Layers Issue 3

Issue 3 2023

FORGING A STRATEGY, CASTING A FUTURE America Makes and Deloitte Come Together for the Future of AM

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

CA2 Ends Strong Building a Strong Talent Stream for AM Three Key America Makes Partnerships

CONTENTS FEATURES

COLUMNS 1 BUILDING MOMENTUM 2 FROM 'USE' TO 'SCALE' TO 'SUPPORT' 3 IMPACTFUL RESULTS 4 CA2 ENDS STRONG 5 LEAPS AND BOUNDS

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6 Forging a Strategy, Casting a Future America

Makes and Deloitte Come Together for the Advancement of Additive Manufacturing

10 The Ripple Effect How

Localized Defense Manufacturing Communities Strengthen Our Entire Nation

16 CORE COMPETENCY 37 DIVERSIFYING IS KEY TO THE FUTURE OF AM 38 KEY AMERICA MAKES PARTNERSHIPS PROPELLING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 42

18 Building the Additive Ecosystem Additive

Manufacturing is Positioned to Leverage its Flexiblity to Strengthen Supply Chains Across Multiple Industries

22 AM Roadmap 3.0

America Makes and ANSI Standardization Roadmap for Gets a Reboot

26 Challenges of Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing Industrialization Machine

Improvements to Foster Transferability and Accelerate Industrialization of AM

32 Answering the Demand Signal Building

a Strong Talent Stream for AM

42 CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ADVANCING DEFENSE MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE 44 AMERICA MAKES HONORS 2023 AWARD RECIPIENTS

Building Momentum A Sneak Peek Into Our 2024 Focus Areas JOHN WILCZYNSKI | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICA MAKES

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s we reflect on 2023, we eagerly embrace the possibilities that lie ahead. The new year holds a renewed sense of purpose for America Makes to refine and strengthen our focus on four main tenets, each of which will be a driving force behind our success.

1. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: We recognize the need to stay at the forefront of (additive manufacturing) AM innovation. In 2024, we will invest in research and development to drive technological advancements that satisfy the changing needs and expectations of our members and stakeholders. Whether it is exploring emerging technologies, enhancing existing products, or developing new solutions, our dedication to technology development will ensure that we remain future-ready and true to our mission.

2. EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (EWD): With the manufacturing industry currently plagued by a shallow talent stream, we are committed to empowering and nurturing its growth. EWD will be a strategic imperative on our 2024 agenda as we invest our time and resources to build the

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AMNation Pipeline Portal, amplify AMJobs, and expand AMTrain – an industry training mapping tool. The current EWD portfolio contains over 20 initiatives and projects.

3. ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT: We understand the importance of building strong relationships with members, stakeholders, customers, and regional partners.

In 2024, we will develop our ecosystem by seeking strategic partnerships, fostering innovation through shared platforms, and nurturing a vibrant community around the AM industry. This year, America Makes announced partnerships with the Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) and expanded our partnerships with the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the Additive Manufacturing Coalition (AMC).

4. OPERATIONS: Going into 2024, we will continue to focus on refining our operational processes and enhance value to our membership. By leveraging data-driven insights from the industry and our members, we aim to create a lean and agile operational framework that can adapt to the evolving and dynamic market needs. These improved capabilities will enable the Institute to execute a successful Joint Defense Manufacturing Council (JDMC) evaluation in Spring 2024.

The year ahead holds immense potential for our Institute and our membership, and we are poised to seize new opportunities. Let us step into 2024 with excitement, ready to make a lasting impact on our industry and beyond.

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MEMBERSHIP NICK MULÉ

From ‘Use’ to ‘Scale’ to ‘Support’

Director, Additive Manufacturing, Boeing | Executive Committee Chair, America Makes

America Makes’ Priorities and Challenges are Evolving with the Industry

Welcome to the latest issue of America Makes’ Layers! In the last issue, I discussed the state of additive manufacturing (AM) in the industry, recognizing its shift from “using” AM to “scaling” AM. This sentiment reflects more than 10 years of progress made by the industry and America Makes in establishing a foundational understanding of the technology that has enabled use of AM materials in the end products we see today. However, we have plenty of work to do together to continue to advance and deploy AM across the U.S. After attending the America Makes MMX this past August in Youngstown, Ohio, several key themes continued to emerge. It was clear the membership has a focus on implementation, which has resulted in new set of questions and challenges we need to solve collectively: • How do we scale AM across a diverse supply chain?

• How do we develop local supply chains that can respond to specific manufacturing needs?

• Do we have the workforce to support our growing demand across multiple domains/technologies requiring specialized skillsets?

• How can America Makes, as a central convener, support these implementation needs?

These are a subset of the many topics discussed with colleagues during MMX, leading to an important challenge for the America Makes community: Prioritization

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of how America Makes can best address these growing needs. The continued development and deployment of emerging AM materials and processes has identified new applications and use cases. This has resulted in a rising interest in AM across the board. This creates a unique position for us to reflect on the roadmap and prioritize our activity. At MMX, one of the broader survey results was that “everything” was of importance to the community. This overarching interest points to constant growth in the adoption of AM and introduces the near-term need to prioritize so we can support our diverse member base. In addition to an implementation focus, there remains key technology development demands across our five “swim lanes” to close technology gaps and unlock enabling capabilities.

This is an exciting time for AM. As the industry focuses on implementation, America Makes remains committed to understanding and supporting member needs and adjusting priorities to ensure we are doing the right work at the right time. However, membership engagement is key. Your voice and ideas are valuable, and it is vital that we receive feedback from you to gain a deeper understanding of your viewpoints, leverage your expertise, and focus on our goals. Many opportunities are available to get involved. Please reach out to the Executive Committee so we can help match your interests with our working groups and activities across the Institute!

MEMBERSHIP

IMPACTFUL RESULTS The Institute's Activity is at an All-Time High, Resulting in Impacts for Membership, the AM Ecosystem, and the U.S.

83.6% GROWTH SINCE 2020

72.1% GROWTH SINCE 2020

66% GROWTH SINCE 2020

50.5% GROWTH SINCE 2020

36.6%

36.4%

GROWTH SINCE 2020

GROWTH SINCE 2020

12% GROWTH SINCE 2020

82

$43.7 M

260

1,957

2,165

77

2,253

Active Projects Ongoing

Project Dollars Deployed to Membership

America Makes Members

Individuals Completing Professional Development

America Makes Event Attendees

Success Stories Published

America Makes Project Assets Available to Members

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OPERATIONS

CA2 Ends Strong Second Cooperative Agreement Projects Raised the Ceiling on U.S. Competitiveness, Resiliency, and Security ALEXANDER STEEB | OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, AMERICA MAKES

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merica Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, closed another chapter of its story in January 2023 with the conclusion of its second Cooperative Agreement (CA2). CA2 was focused on identifying requirements that address the high priority needs of the U.S. government and industry, as well as executing projects and programs in three key areas: technology advancement, education and workforce development, and ecosystem expansion.

