According to a new NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) report, blockchain—the underlying security system used in bitcoin and other digital currencies—is being used to provide not only tamper-resistant transmission of manufacturing data for making machine parts, but also perfect traceability of that data to all participants in the production process.
Protecting the intellectual property of machine part design as it travels among participants in an additive manufacturing process could have extensibility into food and beverage in two ways beyond the tracking and tracing of food products from supplier to final point of sale.