CECIMO works with ISO to establish market-driven standards for industrial AM
CECIMO's overall goal is to support the proliferation of additive manufacturing on an industrial scale
CECIMO, the European Association representing the Machine Tool Industries, is aiming to bolster the adoption and proliferation of additive manufacturing at an industrial level through a new agreement with the ISO Technical Committee on Additive Manufacturing. The agreement is specifically focused on the development of market-driven standards for industrial 3D printing.
The agreement, approved on September 13th, will see CECIMO work with ISO/TC 261 “Additive Manufacturing” in the creation and establishment of standards for the additive manufacturing industry. Presently, standardization remains a challenge to the adoption of 3D printing on an industrial scale.
CECIMO, which has been a proponent for AM within Europe, will provide crucial input to the ISO committee in forming standards, as it works in tandem with businesses and authorities to address market and policy conditions for 3D printing.
In other words, CECIMO will be the voice of the AM industry, conveying the needs and concerns of businesses to the standardization committee. Within Europe (and globally), policymakers are finding standards to be an increasingly important priority for ensuring the growth and acceleration of additive manufacturing.
However, standards do run the risk of being prohibitive and even stifling blossoming and quickly advancing industries. To make sure this doesn’t happen, the ISO committee and CECIMO are committed to establishing consensus-based, market-driven standards instead of top-down regulations.
This isn’t CECIMO’s only standards-related initiative, as the organization also has an existing partnership with ASTM Committee F42 and is an active member in the European Commission’s Joint MSP/DEI Working Group, which seeks to establish a plan for standardization in Europe’s increasingly digital industries.
Notably, CECIMO sits on the advisory board of ASTM’s new Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence. The advisory board also hosts illustrious members such as the US Food and Drug Administration, NASA, Airbus, the US National Institute for Standards and Technology and others.
