America Makes Launches Effort to Define Additive Manufacturing Standards and Specifications

America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, announced the creation of the Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC) – an effort to coordinate and accelerate development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications. In partnership with American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the collaborative will work with industry and other key stakeholders to identify existing standards as well as those in development, assess gaps, and make recommendations for areas perceived as needing additional standardization. To participate in the AMSC, email: amsc@ansi.org or sign up for email updates.

In an effort to gain input from stakeholders, the AMSC inaugural meeting will be held from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. on March 31 in Philadelphia, PA. The draft agenda and logistical information are available on the AMSC website. Advance registration for both in-person ($30) and remote participation is required.

To guide AMSC efforts, Penn State researchers recently released an Additive Manufacturing Technology Roadmap to offer a strategy to help accelerate the design and application of AM materials over the next 10 years. Sponsored by America Makes, the roadmap identifies five technical focus areas: design; material; process; value chain; and, AM Genome.  The report also identifies research and development (R&D) activities that could encourage widespread use by AM users during the next 10 years.

To create its roadmap, America Makes held in-person workshops and activities where members, including industry, government, and academia, engaged in a series of activities to generate and categorize industry needs. These working teams documented hundreds of needs statements and identified affinities for the AM industry. America Makes members have access to a more detailed version of the report that is available to the public.

In Partnership with InnoCentive Inc., America Makes also recently announced a pilot series of three challenges called Innovation Sprints that are intended to further R&D in key areas in support of the America Makes’ technology roadmap and the advancement of the additive manufacturing AM and 3D printing (3DP) industries. America Makes will award each Innovation Sprint winner with a silver-level America Makes membership for one year. Learn more: https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933781.