THREE-DIMENSIONAL DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

• US 20140156053A1
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Published: 06/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dna.Am Limited
• Original Assignee: Within Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mahdavi, Siavash Haroun, Ruto, Anthony, Shayani, Hooman
• Granted Patent: US 9,604,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/119
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/112 using individual droplets, e.g. from jetting heads
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/153 using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/393 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/251 Particles, powder or granules expandable particles B29K2105/046
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/00 Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A method of authenticating the printing of a three-dimensional (3D) article at a 3D printer according to a 3D print file describing a three-dimensional design is described. The method comprises: receiving an authentication request from a 3D print server that is associated with the 3D printer, the request comprising a unique design identifier associated with a 3D design file and a unique 3D printer identifier associated with a 3D printer, the received unique 3D design identifier being related to the received 3D printer ter identifier in accordance with a first relationship; using at least one of the received unique identifiers to access a verifying 3D design identifier and a verifying 3D printer identifier, the verifying identifiers being related to each other in accordance with a second relationship; comparing the first and second relationships between the received and verifying identifiers; generating an authentication signal if the first relationship corresponds with the second relationship; obtaining a decryption key associated with the received identifiers in response to the authentication signal; and transferring the decryption key to the 3D print server to authenticate and enable the printing of the 3D article on the 3D printer.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of printing a three-dimensional article from a 3D design file describing a three-dimensional design (3D), the method comprising:

receiving, at a computer processor, the 3D design file in encrypted format, the 3D design file comprising a unique design file identifier and a unique 3D printer identifier identifying a 3D printer capable of printing a three-dimensional article in accordance with the 3D design file;

constructing, using the computer processor, an authentication request for authenticating use of the design file with the 3D printer specified by the 3D printer identifier, the request including the unique design file identifier and the unique 3D printer identifier;

transmitting the authentication request from the computer processor to an authentication server;

receiving, at the computer processor, an authentication response from the authentication server, the response enabling printing of the article from the 3D design file on the specified 3D printer, the response comprising a decryption key arranged to decrypt the encrypted 3D design file;

using the decryption key, at the computer processor, to decrypt the received encrypted 3D design file, and sending the decrypted 3D design file to the 3D printer associated with the unique 3D printer identifier; and

printing the article in accordance with the decrypted 3D design file at the 3D printer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the decryption step comprises decrypting a two dimensional (2D) contour data file included in the 3D design file, and the method further comprises printing the article in accordance with the decrypted 2D contour data file at the 3D printer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the decryption step comprises decrypting a 3D printer configuration file included in the 3D design file, and the method further comprises:

configuring, using the computer processor, the 3D printer in accordance with the configuration file; and

the printing step comprises printing the article in accordance with the configuration specified by the configuration file.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuring step comprises specifying the material to be used by the 3D printer for the printing of the article.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the 3D printer comprises a laser and the configuring step comprises specifying the optical power output of the laser.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the 3D printer comprises a laser and the configuring step comprises specifying the focal spot size of the laser.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the decryption key is a one-time use decryption key arranged to expire after a single use, and the method further comprises:

transferring, using the computer processor, a second authentication request to the authentication server; and

receiving, at the computer processor, a second authentication response from the authentication server, the response comprising a second one-time use decryption key arranged to decrypt the encrypted 3D design file.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a received authentication response only enables a single article to be printed from the 3D design file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein an authentication response only enables a predetermined plurality of articles to be printed from the 3D design file, and the method further comprises:

maintaining, at the authentication server, a count of the number of copies of the article that are printed;

determining, at the authentication server, when the predetermined plurality of copies have been printed;

and

preventing, using the computer processor, further copies of the article being printed from the 3D print file until a further authentication response is received from the authentication server.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising notifying the authentication server, using the computer processor, when the predetermined plurality of articles has been printed.

11. A printing system for printing a three-dimensional article from a 3D design file describing a three-dimensional (3D) design, the system comprising:

a receiver for receiving the 3D design file in encrypted format, the 3D design file comprising a unique design file identifier and a unique 3D printer identifier identifying a 3D printer capable of printing a three-dimensional article in accordance with the 3D design file;

a constructing module for constructing an authentication request for authenticating use of the design file with the 3D printer specified by the 3D printer identifier, the request including the unique design file identifier and the unique 3D printer identifier;

a transmitter for transmitting the authentication request to an authentication server;

the receiver being arranged to receive an authentication response from the authentication server, the response enabling printing of the article from the 3D design file on the specified 3D printer, the response comprising a decryption key arranged to decrypt the encrypted 3D design file;

a decryption module arranged to use the decryption key to decrypt the received encrypted 3D design file, and sending the decrypted 3D design file to the 3D printer associated with the unique 3D printer identifier; and

a 3D printer arranged to print the article in accordance with the decrypted 3D design file.

12. A system according to claim 11, further comprising a plurality of 3D printers, each printer having a different set of capabilities for printing the 3D article from the 3D design file.

