Researchers from the University at Buffalo say that 3D-printed guns, counterfeit products, and other goods can be traced with a development called “PrinTracker,” which leverages the fact that 3D-printed objects contain tiny, differentiating wrinkles that can be used for fingerprinting purposes. Slight imperfections in the patterns result in “an object that does not match its design plan.”



For example, the printer is ordered to create an object with half-millimeter in-fill patterns. But the actual object has patterns that vary 5 to 10 percent from the design plan. Like a fingerprint to a person, these patterns are unique and repeatable. As a result, they can be traced back to the 3D printer.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – 3D Printers Have “Fingerprints,” a Discovery That Could Help Trace 3D-Printed Guns