Mark Yampolskiy
Auburn University, AL·Computer Science
3D printing, or additive manufacturing (AM), is a multibillion-dollar industry that makes aircraft parts, space mission hardware and biomedical devices from digital design files. A growing business model called Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) lets customers send designs to whichever print shop offers the best price, speed and quality.
- Fields
Computer Science
Engineering
- Topics
additive manufacturing
3D printing
Manufacturing-as-a-Service
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Sep 2028
What they work on
- Develop a robust digital watermarking scheme for common additive manufacturing design files that can establish design provenance and identify a manufacturer who leaked the files.
- Create lower-quality design versions for the quote phase whose printed parts show degraded form, fit or mechanical strength and carry digital and physical watermarks that trace the recipient.
- Embed quality-restoration instructions entangled with the watermark so that only the contracted manufacturer can restore full quality, and test the approach on complex geometries.
More about the research
This openness creates security risks on both sides. Designers worry that their files will be stolen, leaked or used to make counterfeit parts. Manufacturers worry about a 'bait-and-switch', where the design they quoted on differs from the one in the contract.
Why it matters
Design theft and file tampering discourage companies from outsourcing 3D printing of parts for aircraft, space missions and medical devices. Robust watermarking could let designers trace leaked files and let manufacturers confirm they receive the design they quoted on. This could increase trust in on-demand manufacturing supply chains.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Yiwei Han
University of Mississippi, MS·Engineering·Early-career
Determine how extrusion-printed shape-changing structures affect electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, a high-resolution method that jets fine droplets with an electric field, and how EHD deposition speed affects resolution and impact damage.
Yanfei Gao
University of Tennessee-Knoxville, TN·Materials Science
Examine how materials and manufacturing processes affect the mechanical, functional and environmental performance of welded or 3D-printed metal parts, to improve reliability and extend the service life of critical infrastructure.
Ramesh Karri
New York University, NY·Computer Science
Build a web infrastructure of virtual playgrounds where researchers share data, code and tools for studying cyberattacks on smart manufacturing machines and networks.
The school
Auburn University: 11 labs on PI Pages, $394M a year on research, 327 research doctorates a year.
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