Micro and Desktop Factories for Micro/Meso-Scale Manufacturing Applications and Future Visions

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Abstract
Micro and desktop factories are small-size production systems suitable for the manufacture of small products with micro and/or macro size features. The development originates in Japan, where small machines were developed in order to save resources when producing small products. In the late 1990’s, the research spread around the world, and since then multiple miniaturized production systems have been developed. However, the level of commercialization and industrial adoption is still relatively low and the breakthrough remains unseen. This paper discusses the potential application areas of micro- and desktop factory solutions. The research has been carried out as a mixed-method research combining extensive literature survey and 18 semi-structured interviews in Europe. The interviewees are both from academia and industry, including equipment and component providers, as well as users and potential users.

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