Additive Manufacturing & the Internet-of-things - Investigating the feasibilty of web enabling Additive Manufacturing systems as discrete supply chain elements

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This project investigates the feasibility of enabling Additive Manufacturing (AM) hardware as internet-Of-Things devices, and the systems architecture needed to enable a distributed ‘Grid-AM’ supply chain. The project investigates management methodologies, software protocols and hardware architecture that will allow the web enablement of AM machines, and allow for the modelling and simulation of potential AM supply chains. The project is initially based around open-source consumer 3D Printing hardware, WebGL and HTML 5 protocols, as well as investigating the role of interface devices such as phones and tablets in the management of supply chains. The projects aims to deliver a report outlining the business benefits and limitations of a grid AM business model on the toy and computer games industry, in addition to the potential for Grid-AM solutions in other higher value manufacturing sectors.