An international consortium including Boeing, Israeli digital manufacturing specialist Assembrix, EOS, 3T Manufacturing and BEAMIT, has demonstrated a distributed fully controlled 3D additive manufacturing system between cross continental production sites over a digital manufacturing platform. The demonstration illustrates the potential of virtual manufacturing system (VMS) platform combined with blockchain.

The collaboration used a digital platform developed by Assembrix that virtualises industrial 3D printing – enabling a simpler, secured and more efficient production process. The platform oversees the additive manufacturing thread from the initial part model to the verified physical part.

The demonstration featured: secured production, with jobs securely assigned to individual machines within a manufacturer, with IP fully protected and an auditable transaction trail. This enables customers to ensure excess parts are not produced and protect their design instructions.

It also included real-time monitoring and data collection. Customers can monitor job progress in real-time and customers can ensure machine data is within the parameters defined for the job. This may include machine bay humidity, temperature, print speed or cooling.

Lior Polak, CEO of Assembrix, said “We are providing our clients with a virtual additive manufacturing factory, where 3D printers using a variety of technologies and in different geographic locations are remotely and securely controlled. This concept is breaking the boundaries of traditional manufacturing and makes distributed additive manufacturing a reality. We are delighted to partner with industry-leading players in aerospace, automotive and medical to showcase our additive manufacturing secured network and see clients around the world embracing and leveraging our technology. Today, more than ever we see an increasing need for such a solution.”

Markus Glasser, Senior Vice President EMEA at 3D printer maker EOS said, “Industrial 3D printing allows for demand-driven production, streamlines processes, and makes the supply chain more robust and sustainable. Combining the technology with digital manufacturing structures results in maximum transparency thanks to real-time reporting, flexibility and performance. There are many benefits to this approach, including increased transparency of supply chains, adapting products to individual or regional tastes and even a reduced product carbon footprint.”

Dan Johns, CEO 3T Additive Manufacturing and CTO BEAMIT Group, said “Being able to securely connect the customer directly to the AM machine, anywhere in the world, has been a long-standing vision within the community. The end-to-end digital integration of a supply chain transforms the business model of traditional manufacturing to a scalable and flexible network of virtual warehouses for on-demand supply, with security and quality embedded into the system. The ability to digitise the complete value chain with our strategic partner Sandvik, means that BEAMIT Group is now able to offer the next generation of advanced manufacturing services.”