InfraTrac, the Maryland-based developer of intellectual property protection solutions for 3D printed products, is a final award winner of the America Makes 2016 Additive Manufacturing Challenge for Small Businesses. The AM Challenge is a competitive program sponsored by Penn State University’s Center for Innovative Materials Processing to identify and promote ideas that will revolutionize the additive manufacturing and 3D printing industries.
InfraTrac’s innovative technology infuses 3D printing polymers with a unique chemical fingerprint that can be used to quickly and confidently discriminate between genuine and fake 3D printed products with a pocket-sized detector. This isn’t the first time we have heard about their amazing technology.
The R&D stipend awarded to each of the five winners of the AM Challenge will help speed up InfraTrac’s development of their patent-pending IP protection system. In addition, InfraTrac now has access to the world-class facilities and research personnel of Penn State and those of its collaborators in sponsoring the AM Challenge, America Makes and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
“We’re honored that InfraTrac was selected for the Additive Manufacturing Challenge,” said Dr. Sharon Flank, CEO of InfraTrac. “This competitive award acknowledges the importance of protecting the makers and users of 3D printed products from potentially dangerous fakes. Our light-based anti-counterfeiting technology is an effective approach for tagging and authenticating polymer-based products. The Challenge R&D stipend will help us scale up and extend our technology into the industrial arena, including metal 3DP.”
“InfraTrac’s team has applied elements of their technology in novel ways to create protection for additive manufacturing, where the ability to scan-and-copy anything threatens to create an intellectual property nightmare and massive risk for aerospace and defense, key Maryland industries, as well as automotive, medical devices, and more,” according to Mike Kelleher, COO/CFO of Maryland MEP.
3D printing creates three-dimensional objects from a digital design file in an additive process. InfraTrac’s IP protection system infuses a unique chemical fingerprint into one of the additive layers laid down during the manufacturing process. This indelible chemical taggant produces a tamper-proof signature which can be used to authenticate the 3D printed product at any point in the supply chain with a handheld spectrometer.
About InfraTrac
InfraTrac protects products, using a set of chemical signatures that are cost-effective and easy both to manufacture and detect — but very difficult to spoof. From 3D printing to substances and packaging, their patented technology protects against fakes and mistakes. To learn more go to.
About Maryland MEP
The Maryland MEP (MD MEP) is a non-profit organization focused on growing and strengthening manufacturers and manufacturing throughout the State of Maryland. Committed to the success of the manufacturing industry, the Maryland MEP services and programs are delivered in partnership with the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland (RMI) and the Maryland World Class Consortia (MWCC). Together, the team of MD MEP, RMI and MWCC can leverage the experience, expertise and resources of their partnership to grow, advocate and advance manufacturing in the State of Maryland.
Featured image: America Makes
