Embedding anti-counterfeiting features in metallic components via multiple material additive manufacturing

The aerospace, automotive and medical industries are suffering from significant number of counterfeited metallic products that not only have caused financial losses but also endanger lives. The rapid development of additive manufacturing technologies makes such a situation even worse. In this investigation, we successfully applied a novel hybrid powder delivery selective laser melting (SLM) approach to embed dissimilar tagging material (Cu10Sn copper alloy) safety features (e.g. QR code) into metallic components made of 316 L stainless steel. X-ray imaging was found to be a suitable method for the identification of the embedded safety features up to 15 mm in depth. X-ray fluorescence was used for the chemical composition identification of the imbedded security tagging material. A criterion for the selection of tagging material, its dimensions and imbedding depth is proposed. The multiple material SLM technology was shown to offer the potential to be integrated into metallic component production for embedding anti-counterfeiting features.