Recently, global standards leader ASTM International formally announced a new strategic partner for its Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) in Singapore has been named the second such partner of the initiative outside its founding members: EWI, Auburn University, NASA and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC).

Additionally, from Tuesday November 6 through Thursday November 8, 2018, ASTM International will be holding a symposium on structural integrity of AM parts sponsored by its longstanding F42 Additive Manufacturing Technologies Committee.

Speaking with Dr. Mohsen Seifi, director of global additive manufacturing programs at ASTM International, 3D Printing Industry was given a progress report on the recently-founded Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, and details of what to expect next from the leading standards body.

A year of the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence

ASTM International first announced plans for the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in November 2017. Following this, after months of searching, the organization announced its four founding partners in March 2018, and launched the multi-site center in Alabama at Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Speaking at that time Katharine Morgan, president of ASTM International, said, “This game-changing collaboration will build a strong foundation for the future of additive manufacturing,”

“[…] It’s clear that this new center has the potential to shape the future of industries like aerospace, auto, medical, and more.”

Now, almost a year on from its establishment, Dr. Seifi comments, “We’ve had an extremely successful launch year. After a very competitive process, we announced four founding partners (Auburn University, NASA, EWI, and the UK-based Manufacturing Technology Centre) as well as a new strategic partner (the National Institute for Aviation Research) and now NAMIC.“

Furthermore, “Just last month, we announced the first round of funded projects totaling about $300,000.”

As previously reported, ASTM International’s $300,000 offering funds the development of standards for feedstock-characterization; requirements to help qualify laser-PBF machines and processes; a surface finishing study; and mechanical testing issues of metals and polymers.

NAMIC joins ASTM International

By strategically partnering with the Center of Excellence, NAMIC will manage all upcoming R&D activities for additive manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific region. Within the first two years of its integration with the center, NAMIC also expects to contribute S$2 million (the equivalent of almost $1.5 million USD) to the program.

According to Dr. Ho Chaw Sing, NAMIC Managing Director, “We look forward to catalyzing crucial research that helps establish technical standards, guiding additive manufacturing into the future for Singapore, Asia, and the entire world,”

“Our investment into the center’s regional-based activities will support implementation of additive manufacturing technologies globally.”

Symposium on Structural Integrity of Parts

Located this year at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. the Symposium on Structural Integrity of AM Parts will bring together all Center of Excellence members, technical scholars and regulatory agencies from across the industry.

Dr. Seifi says, “Attendees will be able to understand where we are today with respect to gaps, challenges, and opportunities in the standardization world […] Overall, the symposium will continue to be a go-to event for people involved in the field to really understand nuances within this technology and ways to participate in standardization activities.”

The event will feature, among others, speakers from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and NASA.

“The symposium is one of our main mechanisms to increase awareness around various ASTM International technical committees: additive manufacturing technologies (F42), fatigue and fracture (E08), and nondestructive testing (E07),” continues Dr. Seifi, “In addition, this symposium connects the R&D community with the standardization community and plays a major role in creating an atmosphere of dialogue to discuss priority standardization issues that require R&D.”

Learn more about ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence and register for the Symposium here.

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Featured image shows machining 3D printed parts in the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence. Photo via ASTM International