New tech tracks the “fingerprints” of 3D printed guns

Published November 29, 2018 This content is archived.

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An article on R&D Magazine interviews Wenyao Xu, associate professor of computer science and engineering, about 3D printed firearms and research he and colleagues are conducting to “fingerprint” the specific printer that a 3D-printed item originated from, enabling law enforcement agencies to track the origin of 3D-printed guns, counterfeit products and other goods.

“We thought all 3D printers are uniform, but we identified that there is a unique signature on each product,” he said. “As technology evolves, the impact of our work is to let people know there is a fingerprint of a 3D printer.”

Read the story here.