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Formnext 2021 Standards Forum
The need for global standardisation: Takeaways from the Standards Forum at Formnext 2021 As metal Additive Manufacturing progresses toward more widespread industry penetration, the need for globally recognised and agreed upon standards increases. The day before Formnext 2021, key standards organisations and a cross-section of the Additive Manufacturing community attended the annual Standards Forum at Formnext. The forum's programme illustrated the industry's awareness of the need for standardisation and highlighted some of the challenges faced. Noah Mostow reports on the discussion on behalf of Metal AM magazine.
In a fast-paced industry like Additive Manufacturing, standards can sometimes be overlooked – but this is quite possibly the most important development for AM to reach widespread adoption. Standards establish a threshold for minimum requirements and provide guidelines for the effective and successful implementation of technologies. Perhaps most importantly, they create opportunities for economic growth by helping to open trade in regions of the world that choose to embrace them. On November 15, 2021, industry experts gathered for the Standards Forum at Formnext 2021 in Frankfurt, Germany. Organised by the US Commercial Service, part of the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, ASTM International, and ISO. The forum was held one day before the official launch of Formnext, and focused on the adoption of AM through standardisation. Key takeaways from the event are that standards:
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• Facilitate industry adoption by building trust and confidence • Provide AM guidelines to organisations in compliance with regulatory agencies • Develop a baseline for product performance
It may be surprising to some that only about 5% of forum attendees were from standards development organisations (SDOs). In fact, as many as 120 attendees came from eightyeight organisations in aerospace, electronics, energy, and medical, and many other sectors partici-
Fig. 1 Members of eighty-eight organisations gathered to discuss the adoption of AM through standardisation at the Standards Forum at Formnext 2021
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