YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining announced two new project calls worth $8 million in funding. 

The first project call, Powder Alloy Development for Additive Manufacturing, has a $6 million budget and aims to advance the readiness, manufacturability, performance and supply chain resilience of high-temperature refractory alloys for additive manufacturing applications relevant to the Department of Defense. The project is funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Material and Manufacturing Directorate.

Proposed efforts for the project are expected to generate data, improve process robustness and qualification readiness and deliver actionable insights that reduce technical and industrial risk while enabling realistic transition pathways. Collectively, the outcomes are intended to provide mutual value to the Department of Defense and industry by accelerating informed adoption of refractory alloys in additive manufacturing. 

The request for proposal encompasses three topic areas:

  • Topic 1: Existing Refractory Alloy Systems: Up to two awards are anticipated, with a maximum funding amount of $2 million per award.
  • Topic 2: Novel or Emerging Refractory Alloy Systems: One award is anticipated, with a maximum funding amount of $1.7 million.
  • Topic 3: Refractory Alloy Supply Chain Assessment (Mine-to-Qualified Part): One award is anticipated, with a maximum funding amount of $300,000.

The submission deadline is 5 p.m. March 25. For more information and to submit a proposal, click HERE. A kickoff webinar is scheduled for noon Feb. 4. Register HERE.

The second project call, Artificial Intelligence for Material Allowables in Additive Manufacturing, offers a total of $2 million and is funded through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office. 

Consisting of two phases, the objective is to develop an AI-driven framework that identifies and quantifies risk in the current material allowables approach for 17-4PH stainless steel (H1025) produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF).

By using machine learning to model process-structure-property relationships and guide the most informative tests, the project seeks to safely reduce physical testing while linking any reductions to clear, probabilistic risk categories. The outcome will enable faster, more cost-effective qualification and certification of additive manufacturing materials, support agile decision-making for production parts and accelerate adoption in defense and commercial applications. One award is anticipated.

The submission deadline is 5 p.m. March 25. For more information and to submit a proposal, click HERE. A kickoff webinar is scheduled for noon Feb. 5. Register HERE.