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A REVIEW ON RAPID PROTOTYPING (RPT): RECENT TRENDS, FUTURE &

INFLUENCE OF INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)/ CLOUD MANUFACTURING (CM)

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International Journal of Mechanical and Production
Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)
ISSN(P): 2249-6890; ISSN(E): 2249-8001
Vol. 8, Special Issue 8, Aug 2018, 175-180
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

A REVIEW ON RAPID PROTOTYPING (RPT): RECENT TRENDS,

FUTURE & INFLUENCE OF INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)/

CLOUD MANUFACTURING (CM)

KARTHEE. K, VISHAL SANKAR. S & YESHWANT RAJ. S

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT

In this fast-paced world, it is very important to save time and cost in every field especially manufacturing and that is why
prototyping plays a major role in manufacturing as it saves both. This leads to vast development in the field of
prototyping and in the late 1980’s to rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping has a group of techniques and still evolving
the way prototypes are produced. A recent development of applying Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud manufacturing
in rapid prototyping further enhanced the way of producing prototypes. AsIoT/Cloud computing aids
users/manufactures to have better connectivity and data exchange between machines and helps to achieve complete
automation throughout the organization. This paper gives a comprehensive review on recent trends as well as future of

Original Article
rapid prototyping along with the application of IoT and cloud in rapid prototyping.

KEYWORDS: RPT, Recent Trends, IoT, Cloud Manufacturing & Review

INTRODUCTION

A prototype is essential to save the cost and time for an industry, which both are essential and which
makes the prototype crucial. Conventional takes a long time and that leads to the rise of RPT as RPT takes much
less time in producing the prototype. In addition, through RPT small and complex shapes can be made. This is the
main reason now RPT is widely used in a variety of application. There are numerous methods available in RPT
and some of them are 3D printing (3DP), Ballistic particle manufacturing, Directed light fabrication, Direct- Shell
Production Casting (DSPC), Laminated object manufacturing (LOM), Shape deposition manufacturing, Stereo
Lithography Apparatus (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). This paper
intends to provide a comprehensive review on RPT recent trends along with how cloud computing and IoT are
applied in this field till now (as recent trends align with IoT extensive review is done related it).

Different Areas of Application of RPT

The recent research in RPT are concentrated in a wide range of areas, and these include, but are not
limited to Rehabilitation engineering [1], Sensors [2], Micro-electronics [4], Customized implants and prosthesis
[5], Welding [6], Microfluidics and microbiology [12], Manufacturing [7,8,9,10,13]. Mikołajewska et al., in his
paper investigated and exploited how 3D printing can be used for medical products [1]. Chia et al., reviewed the
recent trends of application of 3D printing of biomaterials for its potential application in the biomedical field.
FDM, SLS, 3DP, SLS and its compatibility with various biomaterials were considered and the use of 3D printing
in Tissue scaffold fabrication was described [2]. Gross et al., provided a comprehensive review of 3D printing
evolution along with its application and printing methods [3]. Macdonald et al., with the help of 3D printing,

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176 Karthee. K, Vishal Sankar. S &Yeshwant Raj. S

fabricated electronics components known as 3D structural electronics. Combination of AM technique, component