During the CA2 period, America Makes and its membership executed 45 distinct efforts, totaling over $51 million in generated value. These efforts resulted in significant outcomes, including: • The development of new additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and processes that are more efficient, affordable, and capable of producing parts with complex geometries and properties • The creation of a skilled workforce in AM through training programs and educational initiatives • The expansion of the AM ecosystem through the development of new partnerships and the creation of new markets for AM products and services The success of CA2 solidified America Makes as a strategic partner for the Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies. It also created value for

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membership from industry, academia, not-for-profits, and state and federal government entities. Key initiatives and projects included: • Maturation of Advance Manufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment (MAMLS) • Advancing AM Post-Processing Techniques (AAPT) • Advanced Tools for Rapid Qualification (ATRQ) • DoD AM Roadmap Version 2.0 • Joint Additive Manufacturing Model Exchange (JAMMEX) • AM Standardization Collaborative (AMSC) Roadmap Version 2.0 • Navy Workforce Development Program • Advanced Curriculum in Additive Design, Engineering and Manufacturing Innovation (ACADEMI) • Manufacturing USA Regionalization Playbook • Ecosystem Expansion via Satellite Centers As America Makes launches into its third Cooperative Agreement (CA3), the Institute is poised to continue its work of advancing AM technology and its adoption by U.S. industry. The Institute is committed to boosting U.S. competitiveness, resiliency, and security through the development of new AM technologies, cultivation of a skilled workforce, and expansion of the ecosystem.

OPERATIONS ALEXANDER STEEB

Leaps and Bounds

Operations Director, America Makes

America Makes Membership Continues to Grow in Fiscal Year 2023

America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, has seen significant membership growth in Fiscal Year 2023. The Institute added over 65 new members, bringing its total membership to 257 as of September 2023. This growth is being driven by several factors, including the Institute’s large number of project calls in 2023, an increased presence at new tradeshows and conferences, as well as its expanded reach due to renewed media partnerships. Each of the project calls this year attracted a diverse range of participants from industry, academia, and government – and all created new opportunities for members to collaborate and share knowledge. Focused on advancing state-of-the-art technology in additive manufacturing (AM), topical areas for the project calls included qualification of AM parts and processes, technoeconomic studies, augmenting casting and forging supply chains, as well as alloy development and material allowables generation. Since April 2023, America Makes has made over $40M in project calls available to membership and their project teams.

The Institute has also increased its presence at tradeshows and conferences, participating in over 20 events.

These events have provided America Makes with the opportunity to connect with potential members and showcase its work to existing and new audiences.

Institute leadership and staff have engaged with close to 2,000 attendees at its TRX and MMX events, sharing insights and successes with government partners,

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members, and non-members alike. Community convening and the inherent networking and collaboration remains a focal point of the Institute’s value proposition to membership.

Finally, America Makes has renewed and strengthened several media partnerships this year. We are proud to partner with leading industry publications including Additive Manufacturing, Metal AM, TCT Media, and 3DPrint. com. These individual partnerships reflect the shared mission of promoting the advancement, adoption, and commercialization of AM technologies. Each media group has worked to increase awareness among its targeted audience through engaging thought leadership articles and advertising of the Institute’s mission and impact as the national accelerator for AM and 3D printing.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, high-level drivers are contributing to the growth of America Makes membership including: • The increasing adoption of AM by industry and government • The heightened focus on supply chain resiliency and security • The growing demand and need for a trained and skilled workforce America Makes has a strong track record of success and is committed to meeting the needs of its government partners and members. As the Institute continues its mission to shape and advance the future of AM, it is well-positioned to maintain a trajectory of growth.

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TECHNOLOGY

Forging a Strategy, Casting a Future America Makes and Deloitte Come Together for the Advancement of the Additive Manufacturing Industry DR. MARK COTTELEER, CHRISTIAN MCCALLEY, AND KEVIN ORBINE | DELOITTE CONSULTING, LP

CASTING AND FORGING, A CRITICAL AMERICAN CAPABILITY You may not realize it, but the U.S. government considers metal castings and forgings to be one of the most critical supply chain items – equal to microelectronics, batteries, and “kinetic weapons” (e.g., hypersonic missiles) – to our national defense and our economic health. And while the news media cycle is dominated by talk of the latest semiconductor fabs and battery production facilities spreading across America, our industries and military depend on the metal parts that house, convey, protect, and support those high-tech products.

Yet despite this dependency, America has seen a 67% reduction in the number of U.S. foundries since the year 2000. This decline poses a challenge for our country when acquiring cast and forged components for critical weapons and support platforms. This is particularly true for high-mix

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and low-volume quantities that are more challenging for domestic suppliers to deliver profitably.

Thus, we see the need for casting and forging operations to seek additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities that can upgrade production capacity, improve throughput, reduce cost, and take risks out of the supply equation. As with our national investments in semiconductor and battery production, addressing these needs offers to increase America’s security over the long haul.

America Makes and Deloitte have a long history of working together. Deloitte has been a Platinum member of America Makes since 2014. Our organizations have collaborated to bring the best of AM to American business, so it was only natural to partner when the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) called upon the Institute to develop a national roadmap to use AM to support the casting and forging industries.

TECHNOLOGY

HOW TO BUILD A TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP Building the roadmap was a significant effort. The combined team led by Brandon Ribic, Technology Director, and Litsa Rubino, Senior Project Engineer, from America Makes, and Christian McCalley, Manager, and Kevin Orbine, Senior Consultant, from Deloitte, culled through more than 400 academic articles, interviewed more than three dozen industry experts, and conducted a half dozen workshops with 131 participants from 96 organizations across industry and government. The collection, analysis, and synthesis of all this data was completed over eight months with the objective of: • Identifying the significant issues affecting casting and forging supply chains, including their common characteristics • Identifying and prioritizing how AM can mitigate those issues and defining the scope and investment required to succeed • Identifying infrastructural investments needed to support the U.S. industry as it integrates AM into its casting and forging operations The resulting roadmap, recently submitted to the U.S. government and soon to be available to all, describes a portfolio of 21 projects that could be executed over approximately five years. Within its scope, 40 material-process combinations and 52 individual components are assessed alongside 25 demonstrations to transfer critical outcomes, and five pilots to perform stress tests in production environments. In summary, there is a lot to do and many opportunities for businesses, large and small, to participate in driving these advancements.

