The primary objective of this workshop award is to define and focus research activity in the area of additive manufacturing to accelerate its commercial acceptance, to increase the impact and significance of research, and to articulate a roadmap for research for the next 10-12 years. The roadmap workshop will be held in Arlington, Virginia at the National Science Foundation in March or April, 2009. About fifty leading experts will convene to identify major areas for societal and market penetration as well as areas of fruitful research. Specific research questions deal with appropriate targets for additive manufacturing; technical, operating and analysis advances; affordability milestones; the role of nanotechnology; consideration of energy, power generation and waste heat recovery; bioengineering, medical device, and healthcare; and sustainability. The agenda for the meeting will include four keynote presentations and seven breakouts for simultaneous assessment. A final report based on the results of the workshop will be prepared and broadly distributed to maximize the impact of the effort.
Major outcomes of the study will be creation and increased awareness of high-impact research topics in manufacturing; an estimated time-line for technical progress in processes, machines, and materials; a research agenda and partnership opportunities among funding agencies, academics, and industrialists; and synergism of novel concepts for transformational activities in the application and extension of freeform technologies. Increased awareness in the research community of high-impact research areas will increase interest in manufacturing research in general and freeform manufacturing specifically. Technological developments including new industries and applications of technology are anticipated. An understanding should emerge of the potential for additive manufacturing to impact critical areas of energy, sustainability, industrial competitiveness, and national security.
