The AM I Navigator initiative will be presented at this year's Formnext by Siemens, DyeMansion, BASF Forward AM, EOS and HP. The initiative is based on a holistic maturity model that maps the stages of industrialization in the AM industry and increases interoperability in additive manufacturing. The model defines the stages of industrial 3D printing along the entire process chain from material to machine to automation. Furthermore, creating a common understanding of the different stages helps AM users to find ways to scale and integrate additive manufacturing into traditional production workflows.
The factors for each level of support come from different areas and encompass more than just production:

• A strategy setup consisting of an additive manufacturing strategy, applications and business cases
• Organizational structures and cultural maturity of employees
• Expertise, automation and networking along the entire value chain from design and production through to quality, maintenance and service

The right strategy with the Navigator

The status quo of additive manufacturing can be analyzed by carrying out a maturity check for each company. This follows the structure of the AM I Navigator framework. The check is a structured procedure that shows the current maturity level of additive manufacturing and the potential for improvement for the respective company. The approach is based on the findings of Siemens Digital Manufacturing Excellence.
Depending on the use case and business model, a company requires a different level of maturity in additive manufacturing. With the framework, AM users can categorize their current status and future goal into five levels: from simple manual production to fully autonomous additive manufacturing.
Based on this structured approach, detailed recommendations are available on how production can be further developed in the respective company. It is particularly important that the individual steps in the process chain are coordinated with each other. Only open and interoperable additive manufacturing creates added value for the entire production process. Appropriate action steps lead to the desired target state - depending on the application and maturity level of the company. The results of the check are made available to the respective company and can serve as best practices to provide a detailed picture of the development of industrial 3D printing.