Additive Manufacturing Counterfeiting Obfuscation via Prohibitive Geometries
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacture and sale of counterfeit additive manufactured parts pose a concern for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) due to inferior materials leading to performance issues, and existing digital file security methods are cost-prohibitive.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures with prohibitive physical dimensions or shapes into additive manufactured parts, which can only be properly formed using approved additive manufacturing methods, allowing detection of unauthorized manufacturing attempts through surface inspection or build failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital file security methods are used to prevent counterfeit additive manufactured parts, then anti-counterfeiting capability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the protective mechanism from digital file security to physical geometric parameters. By embedding structures with specific prohibitive dimensions (smaller than minimum feature size) and prohibitive shapes (forbidden geometries) directly into the part geometry, the anti-counterfeiting capability is transferred to the physical domain where verification occurs during manufacturing, eliminating costly digital security systems while maintaining reliability through geometric constraints that only approved processes can produce.
2Reliability
If obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures with prohibitive dimensions are added to the part, then counterfeit detection capability is improved, but part geometry complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the anti-counterfeiting function from the main part geometry by embedding discrete obfuscated structures within the part. These segmented features (with prohibitive dimensions and shapes) are distributed throughout the geometry, allowing the detection function to be isolated and verified independently while the overall part maintains its functional form. This segmentation enables counterfeit detection without requiring complex overall redesign of the part.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embeds obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures within the main part geometry, nesting the protective features inside the functional form. The prohibitive dimension structures and forbidden geometry elements are contained within the part's outer geometry, allowing the part to maintain its functional appearance while harboring hidden verification features that detect counterfeiting attempts during manufacturing.
3Manufacturing precision
If approved additive manufacturing methods with strict process control are used, then part quality and performance are improved, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding the anti-counterfeiting verification structures directly into the part design before manufacturing. The prohibitive dimension features and forbidden geometry elements are pre-configured in the CAD model, so that the manufacturing process itself becomes the verification mechanism. This preliminary embedding eliminates the need for complex post-manufacturing quality verification systems, as the structures inherently reveal whether approved processes were used.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of forming an additive manufactured part with obfuscated anti-counterfeiting features includes additive manufacturing the part using an approved additive manufacturing method and additive manufacturing a plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures on a surface of the part using the approved additive manufacturing method. Each of the plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures has at least one of a prohibitive physical dimension and a prohibitive physical shape that is prohibitive from being formed using at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method such that counterfeit manufacture of the part by the at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method is detected by inspecting the surface or observing a build failure by the at least one unapproved additive manufacturing method. The plurality of obfuscated anti-counterfeiting structures includes a plurality of hollow structures, a plurality of solid structures, and/or a plurality of truss structures.