1

Reflection Memo

I chose to write about this specific topic because it is something that really interests me
and something I am passionate about. I have spent the past couple years conducting research in a
laboratory on Additive Manufacturing and it is something I have grown to love and find great
interest in.
When I was conducting research I was only focused on a small subset of the material that
I wrote about in this proposal so when I was conducting research I was very much learning a lot.
I was very much focused on the technical side in my research vs the very important financial and
general manufacturing side that I discuss in the proposal. The National Institutes of Standards
and Technology is part of The Department Of Commerce, whose goal is to promote and advance
US industry, using technology and science research. When writing this proposal I only not only
had to focus only on the technology and science part but also the monetary value of the project.
NIST works closely with industry partners on other projects and tries to provide US companies
with a competitive edge across industries internationally.
I was not able to get my paper peer reviewed, because I submitted my paper, but I did
spend time reviewing my work and synthesising my thoughts and making my point clear. I think
in a proposal, especially a technical one it is critical to repeat what one is proposing so as not to
lose the audience's focus. This is what I attempted to do and tried to improve between the draft
and my final. The reason my paper was late was because I put a lot of work into it and tried to
make it as close to a final as a copy which I shouldn’t have done, because peer feedback would
have been helpful. Outsider opinions especially on the structure and the non-technical parent
would have been very helpful.
In previous assignments that I got feedback for, I noticed that the feedback was generally
positive but was often about the organization of my work and the phrasing of certain things
rather than the content of my writing. This is something I focused on a dn really tried to make
sure that the organization of the paper was clear and that at no point was I losing the audience. I
tried to repeat points and have ideas flow into each other rather than suddenly cutting them off at
the end of each paragraph or section.
I have definitely seen improvement in my audience writing. I think writing an audience
selection at the beginning of each paper is very helpful and has improved my targeting writing.
My writing I feel like has become more concise and to the point without sacrificing quality. I
have begun to focus on understanding the audience first before I even begin to write which is
something I didn not even consider doing before. Understanding the audience is critical because
papers can be written completely different ways with different tones and levels of
professionalism depending on who the audience is. I have improved in this area as well, by not
just recognizing the audience, but also analyzing what they are looking for in the paper. Consider
such things such as values and predisposed notions, and their experiences and expertise are just a
few things that have gone into the audience analysis. I have learned that a poorly analyzed
audience will lead to a poorly written paper.
 2

Audience Selection

This proposal is being presented to the National Institute of Technology Project Approval

Board. This group of senior researchers, scientists and managers, are the group that decide

whether a project or idea gets funding and whether a project is created and developed. The

Project Approval Board is the final decision maker in the proposal process and thus are the

Primary Readers, because they are the ones taking action. The Project Approval Board will read

the proposal and based on importance and need decide whether the project proposal is developed

enough and important enough to receive funding and its own project. The project needs to fulfill

requirements for importance and benefit to the U.S. economy and efficiency and impact of the

final result. The Project Approval Board will consult with other scientists and researchers in the

field to validate claims made in the proposal. These resources are the Secondary Readers,

because they are the group that will be reviewing the proposal and making sure that the

information is true and the claims made are reasonable. This research has a lot of repercussions

on the industry and has a lot of benefits for the industry as a whole, so other researchers and

people in industry will have their eyes on the progress of the proposal and then the project. They

will heavily benefit from improvement in the Additive Manufacturing processes so they will be

keeping up with the progress very closely. This group of researchers and people from industry

are the Tertiary Readers, as they are evaluating the proposal from the outside but are also

invested in its result. This proposal will have to be heavily revised and reviewed by fellow

researchers in the same laboratory that I am working in. There will be insight given by each

member of the research team and because this will hopefully become a research project for the

whole team they are all heavily invested in the success of the proposal. This group are the

Gatekeepers, because they are invested in the success of the proposal, but are on the inside of the

proposal and are direct supervisors and research associates of mine.

