Blockchain-based quality management for a digital additive manufacturing part record.

Quality management (QM) of additive manufacturing (AM) processes is currently immature in terms of transparency, traceability and security. In particular, quality-relevant documents are not documented and communicated in a traceable and transparent manner, which often leads to quality deficiencies. However, combining AM with blockchain technology can enable a solution that maps the AM value chain digitally, transparently, traceably and securely in a part record. In this work, a quality assurance (QA) concept for the metal-based material extrusion (MEX) process is developed that enables a digital representation of the value chain in the form of an AM part record. The decentralized solution presented in this work uses an architecture consisting of a web application for data acquisition, a decentralized storage solution for storing larger amounts of data, a smart contract for capturing manufacturing events and the Ethereum blockchain for transparent, secure and traceable storage of blockchain data. The AM part record enables traceable and constantly available digital documentation of quality information. The cost-effectiveness of the solution is also shown in a demonstration study. The research results highlight the benefits of a blockchain-based AM part record for digital manufacturing documentation and represent an efficient alternative or extension to existing QM and QA solutions in AM.