ASTM & AMERICA MAKES release AM data management guide
Standards organization ASTM International collaborated with America Makes to compile a strategic guide for additive manufacturing data management, which was recently released under the name “Strategic Guide for Additive Manufacturing Data Management and Schema“ . The guide identifies gaps, challenges, solutions and action plans related to data management and use in additive manufacturing. The content for the guide derives mainly from the workshop on AM data management that was jointly organized by ASTM International and America Makes.
ASTM International is an organization that develops technical standards for a remarkable range of systems, services, materials, and products. The organization has a wide international cooperation network with more than 140 participating countries and 6 offices worldwide. It has various committees and subcommittees that address specific segments, for example, Committee F42, which is comprised of more than 700 experts, is responsible for additive manufacturing technologies. ASTM recognizes the significance of 3D printing and the impacts of its adoption in various industries; therefore, the organization launched a Center of Excellence (CoE) in August of 2018 in order to further advance the current state of AM.
credits: ASTM International
On the other hand, there is America Makes, who also contributed to the development of the guide. The organization was established in 2012 and is based in Ohio, USA. America Makes acts as the national accelerator for additive manufacturing and 3D printing. It is the leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research and innovation in the country. In December 2019, America Makes and ASTM International hosted a workshop on data management in the field of 3D printing, which took place in Washington DC area. The ideas and the content generated during the workshop resulted in the creation of the strategic guide.
The Role of Data Management in AM
The recent developments in digital data acquisition, analysis, and artificial intelligence could rather quickly accelerate the additive manufacturing development timeline. Yet, the present gaps in the additive manufacturing data ecosystem hinder this acceleration. Mohsen Seifi, Ph.D is ASTM International’s director of global AM programs, according to him, “A key and large gap in the development of an AM data ecosystem is how to easily and securely generate, store, analyze, and share critical and vital data. A sub-gap is the consistency of the data that is gathered across multiple groups.” Hence, the release of the guide. Its aim is to plug in those gaps by providing solutions, and potentially, action plans. It can be used by all stakeholders who are willing to contribute to the standardization.
Brandon Ribic, who is the Technology Director of America Makes, says, “The guide highlights the importance of data management and data principles which will benefit the broader AM supply chain, and will serve as a resource to strengthen collaboration and ease the challenges common to AM data sharing.”
The workshop inspired not only the release of the guide, but also the creation of a new subcommittee on data (F42.08) within the existing F42 additive manufacturing technologies committee. This new subcommittee will develop and perform the mapping of the value-chain in order to identify the needs, processes, opportunities, and dependencies necessary to provide a full understanding of the digital thread. One of the initial projects that subcommittee is currently working on is the standardization of additive manufacturing common data dictionary (CDD).
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