December Newsletter

ISO and ASTM Develop new AM Standards Development Structure

The International Standards Organization (ISO) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) are founded on promoting technical standards that deal with product safety, reliability and quality. These organizations have come together to create the Additive Manufacturing Development Structure (ASDM) which will provide a base set of technical standards for the Additive Manufacturing industry. ASDM’s main focus is to connect industry experts worldwide for the improvement of industry standards. Collaboration among the AM community around the world can provide an increase in the standards development by improving the usability of the standards created by the organization.

Met-L-Flo, Inc. President, Carl Dekker serves as the chair for the ASTM International committee on Additive Manufacturing technologies and believes that the new structure will be extremely beneficial to the industry on a global scale. Carl was quoted in a recent 3D Printing Industry article saying, “This structure will help experts worldwide interact in a more streamlined and meaningful way, leading to the integration and application of new technologies at an accelerated rate”. The framework of the standards development structure will encompass three levels. General standards are focused on concepts and industry guidelines or safety so that there can be a uniform code throughout the AM industry. Category standards will focus on material specific requirements or processes that are being used. Specialized standards will be used to regulate industries like aerospace or medical which have stringent requirements for specific materials, processes or applications.

Met-L-Flo, Inc. Partners with the Made in Illinois program

Met-L-Flo, Inc. has recently joined the Made in Illinois program which was created by the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) along with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and the Manufacturing Extension partnership. The program was started to help promote manufacturing companies in the state of Illinois and highlight the diverse products they produce. Our team is honored to be a part of this program that not only supports American made products but strives to improve the exposure of small to medium sized manufacturing companies in Illinois. To check out the Met-L-Flo, Inc. page on the IMEC website click the link below. We encourage all companies located in Illinois to join this great program!

FABTECH Recap

Our President, Carl Dekker represented Met-L-Flo, Inc. at the 2016 FABTECH expo in Las Vegas, Nevada as a moderator for a discussion panel on the development trends in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The panel was formed to educate the industry on the growth of additive manufacturing through real world case studies. The importance of manufacturing companies adding additive manufacturing to their processes in our developing industry was discussed to broaden companies’ capabilities. Key components of adding AM to a company were covered because it is relatively new and some organizations do not know what all is necessary for starting and running an effective business while exposing your brand in the industry. Carl touched on how the expansion of technology and new standards for more efficient manufacturing are pushing the industry in the right direction.

Carl also lead a discussion on the fundamentals of additive manufacturing for fabricators. He stressed the importance of highlighting the AM capabilities that companies have during conferences and expos so that the developing industry can be viewed better by the manufacturing industry as a whole. The discussion educated AM industry members on the latest equipment and material cost-benefit analyses to make manufacturing more efficient. Members shared new design and software rules and limitations that have been set by standards committees which helps get the industry all using the same codes and standards.

Somos Spotlight on Service Bureaus

Met-L-Flo, Inc. was recently spotlighted in the September edition of the Somos’ The Part We Play newsletter. We have recently added Somos® materials to our stereolithography process to enhance our capabilities. Our President, Carl Dekker believes that the high-performance properties of their materials bring our customers the quality and durability they seek for their projects. The evolving Somos® materials we use can handle the most stringent requirements making our stereolithography parts capable of almost any application that a customer might need. We enjoy working with organizations focused on continually improving their products to help their customers deliver every time.

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