3D printing material and process properties standards effort
1 min read
America's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded two grants aimed at improving standards for material property/machine process analysis in additive manufacturing.
While 3D printing has been lauded for its ability to create short-run parts and rapidly develop functional prototypes, the industry lacks many standards that are required by high-value product manufacturers.
To help solve this problem, the NIST is investing in the development of methods to standardise 3D printing material properties and machine performance ratings.
The first grant, which totals $5 million, was awarded to the US' National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) and will aid the organisation's research towards creating a certification standard that can be used in the production of high-value 3D printed designs.
With the remaining $2.4 million of this funding round, the NIST chose to fund research at Northern Illinois University, where engineers will develop tools to analyse the quality of 3D printed parts.
According to NIST director Patrick Gallagher: "Improving additive manufacturing is an important part of the [government's] efforts to help US manufacturers by supporting new opportunities to innovate."
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