PAIN POINTS FOR CASTING AND FORGING Casting and forging production processes are different.

Castings are created when molten metal is poured into a prepared mold, forming a part. Forgings are made when a piece of metal – a billet – or other preformed metal object is (typically) preheated and then hammered into a final form. In both cases, finishing “post-production” processes generally are required to yield a final part. Even within casting and forging, there are many different sub-processes and production decisions, so the roadmap development team had to consider many avenues of effort. Nonetheless, themes did become apparent.

For casting processes, seven general “pain points” emerged from the team’s analysis:

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• There are fewer and fewer people who understand the technical details associated with successful, highquality casting operations.

• The process for qualifying a finished component for use, particularly in aerospace, defense, and healthcare settings, can be complex, time-consuming, and expensive.

• It can be challenging to understand and interpret the design specifications for components that need to be cast. This is especially true for parts designed a long time ago.

• Tooling (e.g., molds, dies, and other support materials) can be difficult and expensive to track and manage.

• Designs for cast parts are often only available as 2D blueprints, whereas modern manufacturing methods demand the availability of 3D CAD models.

• It is difficult for manufacturers, particularly small businesses, to bid on low-volume or high-mix products without taking on significant business risk.

• Poor availability of post-production (e.g., machining and grinding) capacity can extend lead times.

For forging, six general pain points emerged, many of which were similar in nature to casting: • There is a growing deficit of artisans who genuinely understand how to create high-quality products.

• Qualifying end components as “fit for use” is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.

• Frequently, part designs are only available in 2D when 3D is needed.

• Tooling can be difficult and expensive to manage.

• Even more than for casting, industry experts and workshop participants spoke of growing worker

The Manufacturing USA Institutes, for which America Makes stands as the flagship institution, exist to drive forward the cause of additive manufacturing adoption in support of the economic and defensive competitiveness of the United States. Together with Deloitte Consulting, America’s largest professional services organization, America Makes is delivering on its mission in the critical space of casting and forging metal components.

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TECHNOLOGY

shortages and a deficit of training programs to create the future workforce.

• Especially for forging, a lack of availability for highquality and rapidly available raw materials from qualified sources leads to increased lead times.

Synthesizing the amount of data collected by the roadmapping process is arduous, and figuring out how to communicate the findings is even more difficult. To accomplish the latter challenge, the team turned to America Make’s long history of defining “swim lanes,” which provides a taxonomy for sorting and categorizing the different projects and other courses of action proposed through the effort.

Four swim lanes ultimately emerged.

SCALING THE CURRENT STATE The analysis revealed that much knowledge already exists to address several of the remaining substantial challenges. Like the quote attributed to the author William Gibson, “The future is here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” The Scale Current State swim lane for the roadmap recommends a group of projects seeking to disseminate established technology beyond siloed pockets of expertise. These are mature capabilities that more people need to know about.

We don’t have the space in this publication to fully describe the advised follow-up work included in the final roadmap recommendations. Still, we can say they involve efforts like disseminating leading practices and promoting the adoption of 3D-printed sand molds and cores and 3D-printed patterns for casting, establishing scalable sourcing models for AM replacement parts for industrial equipment – keeping critical production equipment running, and defining better strategies for disseminating

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design and deployment guides for the use of AM for prototypes and production fixtures.

PROVING PRODUCTION CAPABILITY The analysis also revealed a set of emerging capabilities and technologies that, while still evolving, represent great promise for the future. These include, for casting, the development of even better materials for sand- and ceramic-based casting operations and developing and disseminating AM enhancements to tooling (e.g., to promote cooling and other quality-improving enhancements). For forging, recommended projects include those aimed at piloting the use of AM preforms and dies for forging, especially for low-volume part production, in addition to establishing the ability to add more complex geometric features and “functional surfaces” to forgings. Finally, castings and forgings could benefit from projects that establish methods for planned and unplanned tooling repair and modification – essentially enabling tooling to work longer.

BUILDING A DIGITAL FOUNDATION Almost everyone involved in the roadmapping effort recognized that the advancement of casting and forging capabilities in the modern world would require investment and progress in the industry’s ability to manage and move data and to use software-driven tools, such as artificial intelligence and other analytical methods, to make better design and production decisions. To this end, the Build Digital Foundation swim lane defines a series of projects that aim to help establish an infrastructure for components and simulation models to drive agility and accelerated design.

These include software tools designed to optimize process setups – such as material and geometric performance attributes – and the establishment of data infrastructures

TECHNOLOGY

and guidance that enable the collection and storage of data spanning AM process flows. The analyses also resulted in a recommendation that the government create a “program of record” to accelerate the creation of technical data packages (TDPs, the collection of CAD models, and other data required to produce a part using advanced or AM technologies) for legacy components – especially across the Department of Defense.

comments to Brandon Ribic at brandon.ribic@ncdmm.org.

Lastly, we want our membership to understand the immense value we place on feedback, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to enhancing these initiatives based on member insights. We deeply appreciate the unwavering support and engagement offered throughout this effort.

SUPPORTING THE OVERALL EFFORT Of course, given similarities in pain points across both casting and forging industries, some initiatives can serve both industries – and potentially others simultaneously.

Recommendations to promote the general success and diffusion of AM for production include establishing frameworks that clearly define when, where, and how to print feasibly and economically and document proven design rules across parts, tooling, and accessories. These efforts might be enhanced with focused, strategic communication to build a pipeline of small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) ready to leverage AM capabilities. Promoting a robust and resilient American supply base for castings and forgings should encourage cross-functional sharing of the standardized management and storage of material data gathered during development and execution activities.

LONG-TERM JOURNEY Ultimately, the America Makes and Deloitte Consulting team – supported by hundreds of participants and stakeholders from across industry, military, academia, and government – were able to recommend a portfolio of 21 distinct project investment opportunities capable of impacting the future of our national manufacturing capabilities, our economy, and our national defense. Through the team’s active collaboration with OSD and government stakeholders, a shareable version of this roadmap is now available through America Makes CORE. Thanks to the IMPACT project call RFP announced in May 2023, the initial phase of our endeavors is already in full swing and awardees have been announced.

