America Makes and ANSI Publish Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (America Makes), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced today the publication of a Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 1.0). The roadmap's publication represents the culmination of a year's work by the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC), a group specifically established to coordinate and accelerate the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing standards and specifications. Federal agencies, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and others, as well as several standards development organizations (SDOs), were instrumental in the formation of this collaborative. More than 260 individuals from over 150 public- and private-sector organizations actively supported the document's development with substantial representation from the aerospace, defense, and medical industries.

The roadmap provides a snapshot of the current additive manufacturing standards landscape and identifies 89 "gaps" – 19 of them high priority – where no published standard or specification currently exists to address a particular industry need. In 58 of those cases, additional research and development (R&D) needs are identified. The document lists relevant standards or standards under development that relate to the issues discussed and includes recommendations for priority areas where there is a perceived need for additional standardization activity. Topical areas include standards for design, process and materials (subdivided into precursor materials, process control, post-processing, and finished material properties), qualification and certification, nondestructive evaluation, and maintenance.

The AMSC was launched in March 2016 because a number of standards developing organizations are engaged in standards-setting for various aspects of additive manufacturing, prompting the need for coordination to maintain a consistent, harmonized, and non-contradictory set of additive manufacturing standards. The AMSC itself does not write standards.

"The publication of the AMSC roadmap represents a significant milestone for the additive manufacturing community, one that will help to advance the growth of the industry," said Ed Morris, vice president and director of America Makes. "We thank all of the participating organizations and volunteers for their commitment of time and energy throughout this process."

"We now need the industry and the standards developing organizations involved in this space to come together, adopt the recommendations set forth in the roadmap, and work to achieve a coherent and coordinated suite of standards and specifications for additive manufacturing. America Makes and ANSI plan to continue to further this dialogue," said AMSC Chair Jim Williams, president of All Points Additive.

"ANSI appreciates this opportunity to partner with America Makes and to lend our expertise as coordinator of the U.S. private-sector system of voluntary standardization," said Joe Bhatia, president and CEO of ANSI. "Standards and conformity assessment are needed to create trust in innovative technologies and foster their widespread acceptance."

The roadmap is supplemented by the AMSC Standards Landscape, a list of standards that are directly or peripherally related to the issues described in the roadmap. Both documents and additional information are available on the AMSC website at www.ansi.org/amsc.

About America Makes
America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes is the nation's leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM and 3DP to increase our nation's global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first of fourteen Manufacturing USA national manufacturing innovation institutes and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit http://americamakes.us.

About NCDMM
The NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be-developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at ncdmm.org.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute

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