General Electric Company
SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROTECT ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Abstract:

According to some embodiments, a lossless protection procedure may be applied to control distribution of a print geometry of an industrial asset item. For example, an item definition data store may contain electronic records defining a geometry of the industrial asset item. A signature identifier encoder platform may determine a unique signature identifier associated with the industrial asset item and modify the geometry of the industrial asset item to encode therein information about the unique signature identifier. In some cases, for example, this may be done by adjusting a scanning pattern of a fill region (e.g., stripe, checkerboard, etc.) or a support structure of the industrial asset item. An authentication platform may then receive, from a sensor (e.g., an X-ray), a measured characteristic parameter of an item to be authenticated and determine a signature identifier of the item (which can be used to authenticate the item).