Towards Cloud in a PLM Context: A Proposal of Cloud Based Design and Manufacturing Methodology

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) integrates all the phases a product goes through from inception to its disposal but generally, the entire process of the product development and manufacturing is time-consuming even with the advent of Cloud-Based Design and Manufacturing (CBDM). With enormous growth in Information Technology (IT) and extensive growth in cloud infrastructure the option of design and manufacturing within a cloud service is a viable option for future. This paper proposes a cloud based collaborative atmosphere with real-time interaction between the product development and the realization phases making the experience of design and manufacturing more efficient. A much-optimized data flow among various stages of a Product Lifecycle has also been proposed reducing the complexity of the overall cycle. A case study using Additive Manufacturing (AM) has also been demonstrated which proves the feasibility of the proposed methodology. The findings of this paper will aid the adoption of CBDM in PLM industrial activities with reduced overall cost. It also aims at providing a paradigm shift to the present design and manufacturing methodology through a real-time collaborative space.