To expand the additive manufacturing workforce, the European technical testing company TÜV SÜD announced a new series of additive manufacturing training courses. The skilled professionals working in all levels of manufacturing have had little exposure to the unique capabilities — and limitations — of 3D printers. TÜV SÜD’s courses, offered virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, addresses this skills gap.
“As industrialisation advances in additive manufacturing, the need for specialist expertise is becoming increasingly urgent”, said Gregor Reischle, TÜV SÜD’s additive manufacturing chief.
- The eight courses TÜV SÜD offers include:
- Fundamentals of Additive Manufacturing
- Quality and Production Management in Additive Manufacturing
- Specification of Additive Manufacturing Parts for Purchase
- Health and Safety in Additive Manufacturing
- Risk Assessment and Management in Additive Manufacturing
- Process Validation in Additive Manufacturing
- Design Validation in Additive Manufacturing
- Industry Standards in Additive Manufacturing
The TÜV SÜD courses are the latest example of the professionalization of 3D printing. In some respects, 3D printing has been a black art learned through trial and error. However, manufacturers needed more systematic approaches as the technology crossed over from prototyping to making finished products.
In response, international standards-setting bodies such as ASTM International and the ISO are working together to create additive manufacturing standards for quality, materials and best practices that help industries apply the technology consistently.
“This coordinated approach to standards development in AM is crucial to building out robust standards at all levels,” said Jörg Lenz, chair of the ISO’s committee on additive manufacturing. “Standards developers can see how this new structure allows them to come together, leading to further innovation in fields like aerospace, medical, and automotive, and also other benefits such as a platform for certification activities.”
Along with this focus on standards comes a need for a workforce that understands 3D printing’s place within the manufacturing process. A quick search will surface all sorts of certification programs. Vendor-based certifications qualify people to work on specific equipment. Stratasys, for example, partners with technical schools to offer programs built around their 3D printers.
You can also find extension and professional development courses offered by local universities. The University of California San Diego’s Additive Manufacturing Certificate, for example, is a series of courses in modeling and design for 3D printing using industrial software such as CATIA and SolidWorks. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a professional development course in metal additive manufacturing that covers the complete lifecycle of a 3D printed finished part from design through service replacement.
Industry organizations are also helping today’s workforce enter additive manufacturing. America Makes conducts a series of training classes through its Advanced Curriculum in Additive Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Innovation. And the standards organization ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence offers an Additive Manufacturing General Personnel Certificate Course.
Programs like these are creating the modern workforce. They help people in traditional manufacturing fields understand how to apply their experience in this new way of making. And they help people coming from the 3D printing enthusiast community apply their hands-on experience within the more formal environment of manufacturing.
