YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining on Tuesday announced the winners of a recent project call worth a total of $1.1 million.

The Allied Additive Manufacturing Interoperability Program project, funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s Manufacturing Technology Office, 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.

The U.S. and U.K. 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. The goal of the project, in alignment with the U.K. Advanced Manufacturing Strategy and the U.S. Regional Sustainment Framework, is to overcome these hurdles and build a resilient and globally connected defense industrial base adaptable to complex logistical demands.

“Defense sustainment still relies on legacy materials and processes that fall short of today’s operational demands. This effort enables teams to propose and demonstrate a qualification framework for metal additive manufacturing suppliers in both the U.S. and the U.K., ensuring consistent parts across allied nations,” said Ben DiMarco, technology transition director at America Makes. 

“We’re honored to work with leading global experts to prove [additive manufacturing] equivalency and interoperability. By advancing laser powder bed fusion qualification and accelerating real-world adoption, we’re demonstrating how collaboration can overcome technical, regulatory and supply chain hurdles to deliver tangible results to the warfighter and allied defense operations,” DiMarco said.

Here are the award winners:

Topic: Demonstrating Additive Manufacturing Equivalency and Interoperability for Defense Sustainment and Supply Chain Resilience  

Awardee 1 

  • Team Lead: Lockheed Martin.
  • Project Team: ASTM International, Additive Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. 

Awardee 2 

  • Team Lead: Eaton Corp. 
  • Project Team: EOS North America, Materials Solutions (A Siemens Energy Business), 3Degrees.