Swarm 3D printing or Cooperative 3D Printing or Swarm Manufacturing[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] is a digital manufacturing platform that employs a swarm of mobile robots with different functionalities to work together to print and assemble products based on digital designs. A digital design is first divided into smaller chunks and components based on its geometry and functions, which are then assigned to different specialized robots for printing and assembly in parallel and in sequence based on the dependency of the tasks.[11][12] The robots typically move freely on an open factory floor and carry different tool head. Some common tool heads include material deposition tool heads (e.g., filament extruder, inkjet printhead), pick and place tool head for embedding of pre-manufactured components, laser cutter, welding tool, etc. While in its early stage of development, swarm 3D printing is currently being commercialized by startup companies. According to Additive Manufacturing Magazine,[1]AMBOTS[13] is the first company to create an end-to-end solution for cooperative or swarm 3D printing.
