{"id":3740,"date":"2016-02-01T11:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T16:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=3740"},"modified":"2018-07-24T14:41:04","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T20:41:04","slug":"pe-additive-manufacturing-tackling-standards-certification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/3740\/pe-additive-manufacturing-tackling-standards-certification\/","title":{"rendered":"Additive manufacturing tackling standards & certification"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lack of global product standards and certification, as well as insufficient process knowledge and operator training by users, threaten to hinder some aspects of the fast-growing additive manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n

Commonly called 3-D printing<\/a>, additive manufacturing dates back to the 1980s, when it was used almost exclusively for rapid prototyping. But over the past several years, it has exploded into a $4 billion-plus annual global business. It also continues to gain currency as a direct-manufacturing process that allows companies and individuals to generate plastic, metal and ceramic parts without the need for expensive tooling.<\/p>\n

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\"3D_Printing_logo_Header400\"But additive<\/a> manufacturing \u2013 while continuing to make strides related to process speeds and to compatible material options \u2013 still faces hurdles when it comes to broader application. Despite its multi-decade history, AM still in many ways is an emerging technology suffering from typical growing pains.<\/p>\n

As a result, many manufacturers do not yet possess a good understanding of how best to effectively design parts for the process, or how even to integrate it into their traditional manufacturing models. The lack of international product standards and process certifications also pose potential challenges to wider-spread adoption, especially for direct-manufactured commercial parts.<\/p>\n

That said, efforts are afoot on several levels to address these issues. Helping to lead the charge are UL LLC, the 122-year-old, global safety consulting and certification company based in Northbrook, Ill. (and parent of UL Prospector), and ASTM International, the 118-year-old standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and services.<\/p>\n

In a mid-December phone interview, Chris Krampitz, director of strategy and innovation for UL\u2019s additive manufacturing technologies, said, \u201cOur goal is to foster and promote the safe manufacture of safe products. There\u2019s a lot of awareness building, a lot of work to be done in the safety of the operations [of AM], as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry does have a big hill to climb,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause I don\u2019t see a lot of companies lining up to build the infrastructure that\u2019s needed to support this industry. We need more companies stepping into that \u2013 the safety and quality infrastructure, the supply-chain maturity.\u201d<\/p>\n

AM is not plug-and-play technology<\/h3>\n
\"AM_Machine_Operator\"
A shortage of additive manufacturing machine operators who fully understand the technology is one issue that companies face.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One obstacle today is that, while there are exceptions, many companies continue to apply conventional manufacturing thinking to additive manufacturing. The reason that\u2019s become a problem, Krampitz suggests, is because, unlike with the long-established, traditional processes, there remains a lack of understanding about all aspects of AM. But it\u2019s not a simple, plug-and-play technology option that can effortlessly be integrated on the factory floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen many manufacturers realize that it\u2019s not quite that easy. This technology requires a lot of process validation and qualifications, before you even start producing parts.\u201d This is in addition to issues such as supply-chain quality management and operator qualification.<\/p>\n

While most 3-D printing machines are being run today by engineers with bachelor\u2019s degrees or even Ph.D.\u2019s, there remains a shortage of operators who fully understand the technology. \u201cTo support the levels of additive manufacturing that we want in the future,\u201d Krampitz notes, \u201cwe need a workforce that is less expensive and more production-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some industry segments don\u2019t yet realize they need this sort of training for their AM operations, others do get it. Some of the players who\u2019ve been using this technology for some time, such as many of the aerospace companies, acknowledge that they need to develop their workforce. But to date, Krampitz says, apart from the occasional, one-off training courses, there has been a distinct lack of any appropriate operator certification programs.<\/p>\n

The challenges of regulatory compliance<\/h3>\n

Many current AM machine operators came from the prototyping industry, and they simply had no need previously to fully understand the regulatory compliance issues of making commercial parts for such industries as aerospace, medical device, automotive and the like. Users of 3-D technology need to understand not just manufacturing, but also the relevant design factors that affect compliance.<\/p>\n

For example, you would want at the design stage to specify the orientation of the part during the build process, since that can impact the final part\u2019s performance. It\u2019s also important when making polymeric parts to understand the precision of placement within the bed volume (e.g., for laser sintering), and for metal parts, to know the type of supports you should add.<\/p>\n

\"metl\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital, as well, to specify proper, qualified plastic materials to meet regulatory requirements for specific end uses. A lot of the filament makers don\u2019t even have a firm grasp of this, Krampitz said, which puts a further burden on the AM users to qualify the right materials.<\/p>\n

Safety best practices \u2013 consider risks such as laser exposure, explosion, electrical shock or fire \u2013 also often are not well understand in the AM sector, which will only become more of a factor as the manufacturing base scales up and some users start running dozens or even hundreds of additive machines.<\/p>\n

Confronting \u2018the manufacturers\u2019 dilemma\u2019<\/h3>\n

Certification is key to helping users to build confidence with customers, regulatory bodies and risk management professionals that AM-built parts will consistently perform as claimed. \u201cWe call that the manufacturers dilemma,\u201d Krampitz said, because while companies are seeing the benefits of using 3-D printing, a confidence gap still exists.<\/p>\n

