Distributed ledger for additive manufacturing in value chain networks

1 . An information technology system for a distributed manufacturing network, the information technology system comprising:

a smart contract system;

an additive manufacturing management platform including an artificial intelligence system configured to:

learn on a training set of outcomes, parameters, and data collected from a set of distributed manufacturing network entities, wherein the set of distributed manufacturing network entities includes at least one of: printed parts, products, processes, 3D printers, users, customers, packagers, or manufacturing nodes; and

execute simulations on digital twins of the set of distributed manufacturing network entities to make at least one of: classifications, predictions, or optimization-related decisions for the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the learned training set; and

a distributed ledger system integrated with a digital thread and configured to, using a blockchain, provide a set of unified views of workflow information and transaction information to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the executed simulations on the digital twins,

wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on at least one of: a part twin, a product twin, or a printer twin of the digital twins for generating a quote for three-dimensional (3D) printing of an item relating to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities,

wherein the smart contract system is configured to generate a smart contract based, at least partially, on the quote, and

wherein the distributed ledger system is configured to provide at least one of the set of unified views of the transaction information including the generated smart contract with respect to the item.

2 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, or the printer twin of the digital twins for generating recommendations related to printing to a user of the additive manufacturing management platform.

3 . The information technology system of claim 2 , wherein the recommendations relate to at least one of: a choice of a material for printing or a 3D printing technique.

4 . The information technology system of claim 2 , wherein the recommendations relate to at least one of: a choice of a manufacturing node, a source of manufacturing, a location of manufacturing, timing of scheduling of an additive manufacturing job, a step of the additive manufacturing job, or parameters for design of a printed part.

5 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, or the printer twin of the digital twins for predicting delivery times for 3D printing jobs.

6 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins for predicting cost over-runs in a manufacturing process performed by the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

7 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins for optimizing production sequencing of at least one of: parts or products based, at least partially, on at least one of one of: quoted price, delivery, sale margin, or order size.

8 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins for optimizing manufacturing cycle time.

9 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, a customer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins to predict and manage product demand from one or more customers.

10 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, a supplier twin, a customer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins to predict and manage supply from the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

11 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the at least one of: the part twin, the product twin, the printer twin, a supplier twin, a customer twin, or a manufacturing node twin of the digital twins to optimize production capacity for the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

12 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the set of distributed manufacturing network entities includes at least one of: an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, a Manufacturing Execution system (MES), a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, a maintenance management system (MMS), a Quality Management system (QMS), a certification system, a compliance system, a Robot/Cobot system, or an SCCG system.

13 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the distributed ledger system includes a decentralized application that is downloadable by the set of distributed manufacturing network entities and that relates to the workflow information and the transaction information.

14 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the distributed ledger system includes a user interface configured to provide the set of unified views to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

15 . The information technology system of claim 1 , wherein the distributed ledger system includes a system configured to capture end-to-end traceability of a part produced by the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

16 . A computer-implemented method for a distributed manufacturing network, the method comprising:

learning on a training set of outcomes, parameters, and data collected from a set of distributed manufacturing network entities;

executing simulations on digital twins of the set of distributed manufacturing network entities to make at least one of: classifications, predictions, or optimization-related decisions for the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the learned training set, wherein the executing simulations includes executing the simulations on at least one of: a part twin, a product twin, or a printer twin of the digital twins for generating a quote for three-dimensional (3D) printing of an item relating to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities;

using a blockchain to provide a set of unified views of workflow information and transaction information to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the executed simulations on the digital twins;

generating a smart contract based, at least partially, on the quote; and

using the blockchain to provide at least one of the set of unified views of transaction information including the generated smart contract with respect to the item.

17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 16 , further including executing simulations on at least one manufacturing node twin of the digital twins for predicting cost over-runs in a manufacturing process performed by the set of distributed manufacturing network entities.

18 . The computer-implemented method of claim 16 , further including executing simulations on at least one manufacturing node twin of the digital twins for optimizing production sequencing of at least one of: parts or products based, at least partially, on at least one of one of: quoted price, delivery, sale margin, or order size.

19 . An information technology system for a distributed manufacturing network, the information technology system comprising:

a smart contract system;

an additive manufacturing management platform including an artificial intelligence system configured to:

learn on a training set of outcomes, parameters, and data collected from a set of distributed manufacturing network entities; and

execute simulations on digital twins of the set of distributed manufacturing network entities to make at least one of: classifications, predictions, or optimization-related decisions for the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the learned training set; and

a distributed ledger system integrated with a digital thread and configured to, using a blockchain, provide a set of unified views of workflow information and transaction information to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities based, at least partially, on the executed simulations on the digital twins,

wherein the artificial intelligence system further executes the simulations digital twins of the set of distributed manufacturing network entities for generating a quote for three-dimensional (3D) printing of an item relating to the set of distributed manufacturing network entities,

wherein the smart contract system is configured to generate a smart contract based, at least partially, on the quote, and

wherein the distributed ledger system is configured to provide at least one of the set of unified views of transaction information including the generated smart contract with respect to the item.

20 . The information technology system of claim 19 , wherein the artificial intelligence system executes the simulations on the digital twins to predict business outcomes by analyzing relationships between manufacturing parameters and market indicators in the training set, wherein the business outcomes include at least one of: cost variations, product demand trends, or production efficiency metrics.

21 . The information technology system of claim 19 , wherein the distributed ledger system provides network entities with access to manufacturing verification data through a decentralized interface, wherein the verification data includes at least one of: production history, quality metrics, or compliance records.