Standardization News

ASTM International Hosts Informational Webinar on Barrier Face Covering Standard

Members of the committee on personal protective clothing and equipment (F23) held an informational webinar on the recently approved specification for barrier face coverings (F3502). The webinar took place February 22.

The new F3502 standard, published in February in conjunction with a technical white paper on personal protective equipment (PPE), establishes minimum design, performance, labeling, and care requirements for reusable barrier face coverings. 

The no-cost webinar featured presentations by the standard’s technical contacts, Jon Szalajda,  U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Jeffrey Stull, International Personnel Protection Inc.

The informational overview covered:

• The scope of the standard,
• The standard’s application, and
• Specific requirements related to:
• product design,
• labeling,
• user information, and 
• conformity assessment. 

The barrier face covering standard is available at www.astm.org/COVID-19 along with 28 other COVID-related standards as part of ASTM International’s ongoing commitment to providing no-cost public access to important ASTM standards used in the production and testing of PPE to combat the coronavirus public health emergency.

ASTM International Publishes Journal on Manufacturing During COVID-19 

ASTM International has published “Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing in the Post-COVID-19 Manufacturing Era,” a special issue of the Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing Systems (SSMS) journal that can be downloaded at no additional cost.

The special issue includes 21 peer-reviewed Technical Notes that address how various areas of manufacturing have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has caused global disruption, leading to a downturn in productivity. This has significantly affected the manufacturing sector, making it difficult to keep production going and protect the supply chain. In this issue, authors from around the globe provide thought leadership and present possible actions from both practical and
policy perspectives.

The featured papers address various topics, including how to standardize biotechnology platforms for vaccine production, pandemic-proofing factories, how artificial intelligence can help manufacturing, and more. They cover various aspects of manufacturing, including resilient supply chains and discovering supply chains. 

DOWNLOAD the journal.

Presentations Invited for ICAM 2021

Presentations are invited for the 2021 ASTM International Conference on Additive Manufacturing (ICAM 2021), hosted by the ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) and supported by more than a dozen ASTM technical committees. The conference will be held November 1-5. 

ICAM 2021 is ASTM International’s sixth annual flagship event related to standardization, qualification, and certification with a focus on industry-specific requirements addressing the entire additive manufacturing (AM) process chain. 

Building on the success of previous ICAM programs, this year’s conference will involve even more ASTM committees and external stakeholders, bringing together experts from around the world to exchange the latest developments in the field of AM with an emphasis on the transition of research to application. 

The conference features 25+ symposia covering major topics and key areas. It is being planned by more than 100 scientific organizing committee members, all world-renowned AM experts from various industries, academic institutions, government and regulatory agencies, national labs, and more.

LEARN MORE about ICAM 2021.

Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence Announces New Additions to Advisory Board

ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) announced six new additions to the advisory board, representing key stakeholders from government, industry, research institutes, and nonprofit organizations.

“The advisory board plays a pivotal role in the AM CoE, providing vision and strategic direction to ensure it remains current with existing and future drivers of the additive manufacturing industry,” said Mohsen Seifi, Ph.D., ASTM’s director of global additive manufacturing programs. “We look forward to the insight provided by these industry experts as the AM CoE continues to advance additive manufacturing through our unique approaches to standardization.”

The new AM CoE advisers include the following:

David Bond, Ph.D., is vice president of engineering (design) at Civil Airframes. He has extensive experience leading complex, safety-critical aerospace projects and teams responsible for new product development, resolution of safety/reliability/quality issues as well as continued airworthiness, and in-service support of operational products. Bond is a chartered engineer, a fellow of both the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and freeman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers.

Gregory Hayes, Ph.D., is senior vice president of applied technology at EOS North America, where he works to identify market needs and uses of additive manufacturing technology to develop products to fulfill those opportunities. Hayes is also a strategic technology development consultant with a background in high-end research and development, and a focus in materials science and engineering. 

Lewis Mullen, Ph.D., is chief engineer and the divisional additive lead in the joint replacement division at Stryker. He is a subject matter expert in a number of metal-based AM systems and has spent the last 15 years working with cross-functional development teams to develop, characterize, and validate these processes for the mass manufacture of hip- and knee-replacement devices. 

Markus Seibold, Ph.D., is vice president of additive manufacturing for Siemens Power and Gas. He is responsible for all aspects of developing and implementing additive manufacturing technologies and designs in Siemens power and gas products
and solutions. 

Venkat Vedula, Ph.D., is the executive director, additive manufacturing at Raytheon Technologies (RTX), where he leads the Additive Manufacturing Process Capability Center. Vedula is responsible for the enterprise-wide additive roadmap, technology development, and transitioning to business units for industrialization.   

Jennifer Wolk, Ph.D., is a U.S. Navy materials engineer. Wolk’s research focuses on advancing additive manufacturing materials and processes to support naval applications. 

ASTM and Standards New Zealand Hold Periodic Update Meeting

Staff members from ASTM International and Standards New Zealand (SNZ) held a periodic update meeting on February 10 to review their memorandum of understanding (MoU) partnership.

The following points were discussed:

• SNZ presented an overview/timeline on the issue of reducing single-use plastics, and Alyson Fick, ASTM staff manager, presented an overview of ASTM’s plastics committee (D20) and its biodegradable plastics standards overview.
• Jeff Grove, ASTM’s vice president of global policy, cooperation, and communications, discussed the initiative within ASTM committees to address personal protective equipment needs.
• SNZ gave an update on New Zealand’s initiatives in biomass boilers.

ASTM and SNZ signed an MoU in 2020. Initiated in 2001, ASTM International’s MoU program promotes communication between signatory member standards bodies; awareness of each other’s standardization systems; development of national standards; de-duplication of efforts; and support of the development activities of members.