ASTM International’s F42 additive manufacturing technologies committee (F42) has approved a new standard that aims to assist all who use AM in a business-case capacity, whether it be a manufacturer, a consumer, or an agency.
According to ASTM member Paul W. Witherell, the new standard (soon to be published as F3774) provides a resource that can be used to develop procedures for the procurement and delivery of an AM part (across a supply chain). The standard provides a "digital thread" for reference by the AM community. People who want to have a part created with AM, but do not have an exact idea of what information needs to be specified for its manufacture or its validation, will find the standard most useful.
“The standard will provide reference information that is relevant to the design, manufacture, and inspection of an AM part,” said Witherell, a mechanical engineer at NIST. “The standard will help users identify sets of information that are most relevant to best fit their needs and tailor data package requirements to this information.”
Witherell adds that the standard is meant to support the communication of AM parts for various stakeholders under different conditions and therefore, is presented modularly. Different aspects of the standard can be adopted without having to adopt it in its entirety.
Last month, ASTM announced it is developing standard to detect and classify contamination in metal additive manufacturing powders, and earlier this year, the company launched a new manufacturer certification program for additive manufacturing.