 3

David Umansky
240-620-2585
agdsum@gmail.com

Dr. Jason Fox

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Engineering Laboratory
Gaithersburg, MD

Dear Dr. Fox,

Manufacturing is changing as we know right in front of our eyes. Traditional, subtractive
manufacturing is being supplemented and replaced by a new technique, Additive
Manufacturing(AM). Many advances have been made in this field, but there is still so much
work to be done. This is something that particularly interests and is a concern for me and
something I want to try to address with a project to improve accuracy in Additive Manufacturing.
Since beginning to conduct research under your mentorship I have learned a lot about different
manufacturing techniques especially additive manufacturing. Additionally my coursework
through college where a large focus was manufacturing has prepared me to lead my own project.
When working previously in your laboratory, I was given a lot of autonomy and responsibility,
which I was able to handle and succeed with. My responsibilities included:

● The development of a device, from a CAD drawing to manufacturing, to improve the

mounting and stability of a metal 3D-printed artifact.
● Developing a software program to automate the process of taking measurements from the
artifact’s surfaces for further analysis using the microscope’s embedded scripting
language
● Developing a software program in MATLAB to analyze a previously captured image and
estimate the error that is attributed to the metal additive manufacturing process.

I have had extensive experience with additive manufacturing and the research tools surrounding
it. I have also worked with other professionals in the area which I will be using as resources as I
conduct my research.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to discussing my qualification with
you in the near future.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I can be reached at (240)-620-2585 or by email
at agdsum@gmail.com

Sincerely,

David Umansky
 4

Improvement of Accuracy
and Efficiency of Additive
Manufacturing Practices
and Processes
A proposal to the National Institute of Technology Project Approval
Board to create and fund a research project to improve and advance
Additive Manufacturing in the United States.
 5

Table of Contents:
Introduction and Context
Literature Review and Available Models
Analysis and Synthesis

Proposed Solution
Conclusion

Bibliography
 6

Introduction and Context

Additive Manufacturing is a new and still developing manufacturing technique that has

been created in recent history in order to supplement traditional manufacturing techniques, and

create parts and components that were impossible or very difficult to create previously. Additive

Manufacturing or commonly abbreviated as AM and commonly referred to as 3D-Printing , has

been adopted by almost every industry including Aerospace, Automotive, Consumer Goods and

even Medical. Additive Manufacturing uses data computer-aided-design (CAD) software to

program special devices to deposit material, layer onto layer, in precise geometric shapes.

Additive manufacturing adds material to create an object, but when you create an object by

traditional means, it is often necessary to remove material through milling, machining, carving,

shaping or other techniques.

Additive Manufacturing is the overarching manufacturing technique with many different

specific techniques included in. The biggest split is the divergence between the use of

plastic(filament) and metal. There are other materials as well but these are the most common

ones used in industry. Under the categories of plastic and metal there are different techniques and

specific types of materials that can be used and will be further discussed in this proposal. Though

filament printing is very common and is used in modeling and prototyping, it is usually not

meant to be super accurate, but rather a quick way to test ideas and see what products would look

like prior to beginning true manufacturing. There are obviously special filament Additive

Manufacturing techniques that are used for products, but these are rarer than the application and

use of metal AM techniques. Metal AM is used across industries for designing “functional

prototypes or small and medium series and increasingly for series production”(EOS). In the
 7

evolving world of technology and the need for smaller and more complex parts, Additive

Manufacturing is stepping in to fill the huge void in the general manufacturing field. Its current

competitors are artisans that can very skillfully create unique components, but at the very high

cost and taking a lot of time. AM allows all these processes to be automated without sacrificing

quality and efficiency. The speed of and ease of use of AM machines allows companies to

develop products more quickly and in general speed up the R&D process. AM is also competing

with traditional manufacturing as the technology further develops and the required components

to be produced are becoming more and more complex.

By 2030 AM will be a $150 Billion market and will continue to expand exponentially

past then(SeekingAlpha). Because of the speed at which this industry has been expanding, the

focus. has been on the speed of production and mass manufacturing. The issue with this is that

when precise components need to be created, it is critical that the part quality is as close to

perfect as possible. Because traditional manufacturing has been around for so long, it has been

standardized and standards have been created for the accuracy of such jobs. This process hasn’t

happened for Additive Manufacturing, and where AM is great at creating unique parts with

complex geometries while also minimizing waste, the quality of the products is not always up to

par, to the same standards that traditional manufacturing is. Industry doesn’t have the resources

nor the technical ability to be able to develop such a set of standards, so as the leading

Engineering and Technology research laboratory in the US and the world, it would be in the

nation’s and industries interest if the quality is improved to make the US a more competitive

manufacturer with not only the ability to mass manufacture, but also do it with the utmost

quality. I urge the board to approve the project to improve the accuracy and efficiency of

Additive Manufacturing practices and processes. This will not only boost US companies
 8

competitiveness in the manufacturing field, but will allow startups and new technologies develop

at a quicker rate domestically.