These endeavors symbolize the start of a sustained, long-term journey centered on the integration of AM into the casting and forging industries. America Makes eagerly anticipates the ongoing progression of this journey and will announce further updates and participation opportunities as they become available. Please direct any questions or

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the incredible efforts and contributions of our casting and forging technical advisory committee members and the members of our combined team: ADVISOR

ORGANIZATION

Brett Connor

OSD

Brian Began

American Foundry Society

Casey J. Jemelka

Army

Dean Hutchins

DLA

Drew Golterman

Army

Howard Sizek

AFLMC

James (Jim) Warren

Forging Industry Association

Jenn Wolk

ONR

Joe Fritz

Investment Casting Institute

Katie Sebeck

Army

Lawrence John

OSD

Matthew Draper

Navy

Michael Froning

AFLMC

Raymond Monroe

Steel Founders’ Society of America

Rich Lonardo

Defense & Energy Systems, LLC

Robyn Vialva

AFRL

Ryan Howell

Army

Steve Udvardy

North American Die Casting Association

Timothy Howell

AFLMC

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The Ripple Effect How Localized Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Programs Ultimately Strengthen Our Entire Nation JOSH CRAMER | DIRECTOR, EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, NCDMM/AMERICA MAKES

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hat are the Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Programs (DMCSPs), and how does America Makes build opportunities for membership engagement within the DMCSP? Every epicenter of impact starts at a local or regional level.

Developing a national strategy to be implemented at the local level is core to the America Makes education and workforce development (EWD) vision. Often, we describe this as the ripple effect, where just like the ripples that radiate from the impact of one pebble dropped in a puddle grow in number and scale, so does the impact of community engagement.

This is the premise that anchors AMNation.

We are strongly aligned with the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) and their DMCSP. The DMCSP is designed to support long-term local community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial ecosystem. Not surprisingly, the DMCSP has support from the Assistant Secretary of Defense, the

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Industrial Base Policy, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology (OSD(R&E)), and we all share a passion for and dedication to expanding the manufacturing ecosystem.

BUILDING STRONG REGIONS BUILDS A STRONG NATION Nationally to date, there are 17 DMCSPs that have impacted over 2,200 defense businesses and nearly 40,000 workers.

There have also been over 40 new products developed and improvements to over 90 technologies and products. In FY2024, there have been an additional five DMCSPs named.

With a focus on talent and workforce, facilities, research and development, and small business support, OLDCC’s impact with this program is hitting the target. America Makes is proud of our engagement and combined efforts to support manufacturing advancements within these regional communities.

Now in its third year of programming with DMCSP, America Makes' EWD team has been a key participant

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

in several projects with DMCSPs, helping to scale best practices and assets from the Institute’s library and building new resources that can be applied not only to other DMCSPs but nationally through AMNation. The local DMCSPs include many stakeholders, including America Makes members, and are led by a diverse group of local partners. Leadership has offices in government, academic institutions, consortiums, non-profit organizations, associations, and many more. Most, if not all, activities are built to be sustainable and deployed locally through trainthe-trainer programming and support from members.

These communities can leverage not only the training and outreach programs but also platforms, such as AMJobs for career exploration and AMTrain to assist in mapping job roles and competencies. For America Makes' EWD, this aligns with a strategic imperative around best practice programs and collaboration with membership. As a collective of nearly a dozen DMCSPs, this strategic partnership has allowed America Makes to reach thousands of learners

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and work closely with dozens of stakeholders to build sustainability on a local level and collaborate on future opportunities to keep these regions thriving.

Let’s dive into how we are engaging in the DMSCP communities.

The Artificial Intelligence in Metals and Manufacturing Consortium (AIMMC) – Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio Development Catalyst Connection – Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP) The AIMMC project focuses on strengthening defense manufacturing capabilities through an industrial production ecosystem that integrates the use of advanced metals and materials with artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing (AM), and robotics. This consortium is dedicated to working collaboratively to upskill the regional workforce, familiarize manufacturers with new technologies, and spur innovation in these specialized sectors.

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

America Makes Collaboration Summary The team at America Makes has supported several activities throughout this DMCSP. Program activities include train-the-trainer programming for K-12 educators and community college instructors. The America Makes team also supported webinars highlighting technology projects for utilization across the region. The EWD team, in collaboration with Edge Factor, a multi-media company, also constructed an AM Deployment Playbook for a unique educational project launched this fall designed to create inspiration around opportunities in the AM industry.

The project is geared for use in schools, companies, and non-profits.

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Ohio Defense Manufacturing Community (ODMC) – Ohio Development Ground and Air Vehicle Parts/Assemblies The ODMC drives to offer Industry 4.0 technical assistance and workforce training for small- and mid-sized defense manufacturers with a focus on the aerospace and ground vehicle sectors. This project includes leveraging the state’s existing MEPs and establishing new collaborations with educational facilities statewide to strengthen the Industry 4.0 workforce of the future.

America Makes Collaboration Summary The America Makes EWD team and the Ohio DMCSP strategically focused early activities toward ecosystem

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

development and support of small- and medium-sized manufacturers statewide. Later emphasis targeted the southeast Ohio region in collaboration with the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturers Coalition (AOMC). Critical to the mission of America Makes is directing our program development efforts to early learners, particularly those in rural areas, which made our partnership with AOMC a perfect fit. In partnership with AOMC, we convened approximately 24 local manufacturers to tailor the Guide to 21st Century Talent program to meet the specific needs in southeast Ohio. Through our work with the Ohio DMCSP and AOMC, we have successfully launched micro-learning modules and the Additive Edge entrepreneurial program, touching hundreds of learners in schools and non-profit organizations within that region.

Our programming efforts have impacted learners across the K-Grey spectrum in the Utah community, including the implementation of the Girl Scout AM Patch program across its local troops. The team has also worked closely with the Utah STEM Action Center and MyTechHigh to integrate our AM educational assets, frameworks, bodies of knowledge, and best practices into their programming.

We have partnered with the University of Utah Professional Education team, the Advanced Manufacturing Certification program, and the Weber State University and Davis Tech College outreach programs to implement resources, such as the Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connections (Talent Ready Utah), to leverage apprenticeship programs.

Utah Defense Manufacturing Community – Utah Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Institute (UAMMI)

Maritime Industries Talent Development The Commonwealth of Virginia, Office of Veterans and Defense Affairs-led Defense Manufacturing Consortia is fulfilling a project to recruit, train, and modernize the Commonwealth’s maritime workforce. The goal of the Virginia Maritime Industrial Base Consortium is to increase manufacturing capacity, capability, resiliency, and diversity in their industrial base by creating K-12 to university-level training for skilled workers and manufacturing engineers to support the Navy’s sustainment and shipbuilding needs.

