In 2026, the American National Standards Institute approved the Digital Metrology Standards Consortium's Model-Based Characteristics 1.0 as an American National Standard. MBC is intended to give product requirements and geometric characteristics a persistent, machine-readable identity from model-based definition through manufacturing, inspection and quality decisions. DMSC makes the 188-page specification available for download.

The digital thread often breaks at feature identity

A hole, surface or tolerance can carry a different name or local number in CAD, manufacturing planning, the inspection program and a nonconformance report. After a model revision, systems may struggle to determine which historical result, process parameter or deviation belongs to the same characteristic. Manual mapping is slow and error-prone across variants and suppliers.

MBC is more than a naming list. It defines terminology, symbols, data structures and methods so that a characteristic's identity and relationships survive machine processing. A requirement, manufacturing operation, measurement result and quality decision can therefore reference the same object.

Why it matters in additive manufacturing

An additive part's evidence chain extends beyond nominal CAD geometry. It may include orientation, supports, machine and parameter set, powder lot or filament history, heat treatment, machining, CT data and mechanical tests. A persistent characteristic identity can connect, for example, an internal-channel tolerance to its CT result and the build record that produced the part.

The standard does not make incomplete evidence adequate. It does not define an LPBF process window, CT measurement uncertainty or an acceptance limit. It supplies semantics and relationships; the application must still define engineering requirements, validation and decision rules.

A practical implementation sequence

Begin with a narrow pilot: one product family, a few critical characteristics and one CAD-to-manufacturing-to-inspection flow. Map where and under which identifiers the same feature is stored today. Assign persistent MBC identities, then test whether links survive revision, deviation and remeasurement.

Next, test transfer between systems through machine-readable exports. Matching text on two screens does not prove interoperability: the receiving CAD, MES, QMS or metrology system must recognise the same characteristic, not merely import a note. Include an intentional engineering change and nonconformance in the pilot.

The third step is ownership. Define who creates identity, who may change it, how splits and merges are handled, and what travels in a supplier data package. The standard creates value only when organisational procedures and software both respect the identity lifecycle.

Verified fact, owner claim and conclusion

Verified facts are ANSI approval, publication of MBC v1.0–2026 and access through DMSC. DMSC says the standard supports digital-thread continuity and model-based enterprise interoperability. Savings, defect reduction and software compatibility cannot be generalised until measured in an implementation.

LAYERTIMES concludes that MBC's strongest contribution is not another file format, but treatment of a product characteristic as a persistent first-class data object. That is especially relevant to AM, where qualification evidence is produced across many systems. ANSI status provides a common basis, but value requires integration, data ownership and interoperability testing.