Distributed Additive Manufacturing – How Blockchain Will Propel the 3D Printing Revolution

By Josué Batista, Blockchain Technology Strategist ✪ What and Why First℠ Evangelist ✪ International Speaker ✪ Distinguished Toastmaster, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A few days back, fellow business architect Mike White shared a wonderful digital transformation article from Daniel Lambert, “Digital Transformation Using Enterprise and Business Architecture.” In it, Daniel described how some of the best disruptive companies are taking advantage of distributed assets and capabilities. Facebook is the most popular media company, yet owns no content. Netflix is the world’s largest movie house and owns no cinemas. Airbnb is the world’s largest accommodations provider and owns no real estate. The same can be said for Uber, Alibaba, Instagram, and Expedia. All of them are leaders in their industries, yet they have no claimed total ownership of the assets and services they transact with on a day-to-day basis.

That article really sparked my imagination and strategic thinking! As I thought about it and looked closer, I realized that something else was at play. All of these companies have something else in common: They have used leadership, strategy, and innovative thinking to break away from traditional business models and then used technology to create enormous value in new ways never seen before.

On that premise, I believe that traditional manufacturing is ripe for a complete digital transformation. I also believe that 3D printing in manufacturing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), and blockchain both are heading for a friendly convergence that I like to call distributed additive manufacturing (DAM). Please, allow me to give you some background information on that topic.

Some 3D Printing history

First, I must say the creation of parts using 3D printing technology is nothing new. In fact, 3D printing is more than 30 years old. It all started in 1983 when a group of engineers led by Charles “Chuck” Hull created and patented a process known as stereo lithography or 3D printing. Chuck Hull also created the first commercial rapid prototyping technology, and the STL file format, which is still quite popular to this day, and founded 3D Systems. At 79 he is still active as executive VP and chief technology officer (CTO).

The “magic” behind 3D printing is that, using special equipment, it is possible to join and solidify special materials, like liquid molecules or powder grains, to create a three-dimensional object, all under the control of computer software. Traditional manufacturing relies on subtracting or cutting out a piece of metal or plastic (subtractive process). 3D printing uses an additive process, carefully layering materials on top of each other to build parts. 3D printing enables you to produce complex (functional) shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.

Since Chuck Hull’s invention, 3D printing has evolved and expanded into several industries, from bio-printing of human tissues and organs to building prototypes for industrial manufacturing. From my research, it seems that bio-printing is still a few years away from cost-effective mass applications. In addition, current 3D technology cannot print at resolutions small enough to create cellular structures which, for example, could actually filter blood, a key functionality for a kidney to do its job.

Manufacturing is where the money is!

When famous serial bank robber Willie Sutton Jr. was asked by reporter Mitch Ohnstad why he robbed banks, according to Ohnstad, he replied, “Because that’s where the money is!” The same can be said about manufacturing!

On the industrial manufacturing side of things, 3D printing is taking off! I believe that one of the most relevant frameworks for the acceleration of AM is called the “digital thread.” That framework was explained in a paper introduced by Deloitte in 2016. As business and technology strategists, I think it is important we gain an understanding about what DTAM is about and why it is relevant.

We already established what additive manufacturing or AM is about. The “digital thread” is the key concept at play here. Within the manufacturing process using 3D, the “digital thread” is a single, seamless strand of data that stretches from the initial design concept to the finished physical part. Another way to look at it is that the “digital thread” is a series of complex, connected, and data-driven events from the digital design to the physical creation of any part using AM. As an individual object is designed, tested, produced, and used, it is described by data created throughout the “digital thread.”

Why is the “Digital Thread” important?

For AM processes to scale and gain mass adoption at the industrial level, AM must move away from a limited specialized footprint space, where it is today, into a more open, distributed global stage. AM needs to move from its current physical- or hardware-associated production paradigm to a more data- or records-management paradigm. That is why having that “digital thread” will be the enabler if we want to see AM gaining mass adoption. Innovators will be able to scale AM production, manage the complexities of AM, and connect AM across the supply chain using data from the “digital thread.” The value proposition of the “digital thread” is not shipping parts; it’s about shipping data.

The Challenges for the “Digital Thread” to Emerge

Needless to say, for the value proposition of the “digital thread” to be realized, “shipping of data” must have the appropriate levels of security, data integrity, privacy, and intellectual property (IP) protection. Here are some of the important questions we still need to answer:

How could it be possible to create and manage a “digital thread” across the supply chain without being exposed to malicious actors who might tamper with the data and even steal it?

How could we maintain the integrity of the “digital thread” across a distributed model with multiple partners that do not necessarily trust each other, and across diverse geographic locations?

How could the “digital thread” effectively ensure that raw materials, equipment, processes, and finalized parts meet quality assurance for AM (QAAM), a requisite for part certification?

How could the “digital thread” foster innovation through technologies such as topology optimization and advanced multiphysics modeling?

Since the “digital thread” will create significant amounts of data, what would be the most effective way to dissect, understand, store, and utilize this data, as well as to manage its intense computing demands?

Blockchain to the rescue!

Well, you should know by now that I am a fan of blockchain. So, it is not surprising that I believe some of these challenges have the potential to be solved using blockchain technology. Blockchain could also serve as a backbone and security layer for the “digital thread,” underpinning all of the transactions that occur throughout the digital and physical life cycle for AM.

Another way blockchain may add value to the “digital thread” is by making AM more accessible to industrial and supply chain managers around the world, and potentially solving the problem of data recordation for complex, certified parts.

Here are five (5) characteristics of blockchain that are relevant to AM:

• Blockchains are distributed–that means that data is maintained within and among the stakeholders. That is important for AM because it helps in the management of activities in distributed supply chains.
• Blockchain technologies are getting faster (with no need for miners)[L1] –settlement and exchange are nearly instantaneous. In AM, changes to a design are made instantly which facilitates efficient AM processes.
• Blockchains operate in trustless environments using cryptography for validation of transactions which offer protection against risks of unauthorized data access.
• Blockchain transactions are irreversible–transaction history is append-only.
• Blockchain is censorship-resistant–modifying past transactions would be expensive and immediately detected. Both characteristics will help with cyber risks and IP protection as it is intended to provide an indelible and traceable record of changes.

But wait, there is more!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the huge potential the Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices represent for the AM process. As we build better and more specialized IoT sensors, we exponentially increase in-transit visibility, 3D equipment performance, and the quality of raw materials being used to build parts. Blockchain potentially serves as the data or transaction layer for all of that information moving within and between organizations in an encrypted fashion.

The final touch is artificial intelligence, which is the topic of next week’s segment of What and Why First. As we build smarter systems and processes, the distributed AM will not only perform better, but it will also “learn” from past experiences and the surrounding environment from connected IoT devices. We have now traveled full circle back to that powerful trio I introduced a few weeks back: blockchain, IoT, and artificial intelligence. I believe all these technologies will inevitably intersect with additive manufacturing and the “digital thread.”

I cannot wait for the future to arrive and show us the world’s largest manufacturing company, building millions of parts every single day, on location at the most remote places on the planet, and still not owning a single physical factory. It will be accomplished with distributed additive manufacturing and the “digital thread” powered by blockchain, IoT, and AI. Don’t be hard on me; I am a visionary!

I encourage you to learn more about additive manufacturing and how blockchain will be the enabler for mass global adoption. To get started, just follow the links within this article to the selected resources I collected for you. Stay thirsty for knowledge, my friends.

Until next time, cheers!

Josué Batista is a business technology and strategist, solutions architect, international speaker, and writer with concentration on emerging technologies in the space of Distributed Ledger Technologies (Blockchain), Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet-of-Things.

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