Welcome to one of the ten courses in the Digital Manufacturing and Design Specialization Component of the Digital Thread. Our discussion continues with respect to the transformation of how products are designed and manufactured throughout the world. I'm Ken English, the Deputy Director of the Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotic Technology, Community of Excellence at the University of Buffalo and we'll be providing insight into this revolutionary change. In the introduction course of this specialization, I mentioned how it is important for everyone to understand and appreciate the role technology plays in the shift from paper-based processes to digital processes. In the manufacturing world, this new paradigm is known as digital manufacturing and design or DMD. The introduction course gave you the tools to clearly explain the context and benefits of digital manufacturing, and design. That course prepared you to talk with management and colleagues as well as encourage them to learn more about the forces driving the DMD transformation, and the impacts DMD has on careers, and companies of all sizes. The components of the Digital Thread course begins to focus on the individual components of DMD that makes the transformation possible. This course is one of two courses that focus on the Digital Thread. The stream that start's of the creation of the product concept and continuous to accumulate information, and data throughout the product life cycle. When you finish this course, you will have a working understanding of the Digital Thread. Be able to identify opportunities delivered to benefits the digital credit in organization and be prepared to communicate the advantages, and disadvantages of the digital credit of the management, and colleagues. In the introduction course, I mentioned that the essence of the DMD transformation is the right information in a right place at the right time. This course focuses on how that information flows from place to place. In my more than 20 years of working with information technology to solve engineering problems, having an understanding of how information flows or should flow is one of the keys to unlocking the potential of a digital design process. Even though technologies like laptops, tablets and phones advance quickly, successful strategies repeat overtime. The specialization overall and this course in particular will prepare you to think, and act strategically. I developed this course to help you to recognize how the digital threads serves as the backbone of the digital design and manufacturing transformation. Recognizing this will help you make your company more responsive. Be more involved in product development and open up new career paths in advance manufacturing. Through lectures, readings, discussions and the various videos we choose to supplement the main concepts, you'll be guided through an exploration of this new approach to making products.