Literature Review and Available Models

Additive Manufacturing is still a new and developing field in the general sphere of

manufacturing. Though it is quite new, it is very rapidly growing and evolving and there has

been a lot of research done on the field recently to get the field to where it is today. There are

more than a few companies in the field that conduct their own research and develop their own

technologies such as the technology giant, General Electric. Most of the research that has been

conducted has been by scholarly institutions such as universities and government run labs, such

as the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Companies and organizations have created

different AM methods, but generally all the research has been done on a few similar methods.

The most common is Powder Bed Fusion and this is the method that I am proposing needs to be

further developed and standardized. According to GE, “Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) technology is

used in a variety of AM processes, including direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser

sintering (SLS), selective heat sintering (SHS), electron beam melting (EBM) and direct metal

laser melting (DMLM). These systems use lasers, electron beams or thermal print heads to melt

or partially melt ultra-fine layers of material in a three-dimensional space. As the process

concludes, excess powder is blasted away from the object” (GE Additive). Both GE and another

large company, EOS are developing these technologies alongside companies such Ford,

ProtoLabs, Google,and Volkswagen to name a few. With such huge companies involved in this

field one would think that this is a huge industry, but AM only makes up 0.01% of all

manufacturing in the world (SeekingAlpha). Not only is AM used by so many companies for

R&D, but it is also a critical tool for essential industries such as Aerospace and the Medical
 9

industry where precision and accuracy are of utmost importance. What especially makes this

issue important is that it doesn’t only affect large companies that can create a work around, but

also small independent manufacturers and startups that use this new technology to create

innovation in this country(amfg.ai). If the quality of such parts is able to be improved, companies

will be able to confidently use such technologies in everyday manufacturing, and it will be able

to save companies money and be able to make Additive Manufacturing a standard manufacturing

practice across the industry as a whole (Li). There is a lot of potential for this industry so that is

why it is of utmost importance to address issues at the beginning of this boom.

The issue of quality has plagued industries for generations and Additive Manufacturing is

no different. Research has been done and the problems have been recognized, but not enough is

being done to address them. Because AM is such a new field a lot is still unknown and there are

a lot of unknowns. Issues in production can arise with machine accuracy, materials, warping and

shrinkage, support structures and post processing, to name a few main ones(3dprintingmedia).

These issues arise throughout the production process and can and do affect the quality of the

final product. Manufacturing Institutes such America Makes are conducting concurrent research

and are slowly helping to develop standards for the same issues that have been discussed, but as

a smaller research institution they don’t have the resources to independently conduct large scale

research like NIST can. NIST has partnered with America Makes on previous projects and would

be a good idea to partner with them again. They are currently conducting surface analysis of

metal AM parts created using Direct Metal Laser Sintering which is a part of Powder Bed Fusion

and their expertise could be very helpful(America Makes).

The issue of accuracy and quality is something that different organizations around

the world have realized and have taken a priority to improve. Small and Large companies, big
 10

government organizations and educational institutions are all attempting to solve bits and pieces

of this problem. Companies such as Nano Dimension and Dupont, are addressing the material

side of the quality issue. Creating new compounds and materials that can be used to create parts

that will have a better finish and be created more accurately(AMFG). Sheku Kamara and his lab

from the Milwaukee School of Engineering are working on the resolution of the creation of parts

created. The resolution and surface quality are critical for intricate components, and is yet

another side of the research being done on the issue of quality and accuracy of parts created

using AM (MachineDesign). Researchers in Germany and France are working on the issue of

geometrical tolerances of the intricate parts created using AM. When parts are created with

internal components, it is very hard to see the structural issues associated with internal

components, and need to be tested in different ways, in order to guarantee strength and long

lasting quality. Currently these tests and techniques don’t exist and is yet another aspect that

needs more research to be conducted ( Lieneke). The potential for this industry is limitless, but a

lot of further research needs to be conducted in order to make this technology be available in

quality to mainstream manufacturing.

