A machine insertion and onsertion system (MIOS) for printed-circuit board (PCB) assembly has been developed. This system features linkage from multiple PCB CAD systems to multiple placement machines. We have found that the MIOS is well suited for flexible manufacturing in a multi-CAD, multi-machine, and multi-site environment. The system maintains manufacturing data independent of its source CAD systems and its destination placement machines. Because of this data independency, the MIOS also enables resource sharing--including equipment and personnel--among all sites. Higher quality comes as a result of automatic program generation. Faster turnaround makes prototyping and production equally efficient. Visualization through the graphical user interface enhances sense of participation. Additionally, the complexity of software development has been reduced significantly.