Overview
CEN ISO/ASTM/TR 52917:2022 - "Additive manufacturing - Round robin testing - General guidelines" provides practical guidance for planning, managing and executing round robin studies (RRS) in additive manufacturing (AM). The technical report focuses on how to organize an RRS to investigate process and material variability arising from feedstock, machine operations, process control and post‑processing. It clarifies that an RRS assesses variability of AM parts across participants and is distinct from an inter‑laboratory comparison, which evaluates variability of a measurement method on a controlled artifact.
Key topics and requirements
- RRS management and governance
- Formation of an RRS task force and appointment of an RRS manager to coordinate participants and technical issues.
- Scope and objective definition
- Identify the study goal (e.g., assess repeatability/reproducibility, populate material databases, demonstrate process robustness).
- Manufacturing plan
- Minimum content: part description (geometry, orientation, tolerances, supports), machine requirements (make/model, AM process type, platform, atmosphere, software version, maintenance and calibration history) and facility requirements.
- Process control document
- Record process variables, procedures followed and building notes to ensure traceability and consistent reporting.
- Measurement and testing plan
- Guidance on selecting applicable test methods and documenting measurement procedures for data comparability.
- Study execution
- Steps include soliciting participants, pilot runs, full‑scale production runs, data handling, statistical analysis and final reporting.
- Data management and record keeping
- Standardized collection, interpretation and retention of RRS data to support conclusions and material/process maturation.
Applications and users
- Who uses this standard
- AM researchers, OEMs, material suppliers, testing labs, engineering teams, and standards bodies conducting multi‑site studies.
- Practical uses
- Quantifying variability in AM parts for design allowables and material data sheets
- Assessing production readiness and process robustness
- Informing maturation of AM technologies and populating engineering databases
- Guiding multi‑participant studies where participants run nominally identical AM processes
Related standards
- ISO/ASTM 52900 (Additive manufacturing - Fundamentals and vocabulary) is normative and provides terminology referenced by this TR.
- Note: An RRS per this TR is explicitly differentiated from inter‑laboratory comparisons used to evaluate measurement method variability.
Keywords: additive manufacturing, round robin testing, RRS, ISO/ASTM TR 52917, manufacturing plan, process control, measurement plan, repeatability, reproducibility, AM variability.