13. A system according to claim 11, wherein the receiver, constructing module, transmitter and decryption module are provided as part of a 3D print server which is connectable to the authentication server and to the 3D printer or printers via a communications network.

14. A system according to claim 11, wherein the system is arranged to notify the authentication server when a predetermined number of prints of an article have been made from a single authenticated 3D design file.

15. A computer-implemented method of authenticating the printing of a three-dimensional (3D) article at a 3D printer according to a 3D print file describing a three-dimensional design, the method comprising:

receiving at an authentication server an authentication request from a 3D print server that is associated with the 3D printer, the request comprising a unique design identifier associated with a 3D design file and a unique 3D printer identifier associated with a 3D printer, the received unique 3D design identifier being related to the received 3D printer identifier in accordance with a first relationship;

using, at the authentication server, at least one of the received unique identifiers to access a verifying 3D design identifier and a verifying 3D printer identifier, the verifying identifiers being related to each other in accordance with a second relationship;

comparing, at the authentication server, the first and second relationships between the received and verifying identifiers;

generating, at the authentication server, an authentication signal if the first relationship corresponds with the second relationship;

obtaining, using the authentication server, a decryption key associated with the received identifiers in response to the authentication signal; and

transferring the decryption key, from the authentication server, to the 3D print server to authenticate and enable the printing of the 3D article on the 3D printer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing, at the authentication server, a record indicating the number of articles that may be printed in accordance with the 3D design file;

updating, using the authentication server, the record to indicate the number of remaining articles that may be printed in accordance with the 3D design file after the authentication response has been transferred from the authentication server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises determining, using the authentication server, when the number of articles which may be printed is zero and thereafter preventing the authentication of further requests for printing of articles from that 3D design file.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the verifying identifiers are stored in a database and the using step comprises querying the database to retrieve the second relationship.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising logging, at the authentication server, the details of each request for authentication processed to create a transaction log of all requests;

and subsequently using the transaction log to determine usage by a user of the 3D printer.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising using the transaction log, at the authentication server, to determine the number of articles printed by each 3D printer.

21. An authentication server for authenticating the printing of a three-dimensional (3D) article at a 3D printer according to a 3D print file describing a three-dimensional design, the authentication server comprising:

a receiver for receiving an authentication request from a 3D print server that is associated with the 3D printer, the request comprising a unique design identifier associated with a 3D design file and a unique 3D printer identifier associated with a 3D printer, the received unique 3D design identifier being related to the received 3D printer identifier in accordance with a first relationship;

a verifying module for using at least one of the received unique identifiers to access a verifying 3D design identifier and a verifying 3D printer identifier, the verifying identifiers being related to each other in accordance with a second relationship;

the verifying module being arranged to compare the first and second relationships between the received and verifying identifiers and to generate an authentication signal if the first relationship corresponds with the second relationship;

a decryption module arranged to obtain a decryption key associated with the received identifiers in response to the authentication signal; and

a transmitter arranged to transmit the decryption key to the 3D print server to authenticate and enable the printing of the 3D article on the 3D printer.

22. A controlled system for printing a three-dimensional article according to a 3D design file describing a three-dimensional (3D) design, the controlled system comprising a printing system and an authentication server, the printing system comprising:

a receiver for receiving the 3D design file in encrypted format, the 3D design file comprising a unique design file identifier and a unique 3D printer identifier identifying a 3D printer capable of printing a three-dimensional article in accordance with the 3D design file;

a constructing module for constructing an authentication request for authenticating use of the design file with the 3D printer specified by the 3D printer identifier, the request including the unique design file identifier and the unique 3D printer identifier;

a transmitter for transmitting the authentication request to the authentication server;

the receiver being arranged to receive an authentication response from the authentication server, the response enabling printing of the article from the 3D design file on the specified 3D printer, the response comprising a decryption key arranged to decrypt the encrypted 3D design file;

a decryption module arranged to use the decryption key to decrypt the received encrypted 3D design file, and sending the decrypted 3D design file to the 3D printer associated with the unique 3D printer identifier;

a 3D printer arranged to print the article in accordance with the decrypted 3D design file; and

wherein

the authentication server comprises;

a receiver for receiving the authentication request from the printing system, the request comprising the unique design file identifier associated with the 3D design file and the unique 3D printer identifier associated with the 3D printer, the received unique 3D design identifier being related to the received 3D printer identifier in accordance with a first relationship;

a verifying module for using at least one of the received unique identifiers to access a verifying 3D design identifier and a verifying 3D printer identifier, the verifying identifiers being related to each other in accordance with a second relationship;

the verifying module being arranged to compare the first and second relationships between the received and verifying identifiers and to generate an authentication signal if the first relationship corresponds with the second relationship;

a decryption module arranged to obtain a decryption key associated with the received identifiers in response to the authentication signal; and

a transmitter arranged to transmit the decryption key to the printing system to authenticate and enable the printing of the 3D article on the 3D printer.