3. Conclusions

We'd like to conclude this section on machine tools with a few thoughts on their future. What is their future? Will there be any left? If so, what types? What processes will they use? And how will manufacturing systems evolve? We've only talked about machine tools, but they're not the only ones. What will become of other processes? What about rapid prototyping? Will it enable us to produce complex-shaped parts without machining?

Obviously, we can't answer all these questions in a reasoned way, so we'll just give a few ideas, a few impressions.

• There are, however, a few certainties. One of these is that assembly and packaging machines are destined to grow much faster than machining centers. The latter have long been indispensable; for more than a century, they have been able to perform operations that a man cannot...