America Makes and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) today presented their Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0) in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Formnext Conference, one of the industry's premier events. Developed by the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC) – with contributions from some 320 individuals from 175 public- and private-sector organizations – the roadmap is an effort to coordinate and accelerate the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications.
Of the opportunity to participate in Formnext, America Makes Executive Director Rob Gorham said, "America Makes is about promoting U.S. manufacturing competitiveness wherever you are in the world. We are pleased to be part of this international exchange with colleagues in the industry and present our work with ANSI and America Makes members to develop our Standardization Roadmap for AM to the internationally AM community."
The Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing Standards Forum at Formnext was organized by the U.S. Commercial Service in Dusseldorf, Germany.
"ANSI's mission is to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life through standards and conformity assessment," said ANSI President and CEO S. Joe Bhatia. "We thank the U.S. Commercial Service for this opportunity to showcase the work that ANSI has done in partnership with America Makes to advance the additive manufacturing industry."
John McCaslin, minister counselor for commercial affairs and regional senior commercial officer, U.S. Commercial Service, provided opening remarks. The event brought together leading experts from industry, research institutions, standards developing organizations, professional societies, and government to address key themes focused on standards development in AM/3D printing technologies. This included progress on international standards development for AM and how the use of these standards can help the industry achieve its potential.
Speaking on behalf of the AMSC was Jim McCabe, ANSI senior director of standards facilitation. Mr. McCabe explained to audience members that the AMSC roadmap describes the current and desired future AM standardization landscape. This includes published standards, those being developed, and those that are needed. The document identifies 93 "gaps" where no published standard or specification currently exists to address a particular industry need. Mr. McCabe noted that many of these gaps also require additional pre-standardization research and development (R&D).
Other speakers from the U.S. included: Kevin Jurrens, deputy chief, Intelligent Systems Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Pat Picariello, director, developmental operations, ASTM International; Laura Gilmour, global medical business development manager, EOS North America; and Donald Godfrey, engineering fellow, additive manufacturing, Honeywell Aerospace. Terry Wohlers, president, Wohlers Associates, Inc., moderated the forum.
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