Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
On December 16th 2022, researchers at Texas A&M University (TAMU) unveiled a new way to imprint readable magnetic tags encoded with authentication information into manufactured hardware using 3D printing, with applications in traceability and quality control. TAMU argued that similar, current technology is impractical due to the necessary equipment’s cost and complexity, contending that the team’s method could expose counterfeit goods more easily by replacing physical tags like barcodes and QR codes. The team’s research was published in the journal Additive Manufacturing.
Once embedded into a nonmagnetic object, the magnetic tag can be read by a magnetic sensor device like a smartphone by scanning near the correct location on the product. To map the object’s magnetic reading, the team created a 3-axis magnetic sensor that could map the object’s surface to show where the tag was accessible. For further work, the team intends to develop a more secure method of reading the embedded information, possibly via what TAMU called “a physical “dual-authentication”,” which would have the user apply a specific treatment or stimulus to access the tag.
The same month as TAMU, the development of similar technology was also announced by the University of Hong Kong (HKU). It unveiled a 3D printing method that could produce polarisation-encoded 3D anticounterfeiting labels, which could encrypt more digital information than a traditional 2D label. HKU argued that conventional anticounterfeiting methods like QR codes can be easily fabricated, due to the limited capacity for data encryption in a planar space. Here, the team used a material called diphenylalanine for data encryption due to its unique optical properties. Their research was published in the journal Nano Letters.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “CBP checking authenticity of a travel document” is a work of a United States Department of Homeland Security employee, taken as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.
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