 11

Analysis and Synthesis

The issue of quality and accuracy in the creation of parts using Additive Manufacturing is

a pressing issue in an industry that has exploded over the past decade. The rate of growth has

exceeded anyone’s expectations and with that, some important aspects of a new and developing

technology such as the nitty gritty details of precision and accuracy have fallen behind the more

exciting ideas of speed of production and cost saving. There are a lot of players in this market;

from governments to international companies, to small startups, but the need for quality is

required for all of them. When creating prototypes or models precision isn’t as much of a need,

but when creating parts that need to be put inside a person’s body, or fit perfectly into an

airplane engine all en masse, the repeatability of manufacturing becomes evermore important.

We know that the issue lies in the fact that there is no guarantee of a set standard of any

sort when parts are created. Each company or manufacturer has their own specifications and

unlike traditional manufacturing, AM is not always a repeatable process. Different companies

and organizations are currently working to improve the accuracy and quality of parts created

using AM, but there is no united effort by the government in concert with industry. A set of

standards and qualifications needs to be developed in order to guarantee the quality and accuracy

of such parts. The industry alone doesn't have the resources to solve this issue alone and

government and educational institutions don't have the full understanding of where the issues in

the industry lie. Everyone is conducting their own separate research without a necessary common

goal. That is the point of this project, to bring in the best and brightest from industry and research

institutions to strategically address the issues of quality and accuracy in the Additive

Manufacturing industry.
 12

The most important issue is the lack of quality and accuracy in parts developed using

AM. How it is going now is that individual groups are chipping away at this giant problem and

addressing issues that impact them directly. This works to address each group's issues, but

doesn’t benefit the industry as a whole in the bigger picture of the US economy and US’

companies competitive advantage against foreign competition. The approach of a project

developed and directed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology will not only

centralize the efforts of companies and organizations in the US, but will also allow the

cooperation across industries and companies to work together and thus benefit themselves in the

process, while also helping smaller companies who in reality aren’t able to develop these

standards and conduct such research.

The course of action I propose is to set up a project with a task force which would include

researchers, educational professionals and individuals from industry to standardize the quality

and accuracy of the Additive Manufacturing process. This will allow companies to develop

superior products and meet requirements that they previously couldn’t. This will also help

advance the industry as a whole due to the influx of knowledge and funding and allow the

industry to grow into fields and areas where it wasn’t previously. The 0.01% of manufacturing

done using AM, will increase thus boosting the economy, US technological capabilities and the

competitiveness of US manufacturers on the world stage.

 13

Proposed Solution
As mentioned earlier my proposal is to launch a new project within the National Institute

of Standards and Technology to improve the quality and accuracy of parts created using different

Additive Manufacturing techniques especially in the most common field of metals. How I

propose this be done is that as the project is created, researchers and industry leaders work

together to determine what aspects of quality and accuracy in the AM process are limiting factors

in production. It is important to understand the fundamentals of where the industry is lacking.

Though researchers and scientists can do a good job of analyzing a problem and creating a

solution, it is hard for them to see the problem in places where they only have limited

involvement. On the other hand, though the industry sees where they are lacking it is hard for

them to dedicate time and money to address these issues as it will be eating into their profits.

The potential of growth in this industry is huge with it already growing over 20% every

year and will reach 25% a year by the end of this year. (SeekingAlpha). This is a huge

opportunity and one that, as part of the US Department of Commerce, NIST does not want to

miss. With traditional manufacturing all but gone from the US, the only manufacturing that

continues to exist is high tech and Additive Manufacturing. AM can change the trend of

manufacturing leaving this country, and allow the US to revert back to being an industrial

powerhouse. This is not only good to decrease the reliance on foreign manufacturing, but will

grow the economy and provide jobs domestically. This of course cannot be done unless the

quality of the goods being produced are to the highest standard. The only chance the US has in

staying competitive is if the quality is superior.

