Development of a web-based tele-manufacturing service system for rapid prototyping

Purpose - Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is playing an important role in new product development but, because of the RP machines' costliness, many enterprises, especially those small and medium-sized enterprises, cannot afford them. Accordingly, in this paper, a web-based tele-manufacturing service system for RP is proposed, which enables geographically dispersed enterprises to share RP machines. Design/methodology/approach - The system is composed of three parts: online commerce, online manufacturing service, and online data management. In addition, several distinctive supporting software packages are provided, which afford great convenience to enterprises to get RP services. Findings - It is validated that the system can result in substantial saving in the cost and product development time. Practical implications - The system is also a good reference for other similar shared resources. Originality/value - The system embodies the new notion that an enterprise's full-course participation in the manufacturing service, and the rapidness of manufacturing, embody the full course of RP manufacturing service and not merely the manufacturing process itself.