Autodesk is barely out of the 3D printing headlines right now. Hot on the heels of the software company’s announcement about its $100 million investment fund for innovations in 3D printing, comes the news that it is partnering with Authentise, a leading licensing platform for digital manufacturing and 3D printing. Anyone that looked closely when (if) they followed the link to the investment fund site, might have already picked up on this fact, as Authentise is listed as a Spark partner on the live website, despite this news being embargoed until 4.30 pm today (PST) — probably to provide some daylight between all the Autodesk news releases!
It’s by the by really, the aim of the strategic partnership should be the main focus and this is to integrate features of the two companies’ respective software, which will allow the world’s biggest brands to securely offer their designs to customers for 3D printing.
Autodesk’s much vaunted, open Spark platform is all set to make 3D printing simpler and more reliable and integrating this with Authentise’s secure streaming technology will allow for a propulsion in its adoption by big brands, manufacturers and other design owners concerned about the integrity of their intellectual property.
The Authentise solution optimizes and securely streams designs directly to printers, giving design owners and marketplaces the freedom to distribute their content securely. As physical supply chains turn digital, streaming tools are required to reassure rights holders and unlock the full potential for 3D printing. Authentise’s streaming API is the standard way to address these intellectual property concerns, according to the company and this partnership cements this claim while simultaneously providing Authentise’s customers with early, integrated access to many of Spark’s tools that make 3D printing more reliable.
According to Andre Wegner, CEO of Authentise : “Authentise understands the needs at the frontier of 3D printing thanks to the ground-breaking 3D printing pilots built by its service team for Fortune 100s. The combination of Autodesk’s and Authentise’s tools is a powerful start to addressing these challenges, and we are excited to collaborate on additional development to make distributed manufacturing a global reality.”
This is backed up by Samir Hanna, general manager and vice president, 3D Printing at Autodesk, who said: “As 3D printing becomes more widely adopted by both corporations and consumers alike, protecting intellectual property is more important than ever. Autodesk and Authentise are working together to incorporate IP protection as a standard feature in the 3D printing process.”
