Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

Introduction

The Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Committee is dedicated to standards in new and emerging technologies in manufacturing.  It is made up of Subcommittees that are National Mirror Committees to the ISO and CEN committees developing standards in the area. 

As new technologies in manufacturing emerge standards subcommittees will be there to standardize the area. The members of the subcommittees represent industry, academia and Government.

Our Vision and Mission

Working together as 'Ireland Inc' we can influence the development of International Standards in new and emerging advanced manufacturing technologies.

Standards we are Responsible For

The Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Committee follows a number of International and European Standards committees.  In the Learn More section at the bottom of this page click on each subcommittee for more detailed information.

Sectoral Study of Standards in Manufacturing

On the 16th of December 2019 the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment published Ireland's Industry 4.0 Strategy 2020-2025. This Industry 4.0 strategy is a key output of Future Jobs Ireland, the government's new economic pathway to ensure that Ireland is well placed to prosper in a rapidly changing global economy.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland contributed to Ireland’s Industry 4.0 Strategy that is supporting the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector and its supply chain. This strategy sets out a clear vision and goals for Industry 4.0 in Ireland and the strategic actions that will help to achieve this. 

NSAI is supporting these strategic actions by raising awareness and understanding amongst manufacturing firms and their supply chains of the concept of Industry 4.0, the potential business benefits and opportunities to be derived from engaging in Industry 4.0 activities.

All these areas and more are addressed through its published Sectoral Study of Standards in Manufacturing which links standards as one of the key drivers for this innovation, making yesterday’s impossibilities tomorrow’s reality.

Our Latest News

updated [20241021]

Shaping Standards for Technology That Shapes Our Lives
In an insightful interview with Brian Cooney, CEO of KUKA Ireland, we explore the pivotal role of standards in the realm of robotics and automation. Brian highlights how almost everything we use, from mobile phones to cars, involves robots at some stage of manufacturing. This underscores the critical importance of international standards like the ISO 10218 series, which ensure safety, build trust, and eliminate trade barriers. The full interview can be read here NSAI Interview Focus KUKA Ireland (PDF).

Brian’s active participation in NSAI’s technical committee for Robots, Cobots, and Robotics, and his role in the ISO working group, exemplify how Irish business leaders contribute to global standards. These efforts not only enhance product safety but also support the efficient use of industrial robots across various industries.

As Ireland transitions to Industry 4.0, KUKA’s expertise and Brian’s contributions to standards are vital in shaping a successful and sustainable future for Irish manufacturing.
 

updated [20240625]

NSAI presented at the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition 2024. NSAI's Standards Officer, Barry Cox, delivered presentations alongside Dr Noel Harrison (Chair of NSAI/TC 49/SC 02 – Additive Manufacturing) and Dr Nikolaos Papakostas (NSAI/TC 49/SC 03 Robots, Cobots & Robotics). Their presentations provided strategic examples of how standards and standardisation contribute to great change in the world, through their achievements in cutting-edge research in Ireland, please view the presentations below.

3D Printing, High-Tech Manufacturing & Advanced Engineering    
Presenters: Barry Cox, Standards Officer, NSAI & Noel Harrison, Standards Officer & Chair, Additive Manufacturing Committee    
Presentation: Current Trends in International Standards Supporting Research in Additive Manufacturing [PDF]

Engineering A Better Future
Presenters: Barry Cox, Standard Officer, NSAI
Presentation: Update on the Machinery Regulation and CE Marking [PDF]

Robotics & Automation     
Presenters: Barry Cox, Standards officer NSAI & Dr Nikolaos Papakostas, Associate Research Director for Laboratory of Advanced Manufacturing Simulation and Robotics
Presentation: Current Trends in International Standards Supporting Leading Research in Collaborative Robotics [PDF]

updated [20240501]

On May 1st, Engineering Industries Ireland were delighted to partner with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on a recent webinar to discuss the Machinery Regulation and General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). Register to view the IBEC for Irish Business webinar. 

Want to learn more about the Machinery regulation?  This regulation will affect all standards currently harmonized with the Machinery Directive. Additionally, it will also lead to the creation of new standards to address the added essential requirements, check the following article from NSAI’s Ezine magazine March 2024 written by the Chair of NSAI/TC 128 Mr Jürgen Bukowski.
 

updated [20231208]

The new EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 replaces the existing Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, which has been in force since 29 December 2009. It was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on 29 June 2023 and entered into force 20 days later, as it is a regulation it will be transposed directly into national law. 

