One factor that has complicated the growth of additive manufacturing is the language describing it.  As each vendor in this important field introduced new technology, they often coined a proprietary phrase for it, a phrase that would be carefully avoided by other vendors  for years.  So prospective users, like you and me, might be confused by proliferation of terms for processes.

Fret no more.  The first industry standards covering the language of additive manufacturing processes have been approved and released by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The discipline – variously known as rapid technology, rapid prototyping, and layered manufacturing, now has a universal name and language, thanks to a collaboration between ASTM Int’l and Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

“Rapid prototyping has meant different things to different manufacturers. It means quick prototyping to one and layered manufacturing to another. Now it’s called additive manufacturing,” explains Brent Stucker, PhD, a member of SME’s Rapid Technologies and Additive Manufacturing (RTAM) Community and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Utah State University.

In an effort to eliminate the confusion over terminology, design, testing methods, materials and processing differences, SME’s RTAM community approached ASTM to develop the industry’s first-ever standards.

ASTM, in turn, formed the Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing, including members of the RTAM community, to write new standards. The initial result is the publication, “Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies,” now available for purchase online. Prior to this publication, the lack of consensus within the additive manufacturing community often boiled down to something as basic as the name of the industry itself.

Stucker, who is also the chairman of Committee F42 says that terminology standards “will help clarify communications” especially in industries like medical manufacturing and aerospace where consistency is a must.

And according to ASTM, these new standards will “allow manufacturers to compare and contrast the performance of different additive processes” and “enable researchers and process developers to provide repeatable results.”

In addition to terminology, Committee F42 will also develop other key industry standards. “Test methods will more than likely be our next effort, but additive manufacturing industry design, materials, and processes are also in the works and will be developed in parallel,” says Stucker. He also adds that ASTM’s Committee F42 is looking for additional members to help draft these standards. “We’re happy to draw expertise from anywhere in the world,” he says.

For more information about participating in RTAM, visit www.sme.org/rtam. Or for more information about the Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing, contact Pat Picariello at ppicarie@astm.org or at 610.832.9720.

To access the complete standard, click http://www.astm.org/Standards/F2792.htm

ASTM International
www.astm.org

Society of Manufacturing Engineers
www.sme.org/rtam

MPF