placement robot, and conductor embedding was used to reduce the design cycle by making multifunctional prototypes [4].
Blibbet.al, analyzed the various design and digital manufacturing techniques for making custom prosthesis. Key
characteristics such as fit, accuracy, resolution and texture, economy were identified and the limitations in the existing
methods were discussed [5]. Karunakaran et al., propose a hybrid system consisting of both additive and subtractive
manufacturing techniques to obtain high accuracy at less time and cost. In this proposed method, near-net-shape is obtained
by the RPT process, and then the finished part is obtained by CNC from the near-net shape obtained from RPT [6]. Phatak
et al., proposed and implemented a system to optimize the part orientation during building in RPT by using a binary coded
genetic algorithm to reduce the build time and improve the build quality [7]. Vaezi et al., reviewed comprehensively about
scalable micro-AM-systems such as Micro-SL, Micro Laser Sintering (MLS), 3D direct writing processes such as LIFT,
MAPLE, Aerosol jet printing, nozzle dispensing process, and hybrid processes and explains application of these processes
in Micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), and Miro-opto-electro mechanical systems (MOEMS) [8]. Holmström et
al., proposed conceptual approaches for implementation of RPT in the spare parts supply chain. Two approaches, namely
Centralized RM and Distributed RM to replace inventory holding was proposed and the key parameters, the feasibility of
these approaches for implementation was studied using a case study of the aircraft spare part supply chain [9]. Karunakaran
et al., reviewed the evolution of various additive and hybrid processes for the manufacturing of metallic objects. Various
RPT methods based on deposition technique, powder-based techniques, laminated manufacturing were discussed with its
characteristics and its potential application in the production of components, and tooling [10]. Jin et al., developed an
adaptive approach to improve the process planning of the rapid manufacturing for biomedical applications. The proposed
approach combines mixed tool-path algorithm and adaptive algorithm for the speed of nozzle/print head to maintain
geometrical accuracy as well as to reduce the build time [11]. O'Neill et al., comprehensively reviewed various RPT
technologies and its compatibility with producing microstructures for microfluidics application. The biological applications
of RPT produced microstructures in drug delivery, cell analysis, detection of neurotransmitters and virus were discussed
[12]. Gardan et al., explained various RPT technologies based on laser, flash, extrusion, jet, and lamination & cutting. The
progression of RPT in topology optimization, data exchange formats, building construction, biomedical applications were
studied [13].

Cloud Computing in Rapid Prototyping

The influence in the advancement of the Information technology played a major role in manufacturing and one
such thing is cloud computing. With the aid of cloud computing, real-time live collaboration can be achieved at any stage
of manufacturing as it can be applied anywhere from initial design to final marketing. The influence of cloud computing on
RPT are discussed as follows. Zhang et al., proposed a method in which model is contracted based upon scattered cloud
data and given to machine (RP) for direct fabrication without conversion into surfaces. Compared to the traditional method
this method is more autonomous in nature. However, error shape has to be controlled [14]. Pal, presented a method for
obtaining cloud point data based on a method called the tangent plane method. This method results in reduced CPU usage,
and optimization of the compensation limit without compromising the accuracy [15]. Li et al., developed a system with
reverse engineering concept comprise of three units: 3D object digitizing system - for capturing, software - for
reconstructing the complex surfaces and RP machine – for constructing of complex objects. The specially designed
software in this work directly processes the data cloud points into triangle meshes from range images [16]. Liu et al.,
developed a new method to convert collected cloud data even if it is unorganized to RP slice data and fed for RP

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.6197 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
A Review on Rapid Prototyping (RPT): Recent Trends, 177
Future & Influence of Internet of Things (IOT)/
Cloud Manufacturing (CM)
fabrication. Even though the system handles efficiently all the cloud data except the data which has holes & lobes. Even
complex surfaces can be produced and also the method is computationally efficient [17]. Liu et al., developed an
intermediate point-based curve model (IPCM) which minimizes the error by segmenting the error type and keeping the
feature points defined by the user. This model consists of three steps: Firstly, the adaptive division of cloud points based on
subdivision error. Secondly, IPCM construction based on feature points. Thirdly, the generation of a layer based RP model
by using curvature-based fairing methods on RP layer contours. This model minimizes the error for random cloud data
[18]. Jin et al., developed a hybrid & adaptive system with adaptive tool-path generation approach to improve time and
accurate with the help of slicing algorithm using Non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) and adaptive speed algorithm to
optimize the speed of deposition nozzle of RP machine. Performance evaluation of this algorithm based on processing
effectiveness, geometrical accuracy, and algorithm robustness were demonstrated using biomedical models [19]. Qiu,
devised a model in which in order to provide missing information from cloud data, moving least square (MLS) is applied to
it in order to get the topological structure for complex shapes. This method resulted in better handling of complex shapes
[20].