 14

The project and task force in my proposal will focus on the important aspect of accuracy

and quality of the AM parts while also working to foster growth and general development in the

industry. The goal is not just to improve the quality of the parts and machines making them, but

also in general to increase the popularity and relevance of AM across different industries. The

project will be separated by industry, and by specific problem to be solved. This is a long term

project that will work side by side with industry professionals and researchers to continuously

develop and improve the AM industry. The cost of this project will be $2 million dollars a year,

but some of the funding will come from our industry partners and we will be assisting them with

their concerns and issues. This project will also require the full time work of at least 50

researchers and experts in the field in addition to guest researchers from other laboratories and

educational institutions. They will be all working on the same team, yet on their own projects in

their respective fields on the respective problems. This project will be spearheaded by a few

researchers and leaders in the manufacturing field. It will also include economists and people

with business backgrounds that would be able to help make sure that with all the money and time

and research being put into it that the industry and the processes remain profitable without

sacrificing any of the quality of the goods. Additive Manufacturing gives the US the opportunity

to get back on top the world manufacturing pyramid, and unlike unskilled mass manufacturing

this style will be a lot more difficult to replicate using cheap labor in foreign countries. The

economic growth not just to the US economy but to regions such a s the Rust belt in the US that

have lost so many jobs to countries such as China and Vietnam will be huge and will be able to

turn around the trend of unemployment and low education in those areas. The Department of

Commerce and NIST will not only be advancing the US technologically, but also benefiting the
 15

average American in the process, with economic growth, job opportunities and hope for the

future.
 16

Conclusion
The ever growing and expanding field of Additive Manufacturing has exploded over the

past decade, with the rapid growth it has experienced in the US and around the world, there have

been aspects, where the growth and development has outpaced the development of quality and

accuracy standards. This is a pressing issue especially to the US if it wants to compete on the

international stage of manufacturing. My proposal is to develop a project and task force at the

National Institute of Standards and Technology, in order to foster the growth of the AM industry

in the US in order to compete on the international field, while not sacrificing any quality. The

goal of the project is to work in partnership with industry partners and other educational

institutions and laboratories to develop quality and accuracy standards in order to make AM

products created in the US superior to anywhere else in the world. If this proposal is approved, I

will submit another proposal for who I think should be a part of the main project team, and will

begin reaching out to other researchers and current government industry partners to develop the

task force on this project. After the team is assembled, the team will be divided by expertise and

pressing problems, such as the quality and accuracy with different AM techniques as well as US

competitive growth of AM production worldwide.

 17

Bibliography
“10 Of the Biggest Challenges in Scaling Additive Manufacturing for Production in 2020
[Expert Roundup].” AMFG, 14 Oct. 2020,
amfg.ai/2019/10/08/10-of-the-biggest-challenges-in-scaling-additive-manufacturing-for-pr
oduction-expert-roundup/.

“Desktop Metal: Best-Of-Breed Additive Manufacturing Company (NYSE:DM).”

SeekingAlpha,
seekingalpha.com/article/4416558-desktop-metal-best-of-breed-additive-manufacturing-co
mpany.

How Does Additive Manufacturing Work?,

www.eos.info/en/industrial-3d-printing/additive-manufacturing-how-it-works.

“Industrial Applications of 3D Printing: The Ultimate Guide.” AMFG, 26 Mar. 2020,

amfg.ai/industrial-applications-of-3d-printing-the-ultimate-guide/.

Li, Dr. Jing, et al. Imperial College Additive Manufacturing Network, 2016, The Current
Landscape for Additive Manufacturing Research.

Lieneke, T, et al. Euspen, 2019, Manufacturing Accuracy In Additive Manufacturing: A

Method To Determine Geometrical Tolerances.

Meyer, Bonnie. “Accuracy in Additive Manufacturing A Common Mistake Is to Confuse

High Resolution with Accuracy.” Edited by Leslie Gordon, Machine Design, 12 July 2012,
www.machinedesign.com/3d-printing-cad/article/21832746/accuracy-in-additive-manufact
uring.

“National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute.” America Makes, 29 Mar. 2021,

www.americamakes.us/.

Nutma, Marinus. “A Quick Guide to Dimensional Accuracy for 3D Printing " 3D Printing
Media Network - The Pulse of the AM Industry.” 3D Printing Media Network - The Pulse
of the AM Industry, 4 Sept. 2019,
www.3dprintingmedia.network/quick-guide-dimensional-accuracy-3d-printing/.

“What Is Additive Manufacturing?” What Is Additive Manufacturing? | GE Additive,

www.ge.com/additive/additive-manufacturing.