He sees two basic approaches now. Some companies are developing their own internal standards, and trying to leverage third parties to build that confidence. They\u2019re not waiting for other organizations to develop standards or for regulations to be put in place, to set the direction. A lot of manufacturers are aiming to put parts into the market by 2018.<\/p>\n

The other approach is being taken mostly by the government\/military sectors, which tend to move more slowly. They\u2019re still heavily focused on research and development, and are trying to understand the problems. They need to decide what\u2019s good enough, Krampitz suggests, and then move on to other key areas, such as supply chain.<\/p>\n

Meantime, the global landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. Some Asian countries are investing more heavily and moving more aggressively than the U.S. into the more practical aspects of the technology, into making actual parts. And the same is true in Europe, where they are pushing ahead with applying the technology.<\/p>\n

Deciphering the hype from reality<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of hype,\u201d Krampitz acknowledged. \u201cPart of our goal is to help manufacturers understand what are realistic expectations and what are not. We\u2019ve been helping manufacturers to do that, and so when they want to decide that they want to pursue additive manufacturing, they have a clear picture and they\u2019re able to articulate that to their investors or stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

UL is helping to support other standards-development organizations, such as ASTM, the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE), the American Society of Manufacturing Engineers (ASME), with the Standards, Productivity & Innovation Board (SPRING) in Singapore, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan. A key goal is to try to ensure standards are harmonized across the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cASTM and ISO have done a good job of starting that process,\u201d Krampitz said, \u201cbut what we\u2019re seeing is that the standards that they\u2019ve developed are still not meeting the needs of manufacturers. They\u2019re just not detailed enough \u2013 they\u2019re more like guidelines. It\u2019s amazing how much work they\u2019ve done, but the next step is to take those guidelines and turn them into actual standards for vertical industries,\u201d such as aerospace, automotive and medical devices.<\/p>\n

If each major company develops its own internal standards, the result will be a mess of overlapping and sometimes conflicting rules.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/h3>\n

Krampitz says UL believes the aerospace and the medical sectors will continue to lead in the use of this technology. In the U.S., he noted, 85 AM-produced medical devices have been approved, most of them via non-traditional regulatory pathways. Fifteen devices have gone through the 510(k), and it is unclear to what extend 3D printing was used. No 3D printed device has gone through the premarket approval process. He sees that as offering a big opportunity for standardization and to leverage the traditional processes that such companies have not yet used for AM parts.<\/p>\n

In aerospace, about three dozen parts have been submitted already to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for review. \u201cThe concern there,\u201d he said, \u201cis if the FAA is really ready to review those parts?\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the additive manufacturing industry overall, Krampitz added, \u201cWe have a pretty bullish outlook on it.\u201d That\u2019s based on the assumption that the infrastructure \u2013 to include training, safety, quality and certification \u2013 will be in place to support it. \u201cWe see the AM parts-only business by 2023-2024 growing to about $30 billion globally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lack of global product standards and certification, as well as insufficient process knowledge and operator training by users, threaten to hinder some aspects of the fast-growing additive manufacturing sector. Commonly called 3-D printing, additive manufacturing dates back to the … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1244],"class_list":{"0":"post-3740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plastics-2","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nAdditive manufacturing tackling standards & certification - Prospector Knowledge Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/3740\/pe-additive-manufacturing-tackling-standards-certification\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Additive manufacturing tackling standards & certification - Prospector Knowledge Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The lack of global product standards and certification, as well as insufficient process knowledge and operator training by users, threaten to hinder some aspects of the fast-growing additive manufacturing sector. 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He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. 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He has broad global experience and for more than 35 years has worked as a journalist, editor-in-chief, publishing executive and key connector of like-minded parties. He has launched successful publications and C-level events on three continents. While with Crain Communications Inc., he oversaw the relaunch of the 100-year-old European Rubber Journal in London and helped to start Urethanes Technology magazine there. \u00a0In 1988 Bob returned to Akron, Ohio, to serve as founding editor of Plastics News, an award-winning, weekly business newspaper. In 2005 he oversaw the editorial launch of the bilingual (Chinese and English) PN China e-newsletter and website. For more than a decade at PN he also held the titles of associate publisher, editorial director and conference director, and most recently served as business development director. A long-time affiliate member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, Bob has organized numerous design-focused events, earned a Personal Recognition Award from IDSA in 2013, and constantly strives to help bridge the gap between the design and manufacturing communities. In 2014 he left Crain and created RC Grace LLC in Akron, Ohio, as a consultancy that aims to help companies to enhance their branding and market presence, find business partners, connect with design resources (here or in Asia), secure funding and advance their growth initiatives. Email Bob or visit his website at www.rcgrace.com to learn more about how he can help you.","sameAs":["http:\/\/ulprospector.com"],"url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/author\/robert-grace\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1244,"user_id":23,"is_guest":0,"slug":"robert-grace","display_name":"Bob Grace","avatar_url":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2017\/10\/Robert-Grace_avatar_1508791447-96x96.jpg","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3740"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}