YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining on Tuesday announced a new open project call worth a total of $1.1 million.
Funded through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Manufacturing Technology Office, the project call, Allied Additive Manufacturing Interoperability Program, aims to establish additive manufacturing equivalency and interoperability between the U.S. Department of Defense and United Kingdom Ministry of Defense supply chains, focusing on laser powder bed fusion of critical parts.
The project will also identify barriers to allied interoperability and support the development of international qualification approaches. Two awards are anticipated.
The U.S. and United Kingdom face shared challenges in adopting additive manufacturing, including process qualification and certification, intellectual property rights, secure data transmission and supply chain integration, a news release states. This initiative, in alignment with the U.K. Advanced Manufacturing Strategy and the U.S. Regional Sustainment Framework, aims to overcome these hurdles and build a resilient and globally connected Defense Industrial Base adaptable to complex logistical demands.
“The current defense sustainment model relies on legacy materials and processes insufficient for today’s complex operational challenges. This project allows participants to propose a structured framework for additive manufacturing supplier qualification, emphasizing performance-based approaches for consistent part production among allied nations,” said Ben DiMarco, technology transition director at America Makes. “By demonstrating AM equivalency and interoperability between the U.S. and U.K., we are advancing qualification methodologies for laser powder bed fusion while accelerating real-world implementation of these capabilities. This initiative highlights the power of collaboration in overcoming technical, regulatory, and supply chain challenges, ensuring AM delivers tangible benefits to the warfighter and allied defense operations.”
The submission deadline is 5 p.m. May 5, and awards will be announced May 26. For more information and to submit a proposal, click HERE.
A Virtual Industry Day, hosted jointly by the U.S. DoD and U.K. MoD, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 11. Register HERE.