Small Business 

Data Management 

Pain Points

Empowering Small and Medium Size Enterprises Through Effective 

Additive Manufacturing Data Management

NIST Workshop

NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence 

Rockville, MD

June 7, 2023

Slade Gardner, PhD

Big Metal Additive, Denver CO
Slade Gardner, President, Big Metal Additive

• Industrial AM since 2000

• Equipment, Materials, Process, Methods and Priorities

• 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Industry 

Achievement Award

Big Metal Additive, Denver, CO

• We make parts

• Products: Prototypes, First Articles, Low-Rate 

Production, Full-Rate Production

• Factory of 100 Machines

• Aerospace, Space, Maritime, and Oil & Gas

• + Value added engineering 

Introduction
Insufficient availability of castings, forgings and billet

Replacements produced with wire-arc DED

• Up to 95% reduction in schedule

• Up to 63% reduction in cost

• Designs integrate multiple pieces into single components

• Higher evolution of multifunctional design

• Digital inventory ALWAYS ready to respond

Adoption has been slow, but people are moving faster

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL) has been popular focus

• Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) is the key

Large Metal Parts from Additive Manufacturing
Additive Manufacturing is more difficult that people think

• Making a shape is easy

• Making a part is difficult

AM does not replace the machine shop

AM replaces the foundry

• Plate, bar, casting, forging

• Material certs

Material creation

• Process specification driven

• 100% focus and purpose required

Additive Manufacturing is Not a Hobby
Manufacturing goes way beyond just “3D Printing”

Manufacturing is a Key Word
Qualification – Does it satisfy requirements? 

• Facility – control plan (specification)

• Equipment – control plan (specification)

• Personnel – employee training and education (records and certificates)

• Materials (feedstock) – origination, composition, repeatability (specification)

• Process – fixed controllable process (specification)

• Materials (product) – properties, statistical control

• Product – 1st article qualification & lot acceptance criteria

• Inspection – NDE is always required – what is the standard?

• Testing – witness coupons often required

Certification – Does the authority agree?

Manufacturing Requires Acceptance
Without a QMS, you are irrelevant in the manufacturing world

• ISO 9001:2015

• AS9100 D (2016)

• API Spec Q1

QMS provides a documented plan for:

• Customer focus

• Leadership

• Engagement of People

• Process Approach

• Improvement

• Evidence-based decision making

• Relationship management

Quality Management System
Expeditionary Manufacturing

• How do you pass a QMS audit (?)

• Where is the facility control plan (?)

Depot Sustainment / Battle Damage Repair (maybe)

Laboratory Manufacturing

• Specifications and procedures (?)

• Purpose of a lab is to experiment (not QMS)

Casual Part Time Manufacturing

• How do you certify workforce (?)

• Quality assurance / Inspection & test (?)

Manufacturing Myths
Technology Development has been good for AM

Manufacturing

Science

Sustainment 

Limit

Plea to DoD: Don’t stop at Sustainment – Finish the development to Manufacturing!

Laboratory

Limit
It’s Time to Focus on Manufacturing

Limit

L

a

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s

C

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m

p

a

n

i

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s

D

e

p

o

t

s

Limit
It’s Time to Focus on Manufacturing

Published papers 

and technology.

Transferable from 

one group to 

another.

Products and the 

people who make 

them.

Nontransferable. 

Every milestone 

from investment.
Expertise, skill and training

• Years and decades of dedication are necessary 

• Procedures, knowledge and certifications

• Practice makes perfect – and perfect is required

Essential Professional Manufacturing Roles

• Quality Manager / Inspection Lead 

• Project Manager / Team Manager 

• Business Development / Customer Support

• Finance / Accounting

• Vendor Supply Chain Manager / Maintenance / Shipping & Receiving 

• Manufacturing Personnel / Support Personnel

People are the Key to Manufacturing
SP 800-171 Rev. 2 

Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems 

and Organizations

• Personnel to execute all requirements

• Cost associated with implementation

• Our contracts don’t cover hardware / software

• Infrastructure investments required to comply

• Capital

• Staffing

• Many, many websites to navigate just to understand

People Feel Pain
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 Program

• Hygiene aspects

• Implementation aspects

• CUI isn’t firmly defined 

• Customers don’t portion mark

• The ‘over classification’ conundrum

• Cost?

• Some requirements of CMMC are not applicable to SME 

More Pain
Small Company working for a large corporation or government entity

• Comply with all contractual items

• Flow down of universal Ts & Cs

• Referenced by code or FAR/DFAR

• Documents reference documents, layer upon layer...

• Due diligence takes forever

• Getting paid can take way too long

Small innovative company

• We have latest software, our customers do not

• We can pivot at a customers request but then they break their payment system

Pain in the ...
ISO/ASTM 52900:2021

• Additive Manufacturing

• DED-arc

• Arc –DED 

• Wire arc DED

US Patent and Trademark Office

• WAAM - Branded Mark

• Marketing

• Advertising

• Serial Number 79336338

• International Registration Number 1651331

Standards vs Branding
THANK YOU!

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