Additive manufacturing in COVID-19: recognising the challenges and driving for assurance

Additive manufacturing (AM) is once again at the forefront of global attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The AM technology has demonstrated operational resilience and provided a wide spectrum of on-demand solutions to provide rapid emergency responses and solve supply chains disruptions issues. Present obstacles seen in the battle against COVID-19 may potentially spur into new possibilities for the AM community, standards organisations, and regulatory authorities to collaborate more closely to expedite the progress of this technology. The importance of assurance is rapidly growing on the agenda, and one of the primary problems continues to be a lack of standards and regulations. Nevertheless, regulatory authorities and certification service providers play a critical role in assisting manufacturers to adhere to best practices and getting ahead of the assurance curve to ensure that AM products are safe and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Virtual & Physical Prototyping is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global rise of 3D printing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3D printing enables on-demand solutions for a wide spectrum of needs ranging from personal protection equipment to medical devices and isolation wards. This versatile technology is suited to address supply-demand imbalances caused by socio-economic trends and disruptions in supply chains.