Software manufacturers have long known that they need to protect their software - and thus their intellectual property (IP) - to prevent others from profiting from it, for example through illegal duplication or know-how theft. As laws alone are not sufficient for protection, software manufacturers use technical protection and licensing solutions that they either develop themselves or buy in. Such solutions have been around for decades. However, intellectual property worth protecting is not only found in software products, but also in the production and configuration data of the industry. This data is particularly at risk in the digitalized and networked factories of the still young Industry 4.0, for which secure protection and licensing solutions now exist that are also adapted to the specific needs of industry.

3D printing is still in its infancy in this respect. Manufacturers in additive manufacturing have so far hardly dealt with the protection of 3D print data. On the one hand, technical issues and problems relating to printing were and are often more pressing, and on the other hand, manufacturers often print the objects themselves or protect them when printing off-site by means of contracts with the respective 3D printing service provider. However, the additive manufacturing market is changing: the various production steps are increasingly being distributed to different service providers, meaning that the manufacturer loses control over the 3D print data with the previous type of "protection" - and thus control over its intellectual property. What can the manufacturer do about this? How can they protect the know-how contained in the 3D printing data from theft and prevent a service provider from printing more than the agreed quantities on their own? What does the protection and licensing of 3D printing data look like in practice and what is happening in research? Are there already commercial solutions, such as those available for software manufacturers or operators of smart factories?

Steps in 3D printing

Illustration of the overall process for protecting and monetizing 3D print data.

© Wibu-Systems

Before an object can be printed, it must be digitally modeled and digitally prepared. To do this, the designer first creates the digital 3D model of an object using CAD software (modeling). Slicer software is then used to convert the 3D model into a digital layer model (preparation). Layer heights, printing temperatures, printing speeds and other factors, such as the properties of the materials used for printing, for example plastic, metal, ceramic, concrete, sand or glass, influence the layer model. The slicer software uses the layer model to calculate the digital printing instructions for the 3D printer, which can then be used to print the object (printing).

Modeling, preparation and printing can be carried out in-house or outsourced to external service providers. Further steps and services such as verification or optimization are conceivable in order to check stability requirements before printing or to save time and material during printing. Along the modeling-preparation-printing process chain, 3D models, layer models and printing instructions generate digital data that is worth protecting, especially if it is handed over to external service providers. Without technical protective measures, there is a risk of know-how theft, illegal additional production due to a lack of quantity control, illegal reprints and sabotage through manipulation of the data.