Commerce Department suspends export privileges of N.C. 3D printing companies for sending blueprints to China

On June 8, the U.S. Department of Commerce suspended the export privileges of three Wilmington, N.C., businesses for sending to China unauthorized technical drawings and blueprints used to 3D-print satellite, rocket, and defense-related prototypes.

The department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued the 180-day temporary denial order (TDO) to Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc., Rapid Cut LLC, and U.S. Prototype Inc. The TDO bans the companies from participating in any transactions subject to the Export Administration Regulations, including exports from the U.S. and re-exports from other countries.

The TDO states that the three companies, which share a rental mailbox, received export-controlled drawings from their domestic customers to 3D-print certain devices. Then, without their customers’ advance consent or knowledge or the required U.S. government authorizations, the companies sent the drawings to manufacturers in China. The devices, printed in China, were then imported into the U.S. to be shipped to the North Carolina companies’ customers.

The information sent to China included sensitive prototype space and defense technologies, according to the Bureau of Industry and Security.

“Outsourcing 3D printing of space and defense prototypes to China harms U.S. national security,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “By sending their customers’ technical drawings and blueprints to China, these companies may have saved a few bucks, but they did so at the collective expense of protecting U.S. military technology.”