Medical and Aerospace 3D Printed Parts Could Be Secured by Embedded QR Codes

Experts have predicted that by 2021, 75 percent of new commercial and military aircraft will contain 3D printed parts. That makes it crucial that manufacturers find a foolproof way to ensure that 3D printed components are genuine. Counterfeit parts do a lot more than steal intellectual property – they can be dangerous or even deliberately sabotaged. Much research has gone into coming up with ways to make sure that counterfeit parts can be identified, and that genuine parts can be assured to be genuine. A group of researchers at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering have now come up with a new way to protect the integrity of parts by converting QR codes, bar codes, and other passive tags into 3D features hidden inside 3D printed objects.