Autentica, a blockchain platform that secures authentic digital assets, has partnered with
NCC to validate a secure digital thread platform for additive manufacturing (AM). The system is designed to help UK manufacturers overcome a key obstacle to adopting AM by enabling secure management and traceability of digital production data.
One of the biggest barriers to wider adoption of AM is the secure handling of design files, machine instructions, and production data across decentralised manufacturing environments. Manufacturers remain wary about sharing or transmitting digital design files due to concerns regarding intellectual property protection, data tampering and integrity, and traceability.
The project - supported by
Innovate UK - is part of the feasibility study exploring how secure digital infrastructure could support wider adoption of AM among UK SMEs. The platform aims to develop a secure workflow that links design files, machine instructions, and production records, giving SMEs a robust tool to confidently adopt additive manufacturing across distributed supply chains by protecting their intellectual property and enabling secure collaboration.
Autentica’s platform tackles these issues through encrypted file streaming, tamper-proof audit trails and secure handling of design assets during production, helping safeguard intellectual property and optimise distributed manufacturing.
NCC, located in Bristol and part of the
High Value Manufacturing Catapult, is a leading innovation organisation that turns cutting-edge research and technology into industrial impact. It validated the system using its testbed facilities, assessing how the platform manages secure file transmission, traceability of print instructions and protection of digital design assets within real additive manufacturing workflows.
The validation demonstrated the platform’s potential to support broader industry adoption.
Uros Kostelac, chief technology officer at Autentica, said: “One of the biggest challenges in additive manufacturing is protecting design files while enabling distributed production. Our platform enables manufacturers to securely transmit print instructions and maintain a verifiable record of every stage of production. This creates a trusted digital thread that protects intellectual property while allowing manufacturers to scale additive manufacturing across distributed supply chains.”
For manufacturers, this means design files can be securely transmitted to approved production partners without exposing the underlying intellectual property, while maintaining a verifiable digital record of how and where parts are produced. This allows companies to collaborate with distributed production partners while maintaining full control of their intellectual property.
AM has the potential to improve resource efficiency and strengthen supply chain resilience, yet adoption across the UK remains relatively low compared with Europe and the United States. Uptake also varies by region. Around 20% of firms in London report using AM, while in the North West, strong technical capability and a growing specialisation in 3D printing have helped drive SME adoption to 17.1%, compared with a national average of about 11%.
The ability to securely distribute design files is particularly important in sectors such as aerospace, defence and advanced engineering, where components may be produced across multiple locations and strict traceability is required.
Marc Funnell, senior chief engineer at NCC, said: “At NCC, we work with industry to help evaluate emerging manufacturing technologies in realistic industrial environments. Secure digital infrastructure is becoming increasingly vital as manufacturing processes become more dispersed and data-driven. Through our testbed capabilities, we can evaluate how solutions like Autentica’s digital thread can help SME manufacturers adopt additive manufacturing with greater confidence in the security and integrity of their production data.”
The project is specifically designed for SME manufacturers, allowing them to adopt secure AM at scale without requiring the advanced digital infrastructure usually held by large enterprises. By simplifying the digital infrastructure required to manage AM workflows, the project aims to make advanced manufacturing technologies more accessible to smaller businesses. This helps SMEs reduce operational risks, improve data security, and enhance production traceability, thereby improving business outcomes.
Irma Gilbert, founder of Autentica, said: “Additive manufacturing has great potential for UK supply chains, but many SMEs remain cautious due to concerns about intellectual property and the secure handling of design files. Our aim is to develop a trusted digital infrastructure that makes additive manufacturing both safe and accessible for smaller manufacturers.”
Successful validation of the digital thread platform paves the way for broader adoption of AM in UK supply chains, especially where data security, traceability, and certification are essential. The platform will now move towards further industry testing and potential pilot deployments.