Subject-Matter Experts Invited to Sign Up for Working Groups

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On September 7, America Makes and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) held a kick-off meeting in Philadelphia to launch phase 2 of the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC). The meeting drew 86 attendees with another 56 participating remotely. As the group is working to expand its reach, the agenda included breakout discussions with stakeholders from the following industry-sectors: aerospace/defense, medical, ground vehicle/heavy equipment, energy, and industrial & commercial machinery.

The AMSC is planning to issue by June 2018 an update to its Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing, which describes published and in-development standards and specifications for additive manufacturing and makes consensus-based recommendations to address perceived gaps in standardization. To do so, the AMSC will retain its existing working groups evaluating the need for standards across the life cycle of an additively manufactured part. These working groups cover horizontal topics that are applicable to all industry sectors in the areas of design, precursor materials, process control, post-processing, finished material properties, qualification and certification, nondestructive evaluation, and maintenance. The updated document will include progress reports on gaps previously described along with any new gaps that are identified.

A significant addition to enhancing the roadmap's value will be the establishment of a new polymers working group, which will endeavor to augment the roadmap's predominant focus on metals by considering standardization needs related to polymers for all horizontal topics across the working groups.

Subject-matter experts interested in participating in one or more of the working groups are invited to review the working group architecture, and return the sign-up sheet. It is envisioned that initially the working groups will hold virtual (online) meetings every two weeks. First meetings will take place in October. Participation in the AMSC is open to additive manufacturing stakeholders that have operations in the United States.

Jim Williams, president, All Points Additive, and chair of the AMSC, said: "We were pleased with the enthusiastic participation at the recent meeting in Philadelphia and we look forward to continuing that momentum by bringing new perspectives and expertise into the mix as we work to enhance the document's value."

Further details are available on the AMSC website.

About America Makes
America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes is the nation's leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM and 3DP to increase our nation's global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first institute for up to 45 manufacturing innovation institutes to follow and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit http://americamakes.us.

About NCDMM
The NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at ncdmm.org.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.