Aerospace, Composites The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development is executing a project to enhance the capabilities of the regional defense industrial ecosystem, with a focus on carbon composites and advanced materials. The project includes several initiatives to strengthen workforce development across the Utah Defense Manufacturing Community, including developing defense manufacturing apprenticeship programs and retraining workers displaced because of COVID-19.

America Makes Collaboration Summary America Makes and the Utah DMCSP share a rich portfolio of collaborative projects, and we hold a seat on their leadership board, which allows us further alignment with UAMMI, where we recently held our Technical Review and Exchange (TRX).

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Commonwealth of Virginia, Office of Veterans and Defense Affairs

America Makes Collaboration Summary America Makes and the Virginia team have joined with local partners to implement train-the-trainer activities and build new AM training assets to be deployed in schools, helping youth realize different training and career pathways.

The teams have also been working closely to align with programs across the Navy’s technology and workforce development focus areas. This includes the Navy, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Submarine Center

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

EXPONENTIAL IMPACT of Defense Manufacturing Communities Support Programs

17 DSMPs 22,000 DEFENSE BUSINESSES 40,000 WORKERS

of Excellence, and the new Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Naval Aviation Schoolhouse for Additive Manufacturing (NAVSAM). Linkages across America Makes, The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Accelerated Training for Defense Manufacturing, Danville Community College, and GOTech have all been critical to the pathway of regional success. Although these programs are just beginning their ascent, the foundation has been set to allow for a solid regional impact.

university programs and industry through youth outreach and academic programming in the K-12 sector. Deployment of the micro-learning paths in middle and high school and the Additive Edge (entrepreneurial program) continue to scale out in the region. America Makes has also engaged in several community-based programs to support out-of-school time in the region with youth. As we continue to grow and scale in the new year, programs are coming to realization and impact learners across the SEAMTN area of impact.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Illinois Defense Manufacturing Consortium (ILDMC)

Southeastern Advanced Machine Tooling Network (SEAMTN) The University of Tennessee, Knoxville leads the SEAMTN consortia, charged with translating the advances and economic impact of next-generation machine tools and smart manufacturing processes in their community and state, and ensuring that training and recruitment capabilities are in place to prepare the future workforce to operate these new technologies.

Castings and Forgings, Energy Storage The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois-led ILDMC has launched a Casting, Forging, and Energy Storage Center of Excellence introducing new offerings, comprehensive solutions, innovative manufacturing technologies, and state-of-the-art workforce training modules targeting underrepresented populations. The ILDMC ensures that the casting and forging industry is more productive, innovative, and focused on DoD needs.

America Makes Collaboration Summary A dedication to the incumbent workforce has America Makes leveraging instructor-led training created under the Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP) several years ago with longtime partners and members, SME – Tooling U-SME. These instructor-led trainings focus on Optimizing for Additive Manufacturing and Managing a Smart Manufacturing Facility. The team is also driving in the region to build vital pathways into community college and

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America Makes Collaboration Summary America Makes is working closely with the Illinois DMCSP to ensure alignment of efforts regarding casting and forging specific to AM processes. The goal is to leverage the knowledge, data, and lessons learned in EWD roadmaps in development at the national level to efforts in the Illinois region. The Institute is dedicated to aligning the technology roadmaps with our EWD strategy. This commitment

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

is evident within the Illinois DMCSP. The team will be working to scale micro-learning for industry leaders, as well as for programming and assets specific to the AM casting and forging processes. The mission is to build awareness surrounding the possibilities of AM in casting and forging, break down barriers, show pathways to adoption in the region, and link this regional activity to the national movements in the sector.

New Jersey Defense Manufacturing Community – New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJ MEP) Missiles and Munitions, Castings and Forgings, Microelectronics The NJ MEP-led New Jersey Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium supports the Picatinny Arsenal’s Joint Center of Excellence for Guns and Ammunition to fill key advanced manufacturing technology needs and to create transition opportunities for new defense technologies. The project also engages in ecosystem capacity building, workforce training and retraining, and recruitment and retention of women, underrepresented minorities, veterans, military personnel, and their family members, who are transitioning into careers in manufacturing.

America Makes Collaboration Summary The New Jersey DMCSP and the NJ MEP are utilizing America Makes best practice programs to prepare active service members, veterans, and their families seeking full-time employment in the defense manufacturing industry. Our team is poised to deploy career awareness training, tools, and engagement on feeder programs into the local career pathways. Our aim is to provide connections between the Institute’s technology focus areas, projects, and events with the NJ MEP and Picatinny staff. Supporting large-scale activities, such as Made in New Jersey and NJ Manufacturing Day, impacts hundreds of new and potential workers.

The Missouri Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium – University of Missouri Castings and Forgings The Missouri Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium is launching a program to create a pipeline of engineers and tradespeople skilled in the usage of modern digital advanced manufacturing technologies applied to the DoD priority area of castings and forgings.

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America Makes Collaboration Summary The Missouri DMCSP represents a large body of work for the America Makes EWD team consisting of tailoring educational and training assets that offer credentialing, for youth to adults, and the creation of new programming for AM in casting and forging. With a team of subject matter experts and America Makes project leaders at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, the group will create these new assets to be housed along with others in the AMNation Pipeline Portal available for use in communities across the U.S. This DMCSP is just getting ramped up, and the new year promises new growth through outreach and programs.

Several large-scale events are planned with regional partners at the Ozarks Technical Community College, Missouri Protoplex, and the Kummer Institute Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

The America’s Additive Foundry Consortium – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Castings and Forgings, Digital Manufacturing To address the casting and forging supply chain challenges facing the U.S. military, the America’s Additive Foundry Consortium is working to secure a supply of tactical alloys qualified for use in additive, hybrid, and intelligent manufacturing and will serve as a regional technical demonstration hub, offer certification and training programs, and provide technical support for novel materials and processes.

America Makes Collaboration Summary The America’s Additive Foundry Consortium represents a diverse team dedicated to casting and forging in additive and digital manufacturing. The America Makes EWD team will work with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and other local partners to implement best training practices across the K-Grey spectrum and support largescale events in that region to help build awareness and inspiration in AM learners. The marriage of technology research and workforce development is necessary for the area, and America Makes is aligned with that mission. As this program strengthens in the next year, the team will work to build outreach plans for youth, adults, service members/veterans, and assist with pathway and entrepreneurial programs with ties to community college and university programs.

