3D Printing and Blockchain: Opportunities for Business Innovation
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, allows engineers and designers to transform digital blueprints or models into three-dimensional physical objects. When used together with other emerging technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, it reveals the way to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Additive manufacturing appeared as an important technology for manufacturing. It makes it possible to produce parts, components, or even full-scale objects way faster. This happens because objects are “printed” layer-by-layer by a computer-controlled machine, which enables the production of highly complex objects such as bridges or houses.
The objects may be performed in different types of materials, ranging from plastic, wood, metal alloys to sugar, chocolate, and other items. The materials can be further customized to serve the needs of a designer.
3D printing marketing growth, prospects, and challenges
In 2020, the worldwide market for additive manufacturing was valued at $12.6 billion. It is expected to grow at a rate of 17% by 2023. Because of a wide range of applications, the technology has attracted a lot of interest from managers and researchers.
The drivers for 3D printing’s rapid development are better quality and faster fabrication speed. It is also possible to integrate a customer into product design, thereby enabling co-creation and mass customization.
Additive manufacturing has great potential in many spheres, especially in medicine and construction. Most clinical areas in the medical device sector can use it, allowing doctors to produce anything from dental crowns to replicas of hearts and skin.
There are even more ways for its application in the construction sector. For example, the world’s first 3D-printed bridge is now open for pedestrians and cyclists over Amsterdam’s Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal.
Another 3D printing-related project was implemented in Dubai where it only took 17 days to print a building.
However, there are some challenges that industries using 3D printing face. And the biggest problem comes from its major strength — CAD files. The lack of secure data protection throughout the production process, especially when there is the need for sending files to third parties, is a challenge that has yet to be overcome. So far, there is no efficient technological solution to do so. But blockchain technology has the potential to eliminate this challenge.
Blockchain will take care of security
When combined with additive manufacturing, blockchain offers businesses huge opportunities. It can help designers overcome problems related to data and IP security, which hamper the development of 3D printing. Blockchain is a decentralized, tamper-proof, and distributed ledger technology that creates trust among users.
Blockchain enjoys shared data infrastructure that authenticates, validates, and secures any data shared within the system. It excludes middlemen, resulting in efficiency gains and cost savings, and makes data available in the right format and to the right audience. Blockchain-based smart contracts can be used to additionally secure the terms and conditions of a contract.
Since blockchain is a distributed system, all files are time-stamped upon passing through blocks. And as you define the circle of people who have access to it, you can always track who and when made changes to a file. The on-chain status records and history also help in the validation of the files.
These features provide a more secure sharing of CAD files in 3D manufacturing. Smart contracts can be used to manage information on blockchain and provide legal protection over all parts of a design. This is especially important when working with manufacturers in China, where local courts recognize smart contracts as proof of ownership.
The combination of 3D printing and blockchain will eventually culminate in new business models in a customer-centric economy. For example, customers will take part in designing a product and creators will have their files secured. Implementing emerging technologies will also improve supply chains, as 3D printing equipment gets more affordable. This will make it possible to shift the economic power from manufacturers to designers and creators.
Although the potential behind 3D printing using blockchain technologies as a secure, shared infrastructure is vast, it is still a long way to go, before mass usage. This happens because of the extreme novelty of the technologies and due to the lack of international regulatory compliance on blockchain technology and especially smart contracts.
