Secured AM of Metal Parts

Triton Systems, Inc. plans to create a secure digital twin-based system for distributed additive manufacturing (AM) to ensure trusted, authenticated, and intellectual property (IP)-protected production of high-quality metallic structural parts.  AM has the potential to demonstrate great utility in both low-rate production as well as in the manufacturing of just-in-time part generation at the point of need. However, these benefits rely on cyber designs and files, which are transmitted over long distances to the printers to enable part fabrication. The security of files and transmissions can lead to vulnerabilities in terms of data integrity, cybersecurity, and quality control. All additive manufacturing (AM) methods will require strong cyber-security. Triton aims to expand the securely available AM routes to the Department of the Navy (DoN) while allowing for the fabrication of larger parts through the use of digital twins for in-situ fabrication monitoring. This will be coupled with Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) to enable real-time quality control/assurance of the part build. The digital twin combined with AI/ML will enable comparative analysis of the part design file with the printed file to detect part tampering during a cyber-attack.Triton is collaborating with an esteemed academic partner who is an accomplished researcher in the field of secure cyber-physical additive manufacturing. This partner has made significant contributions through wide-ranging publications in the areas of cyber-attacks, IP protection, and side-channels for additive manufacturing. Additionally, Triton is working with a large corporation to enhance the cybersecurity of their commercial product lifecycle management (PLM) software suite. The goal of this collaboration is to develop a digitally engineered twin and digital thread that meets the stringent demands of the Department of the Navy.