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CORE Competency New Member Portal Transforms Institute’s Digital Presence JOE VERANESE | CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, NCDMM JASON SALY | INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & CLOUD SERVICES MANAGER, NCDMM

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e are redefining the way America Makes interacts and shares information with membership in the digital sphere. The America Makes website, the Member Portal, and the redefined information sharing environment Digital Storefront (DSF) are pieces of the digital presence, along with all our digital communication channels.

CONNECTED & COORDINATED Moving forward, our digital environments will be connected and coordinated in both style and function, thus streamlining use across the platforms. As we strive to make our digital presence more impactful, we have considered input from our members and remain deliberate in our approach to improving our information-sharing abilities. To that end, we have transformed our DSF platform to the recently launched America Makes CORE. CORE is now the central hub containing all of the projects, deliverables, and program information available in an intuitive, user-friendly interface.

Our team was determined to make the America Makes Body of Knowledge (BoK) accessible to everyone. They solicited input from the membership and the overwhelming consensus was, “Make it easy to use.” The team took this feedback seriously to ensure that every decision made was based on the end user’s experience. They even utilized an advanced AI tool to make the BoK items easily retrievable.

USER EXPERIENCE IS KEY One of the key features of CORE is its user-friendly login process. The team designed it so that users only need one set of login credentials to access all member content.

This means that the same username and password can be used to log in to the Member Portal, CORE, and any other America Makes-driven system. This feature was paramount during the development process of this new initiative as it streamlines the login process and makes it easier to access all our environments.

Upon accessing CORE, the reimagined layout is clean and concise, enabling the user to quickly identify the data that is important to them. The main landing page provides several

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tiles that display information the member community has identified as valuable. The search bar function at the top of every page remains to allow for quick exploring of the BoK and incorporates natural-language search functionality that lets the user type a query as if asking a question of a colleague.

This is similar to the Google or Amazon user interface and very familiar to most end users. There are several other tiles that display favorite projects and top searches within the system. In addition, the search history feature allows users to see what member topics have been trending, while another tile can display information updated in the past 30 days. These are key features to better understanding the interests of the membership community as well as timely project updates.

VISUALIZING THE NEXT STEPS With the introduction of CORE as the new information sharing platform at America Makes, we are currently exploring ways to revamp the Technology Development Roadmap and enhance its functionality for users. To enhance the visualization of roadmaps and enable real-time interaction, our team has developed an innovative tool. Although this tool is not yet available to the public, we have already demonstrated it to the Roadmap Advisory chairpersons to ensure it caters to the needs of the working groups in a user-friendly manner. Moreover, this tool is dynamic and can display multiple roadmaps within a common framework.

America Makes CORE currently consists of over $350M in funded research along with related information as shared by our partners. Having a platform that enables members to easily identify, access, and consume information is a key membership value. Along with the BoK, the roadmap visualization tool will offer members a broad view of the additive manufacturing landscape. This view will help members identify opportunities to engage the community, and grow their own portfolios to meet a previously underserved need.

CORE will continue to grow in both depth and breadth of knowledge with membership engagement as its key driver. We encourage all members to become engaged, stay engaged, and inspire others to do the same.

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Building the Additive Ecosystem It’s No Secret That Industries Are Scrambling to Reshore and Near-Shore Suppliers in the Wake of the Massive Disruptions That Began in 2020, and America Makes Sees Additive Manufacturing as Essential to This Process.

ELI PLASKETT | SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR, MODERN MACHINE SHOP

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ive years ago, few would have guessed that industries across the U.S. would be scrambling to reverse 50 years of offshoring American manufacturing, but that is precisely what is happening. In the wake of the 2020 supply chain disruptions, businesses in nearly every industry are looking closely at their books and trying to bring essential parts of their supply chains back to the U.S. However, U.S. manufacturing needs more than just proximity to make this change permanent. Leveraging advanced technology and ingenuity can help reduce lead times across different industries and make our supply chains more resilient. In particular, additive manufacturing (AM) is perfectly positioned to leverage its flexibility to strengthen supply chains across multiple industries.

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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING: A MATURING INDUSTRY When 3D-printed parts began to appear at trade shows, the big questions plaguing AM revolved around the technology itself. Can 3D printers make parts that work? Can they make them in the materials needed by customers? Is there a benefit to this approach? Over the past decade, the single answer to these questions has been a resounding, “Yes.” Yes, you can print parts that work, using many useful materials, and they offer significant advantages over parts made using subtractive processes.

Through this period, America Makes has been assisting with research that provides clear datasets and standards for the production, quality testing, and further development of 3D-printed parts, as well as other initiatives to improve the development and adoption of AM. Since America Makes' founding in 2012, the Institute and its members have generated over $400M in AM research through the Institute's numerous project calls and directed programs. However,

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as the technology is reaching its maturity, the nature of America Makes’ efforts is adapting to the current needs of the industry. With the Institute entering its twelfth year, a new approach has begun: Helping AM companies integrate into industrial supply chains.

IDENTIFYING THE CHALLENGE According to Kimberly Gibson, Ecosystem Director, the Institute is expanding its focus from development to adoption to help industries improve access to AM suppliers.

“We’ve found that a number of areas of manufacturing have not realized the potential of AM within their field,” she says.

One of America Makes’ long-term goals is to ensure that the U.S. stays competitive in additive production, and that means helping more industries discover the uses of additive technology.

Industries like defense and aerospace have embraced the lightweight designs possible with AM parts, and 3D-printed medical devices have shown great benefits. However, other

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industries are still lagging in additive adoption. “We’re seeing slight upticks in additive processes in the consumer electronics and energy sectors, as well as automotive, but we want to see more.”

The need to expand the reach of additive technology is especially important as U.S. industries pivot toward reshoring and near-shoring the supply chain. “One of the most important benefits AM provides is flexibility,” Gibson says. “If you have the machine and the material, you can make a part that fits in the print area.” This flexibility, combined with the growing need for American manufacturers to replace overseas links in the supply chain, creates the perfect opportunity for additive facilities to grow their presence in U.S. manufacturing. However, there are challenges that need to be overcome.

process are all necessary for building additive links in the supply chain.

“These kinds of resources already exist for traditional manufacturers,” Gibson says. “They can look to colleges, career centers, and CNC training centers for personnel, contact multiple foundries within shipping distance for materials, and rely on large networks of distributors for assistance. There is already a whole manufacturing ecosystem in place, and we need to build in the AM sector.”

To address this need, America Makes is beginning a new initiative: Identifying the needs of regional manufacturing industries and building up the local additive ecosystems.

