Combination of cloud manufacturing and 3D printing: research progress and prospect

The development of information, materials science, and technology has led to profound changes in manufacturing. Many new ideas and technologies have emerged in recent years, such as cloud manufacturing and 3D printing. Cloud manufacturing (CM) is a new type of networked manufacturing mode proposed in 2010, and 3D printing is an example of new manufacturing methods. CM and 3D printing both have significant influence in the manufacturing mode and manufacturing method and are already research hotspots in the field of advanced manufacturing technology. What kind of innovations will be produced when they integrate? To explore this issue, this paper first analyses the characteristics of cloud manufacturing and 3D printing. Second, the combination research of cloud manufacturing and 3D printing in recent years is studied, including 3D printing cloud platform (3D–PCP) service architectures, 3D printing resource access technology, 3D printing service optimized configuration technology, 3D printing service control and monitoring technology, and 3D printing service evaluation technology. There are several research achievements and commercial application cases of 3D–PCP, but a true sense of 3D printing cloud ecology from the perspective of a manufacturing system has not been formed to date. On the basis of the survey and analysis, this paper highlights the shortcomings in current research and proposes development suggestions of the combination of 3D printing and cloud manufacturing, including the potential research direction of 3D–PCP system modes, the Internet of Things in 3D printing, and the 3D printing service process control and evaluation.