Why does 3D printing require a blockchain?

Blockchains have the potential to address their inherent security risks before 3D printing becomes a major issue. If 3D printing technology wants to go beyond its inherent security issues, the best approach is to use a blockchain. Jack Heslin, president of 3D Tech Talks, a 3D printing consultancy, spoke at the Pacific Design and Manufacturing Show in 2019, saying that as 3D printing becomes cheaper, easier, faster, and more general, the nature of the technology will require blockchain Provided security. This is Heslin's so-called Additive Manufacturing Digital Thread (DTAM), "a single seamless data link that extends from the original design to the completed 3D printed portion."

Automation Technology East is the leading automation/robot trade show on the East Coast, offering hundreds of the latest components, controllers and pick-and-place devices from Microsoft, IBM Lockheed Martin and more. If you've never heard of things like 3D printing, that's fine, because Heslin says such things don't exist. “The [3D printing] process is linear, but it is not single or seamless,” he said.

3D printing has gone through several stages: from concept to CAD files, to generating designs (if available), to actual 3D printing. Then there is the post-printing process, and finally whether support is needed. All of these steps represent a loophole in which 3D printing can be destroyed or even stolen, putting the company's intellectual property at risk. “There are loopholes in the digital leads of manufacturing. Design files may be stolen,” Heslin said. What scares me the most is that the design file may be hacked to deliberately put a loophole... I am not saying that it is happening now, or it is easy to do, but this is a problem. "

Studies have shown that 3D printing is increasingly demanding network security. For example, researchers at the University of New York's Tandon School of Engineering found that 3D printing has serious safety issues that can pose serious safety hazards due to counterfeit parts and products, or products that are intentionally printed with hidden defects and built-in faults.

In 2016, researchers at the University of California, Irvine demonstrated a novel 3D printer hacking method that found that the source code for producing 3D printed parts could be stolen by recording the sounds emitted by the printer.

All of this will lead to some of the problems Heslin pointed out. In addition to the problem of printers being taken offline by malicious entities and stolen IP, there are bigger problems, especially security issues. The debate over 3D printing guns has been fierce for several years. Recently, a potential domestic terrorist in Texas was arrested and sentenced after being found to have an illegal AR-15 assault rifle. He can assemble it using 3D printed parts created using freely available files on the Internet.

Heslin pointed out that in addition to this, it will be the printing of illegal and unauthorized military machine parts and weapons, or hacking 3D printer files in order to intentionally damage sensitive equipment or machines. In a 2016 paper, "dr-wned - a network physical attack with additional manufacturing" a group of researchers was able to crack a PC connected to a 3D printer and from there to a 3D printed file for a $1,000 drone The secret changed, causing its propeller to fail during the flight.

So how does the blockchain solve all these problems? The blockchain works by creating distributed encrypted ledgers on any number of parties, not only to verify identity, but also to verify the status of any particular job. This means that every entity involved in any stage of 3D printing is able to keep track of what all other entities are doing in a safe and secure manner. Since the blockchain is decentralized, meaning that no entity owns it, stealing or changing a 3D printed file from a blockchain is not tricking a single computer or printer - you have to crack every entity that belongs to that particular chain, if not sometimes This index will be more difficult if it is not possible.

“When you have multiple stakeholders in the process, you must ask the various stakeholders to reach a consensus,” Heslin said. In this regard, the blockchain can provide permission to print and authorize to send files to be printed.

He also pointed out the benefits of audit trails. “We all know that Six Sigma and ISO – a lot of it is about audit trails,” Heslin said. "The blockchain is essentially an audit trail. It shows every edit and iteration in the process." Also, because the audit trail is decentralized, it becomes immutable and cannot be deleted.

Even in the early stages of the concept, there are benefits. “If you are a design engineer and you send the parts to the service bureau for 3D printing, you don’t know if anyone else has printed that part,” Hessling said. "Look at a website like Thingiverse. You can see how many times the file has been downloaded, but you don't know how many times it has been printed... or sell it without your permission."

Some companies are already studying this issue. In 2017, GE filed a patent for the additive manufacturing (AM) system, which is "an AM device configured to implement a distributed ledger system...where distributed ledgers are blockchain ledgers." The basic premise of the system is the use of blockchains for identifying and validating builds in AM systems, as well as authors of these builds.

Wipro, an Indian-based IT consulting firm, is developing a blockchain system for AM that is designed to combat IP theft. As stated on the company's website:

“3D printing enables small manufacturers to create new products anywhere. Creators can share files to covert printing facilities. Blockchain can help create such a small independent value chain and make the production process more flexible. Smart contract applications Can simplify transactions to ensure product history, production process details, ownership, etc. It will also help to find the most viable printing facilities and reduce the price of negotiations, available dates, etc. Finally, the blockchain will Capture digital traces of the product, including details of the type of raw materials used, source materials, production parameters, technical specifications, manufacturing locations, storage and maintenance methods, etc.

The blockchain is often seen more on the software side, just like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that make it so popular, Heslin says 3D printing has an "interesting extra layer because it handles physical products."

Although cyber attacks against 3D printers are mainly limited to research labs, as more and more printers connect via the Internet of Things, 3D printers will only become more attractive targets for hackers, and more and more companies trust 3D printers. Sensitive files and information.