One of the principal advantages of taking an additive (Rapid Manufacturing) approach to manufacturing over more conventional subtractive or formative methods comes not from manufacturing approach per se but from the dramatic advantages that are possible in the area of design. This potential for radically different design methodologies is one of the major drivers for the development of Rapid Man...

Current research by the developers of rapid prototyping systems is generally focused on improvements in cost, speed and materials to create truly economic and practical economic rapid manufacturing machines. In addition to being potentially smarter/faster/cheaper replacements for existing manufacturing technologies, the next generation of these machines will provide opportunities not only for t...

The manufacturing industry is currently undergoing rapid changes because of the rapid growth of advanced technologies in information systems and networks, which allow for collaboration around the world. This combination of the latest information technologies and advanced manufacturing networks has led to the growth of a new manufacturing model known as Cloud Manufacturing. Because Cloud Manufac...

Editorial STEP-Compliant Process Planning and Manufacturing: Guest Editorial X. W. Xu, P. Klemm, F. M. Proctor and S-H. Suh 491 Implementation of STEP-NC Data Models Run-time interpretation of STEP-NC: implementation and performance T. R. Kramer, F. M. Proctor, X. Xu and J. L. Michaloski 495 On the futuristic machine control in a STEP-compliant manufacturing scenario C. Zhang, R. Liu and T. Hu ...

The components which were assumed to be very difficult to produce or manufacture some years ago can now be made easily using additive manufacturing technology. Additive Manufacturing offers many advantages in the production of parts, presenting freedom for design with the ability to manufacture single or multiple components from a wide range of materials. Different techniques of additive manufa...