Cloud Manufacturing: Distributed Computing Technologies for Global and Sustainable Manufacturing

Global networks, which are the primary pillars of the modern manufacturing industry and supply chains, can only cope with the new challenges, requirements and demands when supported by new computing and Internet-based technologies. Cloud Manufacturing: Distributed Computing Technologies for Global and Sustainable Manufacturing introduces a new paradigm for scalable service-oriented sustainable and globally distributed manufacturing systems.

The eleven chapters in this book provide an updated overview of the latest technological development and applications in relevant research areas.  Following an introduction to the essential features of Cloud Computing, chapters cover a range of methods and applications such as the factors that actually affect adoption of the Cloud Computing technology in manufacturing companies and new geometrical simplification method to stream 3-Dimensional design and manufacturing data via the Internet. This is further supported case studies and real life data for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) remanufacturing.

This compilation of up to date research and literature can be used as a textbook or reference for mechanical, manufacturing, and computer engineering graduate students and researchers for efficient utilization, deployment and development of distributed and Cloud manufacturing systems, services and applications.

Dr Weidong Li is a Reader at the Coventry University, UK. His major research interests include digital manufacturing technologies, collaborative design and manufacturing, and manufacturing planning. In the areas, Dr Li has published 100 research papers, co-authored 3 books (Springer and World Scientific Publishers). As principal investigators or co-principal investigators, he has cooperated with a number of manufacturing OEMs and SMEs to work on various manufacturing application research through EU Framework and UK EPSRC funding. He and his team have attracted more than £2.5m research funding to the Coventry University in recent five years.

Dr Jörn Mehnen is a Senior Lecturer at the Cranfield University, UK. His major research interest lies in applying advanced computing methods to manufacturing problems. Dr Mehnen has published 3 books (one with Springer “Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing. Applications of Soft Computing: from Theory to Praxis”, 2009, DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-89619-7) and published more than 100 publications in journals and leading conferences. He is the principal investigator of a £2m project in Additive Layer Manufacturing and the co-founder of the new EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Through-life Engineering Services at the Cranfield University.