Category Archives: standards

Standards in Additive Manufacturing (AM)

Introduction

As additive manufacturing moves towards production, the need for standards covering all aspects of AM technology becomes a must. Standards cover many aspects such as process, feedstock, file structure, part quality, yield, and more. More than half a dozen standard agencies define AM standards for various industries such as ASTM (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials), ANSI (American national standards institute) ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), CEN (European Committee for Standardization)  NASA and more.  In this study, we will not be defining standards, but utilize existing standards and methods to gauge machine and part quality in AM,  providing you also with the tools to extract the performance limits of your SLS/SLM 3D printer.  Specifically,  we’ll be focusing on the dimensional and microstructural integrity of an AM part. Choosing the international tolerance ISO-286 for dimensional tolerances, defined by the ISO as Geometrical Product Specifications – GPS. ISO-286 is a broader standard covering also subtractive manufacturing (SM) and tooling. Therefore, a good standard for comparison to other technologies. For structural integrity, we’ll analyze the bond consistency of the material and deploy our own analysis tool.

How AM compares to other industries Table 1 demonstrates how standards apply for the consumer to gauge product performance. This leaves us with an obvious question: would you buy a Tesla knowing that the range is 50 miles per charge?

Product	Cost	Blue sky Standard	Performance/Standard	Standard code
Tesla car	50,000 USD	2000 miles per charge	350 miles per charge	EPA
CNC machine	25,000 USD	±10 micrometers	±20 - ±40 micrometers	International Tolerance under ISO 286
SLM 3D printer	50,000 - 1,000,000 USD	±10 micrometers	No standards are published	International Tolerance under ISO 286

Table 1 We’ll be introducing standards in AM with regard to print accuracy and Microstructural Integrity (MI).  For AM to migrate to manufacturing, performance needs to be clearly stated. By the end of this study, you will have the tools to gauge how your printer performs vs. subtractive manufacturing such (SM) as CNC, milling technologies and most importantly vs. other printers. The study is broken into six chapters.