It is our privilege to present the third progress report of the NSERC Strategic Network for Holistic Innovation in Additive Manufacturing (HI-AM). This report summarizes the research outcomes and network activities that took place between July 2020 and July 2021. First and foremost, we are very grateful to the members of the Network, including 19 Principal Investigators; 22 Industry, Government, and Non-profit partners; 120 highly qualified personnel; three academic collaborators; and ten international academic partners. Furthermore, we recognize the contributions of the members of the Board of Directors, the Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Commercialization and Outreach Advisory Committee.
In early 2021, the HI-AM Network signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, outlining a cooperative framework for the development of standards in the area of additive manufacturing. We are grateful to ASTM for their trust in the Network. This MoU demonstrates the high value ASTM places in the quality of research produced by the Network, and their confidence in the contribution our results can make towards standards development. We are very pleased to announce that two HI-AM projects have been registered in ASTM to develop standards on quality assurance and powder compaction density measurement methods. Several projects are also on the radar of ASTM, and discussions with the associated principal investigators are underway. We are grateful to ASTM for their trust in the Network. This MoU demonstrates the high value they place in the quality of research produced by the Network, and their confidence in the contribution our results can make towards standards development.
The Network has produced substantial results through its 35 active and 4 completed projects across four research themes under the supervision of the Network principal investigators. More than 289 journal and conference papers have been produced through these projects; and six invention disclosures have been filed. Across research themes and R&D teams, interesting and impactful results are now emerging from the HI-AM Network. Efforts are being made to commercialize these inventions through our industrial partners.
We originally planned to hold the 2021 HI-AM conference at Dalhousie University in Halifax; however, the continuation of the pandemic gave us no choice but to hold a virtual conference once again. The conference took place on June 1st and 2nd, 2021, and featured 115 talks and poster presentations, with more than 600 participants. This conference would not have been possible without the contributions of many individuals and organizations. In particular, we would like to extend our appreciation to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University, EOS, Exergy Solutions, Javelin Technologies, KSB, Leichtbau BW GmbH, Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab, Postprocess Technologies, Promation, PULSTEC, SLM Solutions, Suncor Energy, Trumpf, and Xact Metal.
One of the major negative impacts of the pandemic has been the cancellation of our exchange programs in 2020 and 2021. In addition, several outreach programs have been delayed. The network manager is working very hard to allow these events to take place in 2022. Several experimental projects have also been altered, and we will face some progress delays as a result.
We appreciate your time in reading this report, and we hope you find it useful. To learn more about the Network statistics and progress, please explore the HI-AM Network website at https://nserc-hi-am.ca/. If you need any further information, please feel free to contact our Network Manager Dr. Farzad Liravi, at fliravi@uwaterloo.ca.
Ralph Resnick, Chair of the Board of Directors
Ehsan Toyserkani, Network Director