New roadmap describes current AM standardisation landscape and identifies 93 "gaps".
America Makes and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have announced the publication of the Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0), a product of the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC).
The group was established to coordinate and accelerate the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications. The development received major funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and was supported by 320 individuals from 175 public- and private-sector organisations.
An update on the first roadmap outlined last year, Version 2.0 pinpoints 93 "gaps" where no published standard or specification currently exists to address a particular industry need and also shows where previously identified gaps have progressed. A total of 18 gaps were described as "high priority" and in 65 gaps, additional pre-standardisation R&D needs were identified. 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.
"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.
