“The idea is that I’m going to stock those parts digitally and turn them into physical goods when I need them,” said George Small, Moog’s chief technology officer. “It is, in the end, just trying to identify what all the inefficiencies are in the existing supply chains and then offer opportunities for improvement,” he added.
Moog, which has about 13,000 employees and recorded revenue of $2.9 billion in the year ended in September, tested the combination of blockchain and 3-D printing earlier this year, allowing an airline to order a part for a plane while it was in the air and have the part installed when it landed.
In the test, Air New Zealand Ltd. used Moog’s blockchain system, VeriPart, to order a replacement protective part for an in-seat screen for a Boeing 777-300 as it was en route from Auckland to Los Angeles. Using the blockchain process, a maintenance team in New Zealand ordered a digital file containing the part design from Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., a Singapore-based company that provides airline-repair services.
See the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/blockchain-3-d-printing-combine-to-make-aircraft-parts-11574809371