There are six ways of creating and manipulating matter:
- Urformen: giving shape by composition
- Umformen: giving shape changing an existing shape without removing material
- Cutting: giving shape by cutting (division)
- Connecting: giving shape by creating connections between materials
- Coating: giving shape by adding a thin layer (coat)
- Changing material characteristics: giving shape by manipulating the fundamental characteristics of a material (eg. by heat)