ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) has introduced a new manufacturer certification program to improve the additive manufacturing supply chain.
Announced ahead of ASTM’s role as Knowledge Partner and Platinum Sponsor of TCT 3Sixty, the program will look to enhance quality assurance, regulatory compliance and process control.
In the development of this program, ASTM has aligned with more than 25 end users. The likes of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Safran, Ford Motor Company, Stryker and General Motors are all contributing to the AM CoE’s Additive Manufacturing Certification Committee (AMCC) as they seek to validate AM-specific activities that general quality management system (QMS) standards do not. ASTM and its collaborators acknowledge that QMS standards like ISO-9001 and AS9100 have proved critical to assuring manufacturing quality, but believe standards that are better tuned to specific needs of additive manufacturing are needed.
Building on historic standards, the new additive manufacturing certification program is working to certify processes, materials and risks that are considered unique to additive manufacturing operations. They will define shared expectations for manufacturer quality in additive manufacturing and create a certification framework that is ‘technically rigorous and practical.’ To ensure relevance across all sectors, the audit criteria is tailored with OEM-specific requirements and built on top of internationally recognised standards, with ASTM listing ISO/ASTM 52901, ISO/ASTM 52904, and ISO/ASTM 52920 in a press release.
Through this new certification offering, ASTM International and the AMCC are hoping to save manufacturers time and money by reducing ‘redundant audits’, facilitating compliance by improving transparency between OEMs and suppliers, and accelerating time-to-market.
“By aligning end-user requirements and providing third-party assurance, this initiative helps unlock the full potential of AM in high-performance applications,” said Dr Martin White, Director of Technical Operations for ASTM International. “This program closes a critical gap in qualifying manufacturers that need to meet industry and regulatory demands.”
As the ASTM AM CoE has sought to validate the audit criteria and certification approach, it has conducted pilot audits with AM Craft, OECHSLER and KSB, with each engagement demonstrating the program’s adaptability across different technologies, materials and operating environments.
“This was a truly positive and valuable opportunity for us,” said Stephen Braun, Specialist Engineer Additive Manufacturing at KSB. “We discovered areas for improvement to stay ahead and remain best-in-class. I would even dare to call this audit an enjoyable experience.”
“The audit was thorough, but also collaborative and insightful,” added Andreas Knoechel, Head of Program Management at OECHSLER. “It gave us a clear understanding of how our practices align with evolving expectations – and where we can improve further.”
The AM certification program joins the family of ASTM AM CoE certification programs that include AMQ (ISO/ASTM 52920), for additively manufactured parts (ISO/ASTM 52901) and metal PBF-LB processes (ISO/ASTM 52904), as well as AM facility safety certification (ISO/ASTM 52931), and numerous personnel certifications (e.g., ISO/ASTM 52942, ISO/ASTM 52926), among others.
ASTM International will be exhibiting at TCT 3Sixty this week from Booth D40. It will also have a presence at the TCT UK AM User Group on June 3 and the TCT Awards ceremony on June 4.
