A proposed ASTM guide is intended to make it easier for businesses to create parts using additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. The guide will provide overarching principles of design rules in this field.

“It is very hard to come up with a single ‘right way’ to create a part using additive manufacturing,” says ASTM member Paul Witherell, a mechanical engineer at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. “This standard will serve as a foundation that supports the development of design rules for the growing number of additive manufacturing processes and machines.”

All interested parties, particularly those developing best practices in this field, are welcome to join in the work of ASTM’s additive manufacturing committee (F42) and this proposed standard (WK51841, Guide for Principles of Design Rules in Additive Manufacturing).

This effort is an example of how ASTM members are leading in smart manufacturing, as highlighted at ASTM’s new Smart Manufacturing microsite.