IoT in Rapid Prototyping

Even though the influence of cloud computing is commendable as summarized above, an effect of IoT in
manufacturing is tremendous and it is still developing. IoT plays the integral role in large-scale manufacturing and it
becomes irreplaceable in the future days. The role of IoT in RPT in recent years are listed out below. Caputo et al.,
investigated the key characteristics of IoT and developed a conceptual framework. This conceptual framework is simple
and easy to understand, and is also applicable to any manufacturing process. In this study, they applied this framework to
the additive manufacturing process. However, this is a theoretical model and it lacks deductive methods and computations
to bolster its concept [21]. Lehmhus et al., discusses the need of sensor integration with RPT and the limitations associated
with the implementation of integration of sensors with the product for structural electronics to make IoT-enabled devices.
In this study RFID tag integration with the built part to build using Selective Laser Sintering to measure various
parameters. However, because of shielding of RFID, the read out is possible only for cover layer thickness below 1.7mm
[22]. Lu et al., describes an IoT-based collaborative framework for cyber-physical interaction modeled using engineering
Enterprise Modelling Language (e-EML), which enables data exchange between software and hardware components. This
has a wide range of applications for the variety of advanced manufacturing processes. In this study, a case of microdevices
manufacturing is considered and the implementation of this framework is elucidated. Its main advantage is that even users
with limited computing capabilities can use this framework [23]. Kaihara et al., proposed a co-creative productive system
(CPS) with IoT-environment integration with the 3D printing of tailor-made rubber parts. The framework focuses on the
integration of IoT to deal with the supply chain in 3D printing to reduce the operational costs in the supply chain. This
concept is an integrated inventory policy in 3D printing product customization and consumer segments [24]. Freiwrith et
al., devised an IoT framework for inventory monitoring and replacement using 3D printing. This framework has automated
customization with highly integrated inventory management [25]. Liu et al., designed and implemented a framework to
continuous monitoring of 3D printing process and transmitting the status data of the process over the internet. In this study,
MTConnect communication standard is used to develop and implement a RESTful protocol for monitoring the RepRap 3D
printer using Raspberry Pi processor. This design has the ability to provide stable and reliable data collection. However,
this design is not sufficient to make a fully remotely automated system [26]. Yamato et al., proposed a system for real time

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178 Karthee. K, Vishal Sankar. S &Yeshwant Raj. S

predictive maintenance platform for maintenance of business vehicles by integration of IoT with 3D printers. This
framework collects data via VPN, analyze real-time failure using Jubatus software, and co-ordinates with ERP to send data
to the 3D printer, after which the spare parts are printed near the destination of the vehicles. This system is equipped with
real-time monitoring with in-built failure predictive analysis. But, it requires high memory database for fault detection [27].
Pettis, proposed a networked RPT platform based on Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), however, this framework is
applicable to other AM processes as well. The platform is networked by connecting various devices through WiMAX or
cellular connection to control process or for a status check. The platform is equipped with web-based monitoring with the
video feed. Nevertheless, large memory requirement and complex control system is an impeding factor for implementation
of this framework [28-29]. Baumann et al., designed and implemented a multiple modular sensor Array for monitoring of
the performance of 3D printer and its influence with environmental factors and for remote supervision and control. The
study was made in a Fused Depositing Modeling based RPT system. This design is easily deployable with wireless sensor
client-server capability. However, there are some sensor placement constraints, and the sensor data obtained were not
providing reliable information about the status of printing [30]. Wu et al., put forth a system of 3D printing monitoring
platform based on the internet of things consisting of three layers: the perception layer, network layer, and application
layer. This system leads to improved productivity by effectively integrating resources. There is also an improved level of
information monitoring and multiple access interfaces, allowing the access of network forms with poly-protocol and poly-
business. Nevertheless, there exists a requirement of large-capacity transmission for this system to be successful [31].

CONCLUSIONS

Through this paper, various recent research related to rapid prototyping and how IoT, Cloud computing are used
was presented. Instantaneous single step manufacturing is the goal of RPT. RPT will not make manufacturing processes
out of date but instead will result in the endorsement. Recognition of these basic products and processes are in miniature
stage only, but in the future RPT will be valuable as well as recognized by both the industry as well as the academia. With
help of this review, we can see that still lot of research is going in RPT and it is still evolving strongly. And if the trend is
noticed, usage of IoT is increased a lot in recent years on the expense of cloud computing. Usage of cloud and IoT made
RPT much faster, flexible and accurate at the same time.

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