How Additive Manufacturing Empowers Commerce through Effective Data Management

This article summarizes the outcomes from a NIST-sponsored workshop that examined the additive manufacturing (AM) data management pain points experienced by small- and medium-sized enterprises in interacting with larger organizations and government procurement agencies. Three prominent themes emerged: cost of compliance, technology gaps associated with uncertainty and AM process qualification, and a desire for government leadership to address these issues. The article includes lists of specific action items proposed at the workshop to address these challenges.