America Makes $4.5M Venture Targets Additive Manufacturing Integration

America Makes, the nationwide additive manufacturing accelerator managed by the Nationwide Middle for Protection Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), has issued a brand new open venture name value $4.5 million. Funded by the Workplace of the Below Secretary of Protection for Analysis and Engineering, Manufacturing Know-how Workplace (OSD ManTech), the initiative is titled “Enhancements in Manufacturing Productiveness through Additive Capabilities and Techno-Financial Evaluation 3.0” (IMPACT 3.0). The decision focuses on demonstrating enhancements in lead time, productiveness, and yield for casting and forging operations utilizing additive manufacturing applied sciences. Three venture awards are anticipated.

The IMPACT 3.0 request for proposal (RFP) consists of two technical subject areas. The primary, “AM within the Digital Foundry,” seeks to include sensors and automation into steel foundries to extend manufacturing pace and suppleness. This consists of the flexibility to assist intermittent or low-volume orders, enabling extra responsive manufacturing environments. The second subject, “Wire Arc DED Course of Sensing and Management,” goals to ascertain instruments and strategies for monitoring and controlling wire-based Directed Power Deposition (DED) processes. These strategies are anticipated to enhance confidence in utilizing wire arc DED for army functions underneath oversight of Division of Protection technical authorities.

John Martin, Additive Manufacturing Analysis Director at America Makes, emphasised the initiative’s relevance to nationwide provide chain points. “Additive and superior manufacturing applied sciences are essential for the castings and forgings business and the Protection Industrial Base to beat present nationwide provide chain challenges,” he acknowledged. “In partnership with our members, we put money into strategic initiatives to make sure warfighter readiness for important army platforms, finally strengthening the Division of Protection’s provide chain and enhancing nationwide protection resilience.”

Every venture should start inside a mid-range maturity window, outlined as Know-how Readiness Degree (TRL) 4–7 and Manufacturing Readiness Degree (MRL) 4–7. The target is to transition additive manufacturing from demonstration to deployment inside steel casting and forging workflows, notably for defense-relevant parts and programs.

Additive manufacturing positioned to assist legacy programs and on-demand manufacturing

America Makes helps AM adoption by coordinating analysis tasks that serve each industrial and protection sectors. IMPACT 3.0 continues that trajectory, specializing in solid and solid components—an space with excessive demand for lowered lead instances and improved half availability. Additive applied sciences are more and more used to switch or complement legacy part manufacturing, the place typical manufacturing faces lengthy procurement cycles and restricted tooling availability. The present venture name aligns with long-term Division of Protection targets to embed agile, digital-first manufacturing capabilities into its logistics and sustainment chains.

The decision for proposals opened on April 2, 2025. A kickoff webinar can be hosted on April 8 as a part of the TRX occasion sequence. Technical questions have to be submitted by April 16. Membership eligibility for members closes on Could 20. Remaining proposals have to be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 2. Awards are anticipated to be introduced by June 27. Full particulars, subject necessities, and eligibility standards will be discovered within the official RFP posted on the America Makes web site.

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