology. Learn how the integration of smart sensors and controls are helping to improve productivity. You’ll be exposed to various sensors and sensing techniques, process control strategies, and open architecture systems that can be leveraged to enable intelligent machining. This course will prepare you to contribute to the implementation of intelligent machining projects. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the fifth course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 6
Advanced Manufacturing Enterprise
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Sep 25.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Enterprises that seek to become proficient in advanced manufacturing must incorporate manufacturing management tools and integrate data throughout the supply chain to be successful. This course will make students aware of what a digitally connected enterprise is, as they learn about the operational complexity of enterprises, business process optimization and the concept of an integrated product-process-value chain. Students will become acquainted with the available tools, technologies and techniques for aggregation and integration of data throughout the manufacturing supply chain and entire product life-cycle. They will receive foundational knowledge to assist in efforts to facilitate design, planning, and production scheduling of goods and services by applying product life cycle data. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the sixth course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 7
Digital Manufacturing Commons (opendmc.org)
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Sep 25.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
The Digital Manufacturing Commons (DMC) is an open, online space for companies of all sizes to collaborate and transform how they design and manufacture their products. This course explores how the DMC platform will support an online community of users who can share data, analytical models, simulations, industry best practices and more. Students will be encouraged to participate in the open source community by gaining a basic understanding of the DMC – including the motivations and creation behind it – as well as its mission, goals, and major features. They will acquire fundamental concepts and tools to interact with the DMC platform and perform digital collaboration. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the seventh course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 8
Cyber Security in Manufacturing
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Sep 25.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
The nature of digital manufacturing and design (DM&D), and its heavy reliance on creating a digital thread of product and process data and information, makes it a prime target for hackers and counterfeiters. This course will introduce students to why creating a strong and secure infrastructure should be of paramount concern for anyone operating in the DM&D domain, and measures that can be employed to protect operational technologies, systems and resources. Acquire knowledge about security needs and the application of information security systems. Build the foundational skills needed in performing a risk assessment of operational and information technology assets. Gain valuable insights of implementing controls to mitigate identified risks. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the eighth course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 9
MBSE: Model-Based Systems Engineering
Upcoming session: Aug 28 — Oct 2.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
This Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) course and the Digital Thread courses featured earlier in this specialization bring together the concepts from across digital manufacturing and design, forming a vision in which the geometry of a product is just one way of describing it. MBSE is where the model resulting from the evolution of system requirements, design, analysis, verification and validation activities is the focus of design and manufacturing. Students will gain an understanding of systems engineering, the model-based approach to design and manufacturing, the Digital Twin, and a roadmap toward a model-based enterprise. Students will be able to explain the value and expectations of systems engineering and model-based systems engineering, and the underlying motivations and opportunities represented by a model-based enterprise. They will develop the knowledge necessary to perform a baseline assessment of an organization’s potential to leverage MBSE. Main concepts of this course will be delivered through lectures, readings, discussions and various videos. This is the ninth course in the Digital Manufacturing & Design Technology specialization that explores the many facets of manufacturing’s “Fourth Revolution,” and features a culminating project involving creation of a roadmap to achieve a self-established DMD-related professional goal. To learn more about the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0COURSE 10
Roadmap to Success in Digital Manufacturing & Design
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Oct 2.- Commitment
- 5 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Learners will create a roadmap to achieve their own personal goals related to the digital manufacturing and design (DM&D) profession, which will help them leverage relevant opportunities. The culminating project provides a tangible element to include in their professional portfolios that showcases their knowledge of Industry 4.0. This project is part of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Technology specialization. To learn more about the specialization and its courses, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://youtu.be/r-VHiwsg_t0
Creators
Ken English
Deputy Director
Amy Moore
Project Manager & Act-Authorized Job Profiler
Chi Zhou
Assistant Professor
Sara Behdad
Assistant Professor
Shambhu Upadhyaya
Professor
Rahul Rai
Associate Professor
FAQs
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