The new text harmonises the essential health and safety requirements for machinery in the EU, while promoting the free movement of machinery and ensuring a high level of safety for workers and citizens. The new essential requirements set out in the Machinery Regulation becomes mandatory on 20 January 2027, when regulation comes into effect.

Background

The 2006 machinery directive was one of the main pieces of legislation governing the harmonisation of essential health and safety requirements for machinery at EU level. The Directive promotes the free movement of machinery within the single market and guarantees a high level of protection for EU workers and consumers.

This new regulation will continue to establish a legal framework for the CE marking and placing of safe machinery, on the European Union market. It sets out to address the risks related to emerging technologies. The regulation also guarantees legal certainty by clarifying its scope. For instance, it includes small vehicles used for personal transport and light electric vehicles such as scooters or bikes, since these are widely used and could potentially be dangerous to their users.

The New Machinery Regulation is structed according to the New Legislative Framework(NLF) which aims to improve the internal market for goods by strengthening market surveillance and boosting the quality of conformity assessment.

Voluntary harmonised standards will be a resource used by manufactures to ensure their products are in line with corresponding EU rules; and meet the essential requirements specified in the Machinery Regulation, which is known as ‘presumption of conformity'.

Current Steps

• Review of Main Changes between Annex I of machinery directive 2006/42/CE and Annex III of new MR
• EC Draft Standardisation Request For Machinery Regulation

Next steps

Now that the text of the Machinery Regulation has been published there are two important steps that will follow:

• Development of the Application Guide of the Machinery Regulation, in order to avoid diverging interpretations of the text
• Update of the harmonised standards. Each standard will need the addition of an annex making the link between the requirements of the Regulation and the requirements of the standards.
• The updated harmonised standards will need to be published in the OJEU, to become harmonised standards for the use of ‘presumption of conformity'
• The creation of new harmonised standards, to fill any standardisation gaps at the request of the European Commission.

Resources

• 'The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 
• Standardization Request for the Machinery Regulation, a smooth transition from the Directive to the Regulation’
  Watch the Webinar below:

 

updated [20221207] 

Industry 4.0 covers the whole value chain and life cycle of a product, from concept to production, as well as eventual retirement and recycling. Discover how IEC standards ensure safety, security, and interoperability in smart factories: International standards and conformity assessment for smart manufacturing | IEC

updated [20220914] 

CEN-CENELEC Workshop Agreement (CWA) Zero defect in digital manufacturing technology is open for public consultation. Zero defect manufacturing is almost exactly what it sounds like – ensuring manufacturing processes are performed with no defects or errors.  This has a few obvious advantages: costs are reduced, less material is wasted and the time to manufacture a finished product is reduced.  This all leads to greater production efficiency.

This is your chance to review and influence this workshop agreement. All interested parties are now invited to submit comments on the draft CWA to the Workshop secretary, Mr Yusuf Yilmaz, by 14 October 2022.

For the CWA document, commenting template and further information, see Draft CWA public consultation

updated [20211108] 

This document, Introduction to NSAI/TC 49/SC 2 & standardization for Additive Manufacturing, is aimed at assisting companies to embrace Additive Manufacturing as part of their Industry 4.0 transformation. The document provides an overview of the standardization landscape, as well as highlighting the potential benefits for both Climate Action and for the industry. In order to showcase the importance of standards for innovation a case study is employed, whereby the use of standards in the collaboration between the Irish Manufacturing Research and the Atlantic Prosthetic and Orthotic Services is outlined.

updated [20210908] 

The following Article from IEC gives a better understanding of the IEC 62443 series, which can potentially mitigate the affects and often prevent successful cyber-attacks, as IT standards may not be appropriate for OT( operational technology) environments: Understanding IEC 62443

Throughout 2019 and 2020 our National Mirror Committee to ISO/TC 261 was expanded, with Dr Noel Harrison being appointed as Chair. Due to COVID -19 the ISO/TC 261 2020 plenary was held online where Irish delegates were in attendance. Within ISO/TC 261 Joint Groups (JG) have been set up, under agreement between both ISO/TC 261 and ASTM F42. The Drafting of Standards is not being done in ISO WGs (where experts are nominated by their National Standards Body.), but in these JGs.  There are currently 79 of these JG with experts from ISO and ATSM drafting standards.

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