BUILDING ADDITIVE ECOSYSTEM

To help manufacturers find their additive footing, America Makes is focusing on regional manufacturing nodes to analyze local needs and provide assistance connecting with local manufacturers through an array of partners to identify their specific needs.

“Different regions of the country have different needs,” Gibson explains. “The Midwest has more castings, Colorado has a large energy sector. The South does a lot of oil and gas work, while the Eastern Seaboard sees a lot of shipbuilding.”

The varied makeup of regional manufacturing industries creates very different environments for integrating AM businesses, and America Makes is keen on helping these different “They can look to colleges, career centers, and CNC training centers industries find the local niches where AM technology provides the greatest for personnel, contact multiple foundries within shipping distance benefits. It’s all well and good for AM for materials, and rely on large networks of distributors for evangelists to promote concepts such assistance. There is already a whole manufacturing ecosystem in as lightweighting, but if half the local place, and we need to build in the AM sector.” manufacturers are suppliers for the oil and gas industry, then lightweight Building an AM presence requires more than buying a fleet design is not going to be a major selling point. of printers in an industrial park. “Like any part producer, AM Instead of focusing on what additive production can facilities need supply chains to support them,” Gibson says. already do, America Makes intends to learn where these Material supplies, maintenance professionals, experienced regional industries have needs that AM can address. This manufacturers, and a pool of workers eager to learn about the is where the management approach comes into play. “Our

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strategy is to work with local governments, manufacturers, universities, and other educational facilities to identify regional challenges and opportunities,” Gibson says. “We meet with these groups that are intimately familiar with the local supply chain and look for ways AM companies can address their needs.”

After developing these relationships with regional manufacturing leaders, the Institute can develop “manufacturing roadmaps” for additive adoption, helping to guide investments from AM businesses and provide them with resources for fulfilling regional needs.

While this initiative is new, America Makes has already met success.

EARLY SUCCESS One of Gibson’s early successes came from a new relationship with the Illinois Defense Manufacturing Consortium (ILDMC) led by Cook County and consisting of University of Illinois Chicago, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, Greater Peoria and Rockford Economic Development Councils, and the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC). The U.S. Department of Defense recently designated the region

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as a Defense Manufacturing Community. This grant allowed ILDMC to establish a national Casting, Forging, and Energy Storage Center of Excellence in the region.

Gibson met with Illinois manufacturers and educators to discuss the local industry. “There are a lot of foundries in the region, and they are essential to building the next generation of defense systems,” she says.

At the same time, America Makes was facilitating a national AM Technology Roadmap for Casting & Forging (CF) capabilities at scale to augment existing CF operations. It was perfect timing, as the relationship with ILDMC gave America Makes direct access to Illinois foundries and manufacturers who would most benefit from AM technology adoption, incorporate them into the roadmap discussions, and introduce those foundries to collaborators that could help them capture grant dollars to support AM adoption.

"As part of the roadmap process, we were able to identify areas where additive investment could shorten lead times, as well as consult AM startups on effective business models for manufacturing,” Gibson notes. Aligning local needs and national strategy can give businesses clear goals for modernizing their supply chains, as well as assist AM businesses in developing new markets for the technology.

This success, on top of America Makes’ other initiatives, demonstrates the path forward. “We can’t just say, ‘Look at what this technology can do.’ We have to know how additive capabilities can serve specific industries to integrate the tech into the supply chain,” Gibson says.

What’s more, this success comes on top of the Institute’s other initiatives, providing education and resources to manufacturers and groups studying additive technology.

With this multi-pronged approach to building out both the technology and the industrial resources needed to sustain the industry, America Makes hopes to ensure U.S. leadership in AM for years to come.

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AM Roadmap 3.0 America Makes and ANSI Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing Gets a 2023 Reboot JOHN MARTIN | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING RESEARCH DIRECTOR, AMERICA MAKES JIM McCABE | AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE (ANSI) (RETIRED)

FEBRUARY 2017 • Heavy focus on metallic AM • Largely informed by interests in the aerospace, defense, and medical sectors

2.0 1.0 JUNE 2018 • Expanded content on polymer AM • Input from other sectors such as the electronic and electrical products industry

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I JULY 2023 • Introduces a section on data • Expands the use of AM by other industry sectors such as oil and natural gas, and nuclear

3.0

n March 2016, America Makes and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) launched the America Makes & ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC). The AMSC was established to coordinate and accelerate the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing (AM) standards and specifications, consistent with stakeholder needs, to grow and build trust in the AM industry.

America Makes and ANSI entered into an agreement to create a roadmap to identify AM standards and specifications that were published, in development, or otherwise needed. Federal agencies, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and others, as well as several standards development organizations (SDOs), supported the formation of the AMSC. America Makes engaged ANSI because of its long-established role as neutral coordinator and administrator of the U.S. private sector system of voluntary standardization, and past success in producing consensus-based standardization roadmaps.

STAKEHOLDERS UNITE America Makes recognizes that standards and conformance activities are the key to unlocking the full potential of AM technologies in the U.S. The AMSC project brought together stakeholders, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), industry, government, academia, and SDOs, to

DEFINING STANDARDIZATION Established over a century ago in 1918, ANSI coordinates and administers the voluntary standardization system in the U.S. As a neutral facilitator, the Institute brings together stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to define standardization needs for emerging technologies and tackle national and global priorities.

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develop a coherent roadmap of existing and needed standards for AM. Participation in the effort was open to any AM stakeholder having operations in the U.S., regardless of America Makes or ANSI membership status.

The catalyst for the AMSC came from the realization that a number of SDOs were engaged in standards-setting for various aspects of AM, making it clear that a coordinated effort was needed to maintain a cohesive and non-contradictory set of AM standards from which all organizations could operate. The AMSC does not develop standards, rather the group convenes SDOs and other stakeholders to identify standardization needs and facilitate coordination.

A BRIEF HISTORY Version 1.0 of the roadmap was published in February 2017, with a heavy focus on metallic AM, and was largely informed by interests in the aerospace, defense, and medical sectors. Version 2.0 of the roadmap was published in June 2018 with expanded content on polymer AM and additional input from other sectors, such as the electronic and electrical products industry. Building on the earlier efforts, Version 3.0 introduces a section on data and again expands the use of AM by other industry sectors, such as oil and natural gas, and nuclear.

Over the years, the roadmap has been promoted at various industry events. During 2020-2021, AMSC held a series of virtual events addressing different aspects of the roadmap, including process control to enable qualification, design for AM, feedstock materials, and inspection/ monitoring. The AMSC also issued semi-annual progress reports to maintain the roadmap as a “living document,” tracking the publication of new standards or the initiation of new standards projects by SDOs to address the gaps and recommendations outlined in the roadmap.

