Increasing the utilization of additive manufacturing resources through the use of blockchain technology for a production network

Abstract

The blockchain technology enables a common data basis between the participants. Entries are logged and the authenticity of the participants is guaranteed. In the case of a relationship between customers and producers, this would lead to verifiable cooperation, which would be a major step as companies enter into service contracts based on the flow of many small transactions through communication. This paper proposes an architecture that enables the creation and processing of orders between the customer and producers via a blockchain-based production network. The handling of larger files which are traceable via the blockchain is also shown and the use of a public or permissioned blockchain for an application case is also considered.