Page 5 - AO 1st Qt 2017 CL

One helpful development is that federal, state, and local governments are giving manufacturers the ability to test materials for use in their own products through advanced manufacturing labs around the country. See the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innova on Ins tute.
There is now a collabora ve body called The America Makes & ANSI Addi ve Manufacturing Standardiza on Collabora ve (AMSC),
whose objec ve is to develop industry-wide addi ve prin ng standards and speci ca ons.
When it comes to understanding 3D prin ng liability, manufacturers must deal with a new reality: there is li le physical equipment to handle or inventory to store. The 3D manufacturing process is truly virtual because a smart machine sends the order for a part to the printer, and it is then shipped immediately upon comple on.
With the sophis cated type of so ware used for 3D prin ng, a manufacturer may now need to consider risk-transfer techniques more typical of a so ware manufacturer, such as security and privacy coverage to handle external hackers who steal or alter intellectual property, and errors and omissions (E&O) to handle any so ware malfunc ons or human error resul ng in problems with the printer func on.
Forecasters are predic ng that by 2020, 3D prin ng in manufacturing will grow to be a $17 billion business. See this Study.
Courtesy of Zurich