Typical characteristics, technologies and applications of cloud manufacturing

Based on the practices of Cloud Manufacturing(CMfg)'s theory, technology, and engineering applications, a further discussion on the meaning of CMfg was conducted. The typical technical characteristics of CMfg were proposed, which included things networking, virtualization, service, collaboration, and intelligence of manufacturing resources and capability to achive whole life-circle smart manufacturing. The relationships between CMfg, cloud computing and manufacturing informatization were analyzed. On the basis of analyzing the typical technical characteristics of CMfg, the technology systems and key technologies to support technical realization were discussed. Four ongoing typical applications towards large-scale corporations and small and medium-size enterprises were presented respectively, and suggestions for further development of CMfg were given.