Standard Defines Requirements to Qualify AM Machines to Produce Material Compliant to an Aerospace Materials Specification
WARRENDALE, Pa. (Nov. 17, 2022) – Metal additive manufacturing (AM) machine qualification requirements are process intensive. SAE International’s AMS7032 standard provides technical information on the requirements for qualifying a metal AM machine that is suitable for producing aerospace-grade material.
This standard provides guidance to AM part producers that need to qualify their machines for production, regulatory bodies that seek assurance regarding material produced by AM machines, and research and development (R&D) laboratories that need to have qualified machines to produce meaningful data for aerospace.
The industry generally acknowledges that there are three qualification milestones for AM machines. This document focuses on the initial stages, namely:
- Installation Qualification (IQ): Producing objective evidence to show that all key aspects of the machine and ancillary system installation adhere to the AM Part Producer’s specification, and that the recommendations of the supplier of the equipment are suitably considered.
- Operational Qualification (OQ): Establishing sufficient process control to maintain stable material properties and demonstrating that the material specification requirements can be met.
Both IQ and OQ are associated with a specific machine serial number.
“Until the release of AMS7032, standardized requirements for qualification of a metal AM machine in the aircraft industry did not exist. AMS7032 is the ideal starting point for a metal AM machine user who is just getting started in additive manufacturing for aviation, with many guidance notes added for the unexperienced user’s benefit, and it is also the ideal go-to for the experienced user who needs standardized requirements to point to,” stated document sponsor, Liz Crisler, supervisor, materials & process - test & analysis, Textron Aviation.
In addition, SAE Group is actively supporting the FormNext conference and expo, Europe's leading additive manufacturing annual event held Nov. 15-18, 2022. SAE has representatives from its affiliates, SAE International, SAE ITC and PRI and will participate in the standards forum. SAE’s AMS-AM committee has released more than 35 standards and related documents. The SAE ITC manages the AMDC (Additive Manufacturing Data Consortium) to create mechanical property data for aerospace parts. PRI administers the Nadcap program that offers accreditation for facilities that provide critical manufacturing processes, including additive manufacturing. These representatives will be available throughout the week in Hall 11.1, F49 to answer questions about the evolving SAE AM ecosystem for aerospace parts.
To learn more about or purchase the Machine Qualification for Fusion-Based Metal Additive Manufacturing standard, visit https://www.sae.org/standards/content/ams7032/.
About SAE International
SAE International is a global organization committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. More at http://www.sae.org.
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Contact:
Jeff Laskowski
SAE International
248.925.4770
pr@sae.org
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