America Makes and ANSI Publish Version 2.0 of Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing

NEW YORK, June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America Makes and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) today announced the publication of their Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0). The roadmap is the work product of the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC), a group chartered to coordinate and accelerate the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications. Some 320 individuals from 175 public- and private-sector organizations supported the document's development. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) provided major funding for the initiative.

The new roadmap describes the current AM standardization landscape and identifies 93 "gaps" – 18 of them high priority – where no published standard or specification currently exists to address a particular industry need. In 65 of those gaps, additional pre-standardization research and development (R&D) needs are identified. Updates are provided on progress against gaps identified in the earlier version of the roadmap, with many gaps having been substantially revised.

A number of new gaps also have been described, many involving polymers. The document considers the life cycle of an AM part, from initial design, to materials and process selection, production, post-processing, finished material properties, testing, qualification, and maintenance.

"We are extraordinarily pleased at the AMSC's continued progress to define a coherent set of additive manufacturing standards and specifications that will benefit the industry," said Rob Gorham, executive director of America Makes.

"It's been a privilege to be involved with the committed group of professionals who make up the AMSC and I want to thank all of them who contributed to this undertaking," said AMSC chair Jim Williams, president of All Points Additive.

"Coordination of standards development activity in emerging technology areas is something that ANSI excels at, and we have been very pleased to partner with America Makes to define the standards needed to help grow the additive manufacturing industry," said Joe Bhatia, president and CEO of ANSI.

The roadmap is supplemented by the AMSC Standards Landscape, a listing 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), 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 to increase our nation's global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit AmericaMakes.us.

About NCDMM
NCDMM delivers innovative and collaborative manufacturing solutions that enhance our nation's workforce and economic competitiveness. NCDMM has extensive knowledge and depth in manufacturing areas—both commercial and defense—to continually innovate, improve, and advance manufacturing technologies and methodologies. Our experienced team specializes in identifying the needs, the players, the technologies, and processes to attain optimal solutions for our customers. We connect the dots. That's the NCDMM methodology. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit 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 made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. ANSI represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 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