Additive Manufacturing Workflow Verification With Blockchain Traceability

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Solution Overview

Problem

In distributed supply chains, especially those involving additive manufacturing, there is a lack of efficient systems for coordinating and verifying product design aggregation, access control, version tracking, and payment processes across different entities, leading to challenges in ensuring product quality, intellectual property rights, and sustainability tracking.

Innovation Solution

A blockchain-based system that generates an encrypted, secure identifier for each product, allowing for secure record-keeping of workflows from design to delivery, enabling verification of manufacturer capabilities, operational parameters, and product characteristics, while facilitating secure payment and intellectual property rights management through smart contracts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If distributed supply chain coordination is implemented without blockchain verification, then manufacturing flexibility and entity autonomy are improved, but product quality assurance and intellectual property protection deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing flexibilityVSAvoidproduct quality assurance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

A blockchain-based verification system acts as an intermediary between distributed manufacturing entities. The system receives verification data from manufacturers, stores it immutably on the blockchain, and provides transparent verification without centralizing control. This allows autonomous manufacturing while ensuring quality through cryptographic proof of compliance with specifications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary verification of manufacturer capabilities, equipment calibration, and material specifications before manufacturing begins. By recording these verifications on the blockchain in advance, the system ensures quality assurance is established before production, allowing manufacturing flexibility during execution while maintaining reliability through pre-validated parameters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Object-generated harmful factors

If operational parameters are transmitted in discrete packets for security, then intellectual property protection is improved, but manufacturing process coordination complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintellectual property theft riskVSAvoidprocess coordination complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-generated harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Operational parameters are segmented into discrete packets that are transmitted sequentially to the additive manufacturing device. Each packet contains a portion of the manufacturing instructions, and the system tracks completion of each packet through blockchain verification. This segmentation protects intellectual property by preventing full parameter exposure while managing coordination through structured, traceable delivery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where the manufacturing device confirms receipt and completion of each parameter packet to the verification system. These confirmations are recorded on the blockchain, creating a transparent audit trail that simplifies coordination complexity through automated status tracking and verification without requiring complex centralized management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If comprehensive verification data is recorded for each product, then quality assurance and traceability are improved, but data storage requirements and system overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequality verification precisionVSAvoiddata storage volume

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates cryptographic hashes (digital copies) of verification data and stores these on the blockchain rather than the full verification datasets. The actual detailed verification information remains distributed across the participating entities' local systems. This copying approach maintains precise quality verification through immutable hash references while dramatically reducing the storage burden on the centralized blockchain infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS12008563B2Systems and methods for end-to-end verification of manufacturing workflows

Publication Date: 2024.06.11 BAKER HUGHES OILFIELD OPERATIONS LLC

AI summary

Methods may involve accepting an order for a product to be manufactured and identification of a product file meeting the specification, the product file comprising instructions for manufacturing the product. Pre-manufacture verification of manufacturer capabilities and product precursors may be accepted. Operational parameters to enable an additive manufacturing device to manufacture the product may be sent as discrete packets. At least one packet may be sent only after receipt of confirmation that at least another previous layer is complete and associated operational parameters for the at least another previous layer have been deleted. In-manufacture verification of the operational parameters utilized by the additive manufacturing device when manufacturing the product may be accepted. At each stage, a blockchain for certifying characteristics of the product may be updated to associate data representative of workflows for the product with an encrypted, secure identifier utilizing a secure, distributed transaction ledger.