Following a survey about use of the roadmap conducted in early 2022, the AMSC advisory group – a steering committee comprised of industry, government, and SDO representatives that provides overall strategic direction – concluded it was time to again update the document to maintain its relevancy and alignment with current practices and stakeholder needs.

Building on prior AMSC efforts, the roadmap seeks to describe current and desired future standardization landscape that will support and facilitate widespread adoption

of AM. It identifies key issues, notes relevant published and in-development standards, and makes recommendations to address gaps in standards. This includes recommending pre-standardization research and development (R&D) where needed. It also includes identification of prioritized timeframes for when standardization work should occur and what SDOs or other organizations may be able to lead such work. It seeks to facilitate coordination among SDOs to maintain a common framework of AM standards and specifications.

The roadmap’s focus is industrial AM, across market sectors that are using AM technologies. In terms of what is out of scope, the consumer desktop 3D printing market is not addressed in the roadmap.

The roadmap is targeted toward a broad audience including OEMs, material producers, government, and industry users of AM – SDOs, the R&D community, and others. The roadmap is intended to support: • SDOs in identifying opportunities to coordinate and collaborate • Government agencies in advancing U.S. policy objectives • Industry deployment of AM technologies and identifying commercial opportunities • All stakeholders focusing standards participation resources • Raising awareness and understanding issues around AM

“Building on the prior AMSC efforts, the roadmap seeks to describe the current and desired future standardization landscape that will support and facilitate the widespread adoption of AM.”

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HIGHLIGHTS OF VERSION 3.0 This Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing Version 3.0 was published in July 2023 and updates and expands upon content in Version 2.0.

To develop the roadmap, AMSC took the approach of conducting a lifecycle assessment of producing an AM part from initial design through production and ending with post-production testing, qualification, and maintenance.

The process of developing the roadmap Version 3.0 encompassed a comprehensive review of all content in Version 2.0

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including all previously identified gaps for ongoing relevancy. Several sections and gaps were substantially revised, and many others added.

The roadmap identifies a total of 141 open gaps and corresponding recommendations across six topical areas: 1) design; 2) process and materials (precursor materials, process control, post-processing, and finished material properties); 3) qualification and certification; 4) nondestructive evaluation; 5) maintenance and repair; and 6) data. Of that total, 54 gaps/recommendations are considered high priority, 64 medium priority, and 23 low priority.

A “gap” means no published standard or specification exists that covers the particular issue in question. In 91 cases, additional R&D is needed.

VERSION 3.0 ROADMAP STRUCTURE Chapter 2 of the roadmap provides the context and explanation for why specific issues were considered important and subsequently assessed as part of the roadmap. This is the gap analysis evaluation of existing and needed standards, specifications, and conformance programs. Where gaps are identified and described, they include an indication whether additional pre-standardization R&D is needed, a recommendation for what should be done to fill the gap, the priority for addressing the gap, and organization(s) – for example, an SDO or research organization – that potentially could carry out the R&D or standards development based on its current scope of activity.

ROADMAP DOWNLOAD Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing Version 3.0 is available as a free download at www. ansi.org/amsc.

Carryover gaps from Version 2.0 generally retain their original numbering and include a descriptor on the status of progress to address the gap. Any significant changes from Version 2.0 are also summarized in a narrative update statement. New gaps for Version 3.0 are identified as such.

Each gap is categorized as being high, medium, or low priority. The desired timeframes for having a published standard available are as follows: high priority (0-2 years), medium (2-5 years), and low (5+ years). To identify the priority level, an evaluation is made of safety/quality implications, time to complete, investment of resources, and return on investment.

In Version 3.0, additional metadata has been added to the gaps. This includes a description of R&D expectations, the applicable AM lifecycle area(s), relevant sector(s), material type(s), process categories, qualification and certification categories, and current alternative(s) being used until an AM standard or specification is available to address the issue. Gaps can be sorted/filtered using a Summary Table of Gaps and Recommendations sortable spreadsheet. Full text describing the issues, as well as published and in-development standards, precede each gap in Chapter 2.

WHY THIS MATTERS The hope is that this new, improved document will see broad adoption from the industry and will continue to forge a collaborative and coordinated approach to the future development of standards and specifications for AM. It is envisioned that the roadmap will be widely promoted and that progress on its implementation will be tracked going forward.

For more information, visit www.ansi.org/amsc.

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Challenges of Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing Industrialization Machine Improvements to Foster Transferability and Accelerate Industrialization of AM THOMAS POMORSKI | LEAD ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ENGINEER, URSA MAJOR

Additive Manufacturing Engineers Thomas Pomorski and Ty Barzak at the Ursa Major Advanced Manufacturing Lab in Youngstown, Ohio.

Photos courtesy of Ursa Major.

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I

t is straightforward to build small numbers of complex laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) components using machines from companies like EOS, VELO, SLM, 3D Systems, Add Up, Additive Industries, Trumpf, or Concept Laser. However, scaling through the “valley of death” from a single machine serial number in development to production running multiple machine serial numbers with a qualified process built under a quality program is overwhelmingly difficult. A driving factor is inconsistency across “equivalent” machine models and variability in the LPBF process. To make matters worse, most large LPBF manufacturers create closed source solutions they are unwilling to share with the community. This article discusses challenges with large-scale additive manufacturing (AM) industrialization, focused on scaling high performance complex aerospace components utilizing LPBF.

PRESENTING THE PROBLEM Imagine conventionally machining a Nickel 718 billet using a computer numerical control (CNC) mill. The machine is programmed to a cutting speed for each pass, but the only fidelity available is “slow,” “medium,” and “fast,” and the actual set speed can vary depending how the machine was initially installed, the humidity in the room, or the wear on the bearings. How could a consistent part between two equivalent machines be produced?

This is analogous to the state of “industrialized” LPBF machines in 2023. They suffer from machine-to-machine variations that limit scaling complex components beyond a single machine serial number’s capacity. This not only creates vendor lock but can also cause serial number lock, making scaling problematic. Some aerospace companies have partially mitigated these concerns, but it has taken significant money, effort, and years, which is not sustainable for smaller companies or newer startups.

Most LPBF machines have issues causing excess development work for each component application. Examples

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include “good” powder blown into overflow bins or filtering systems, powder bed erosion, excessive weld spatter falling into the build area causing non-uniform properties that force users to run Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to optimize gas flow, performing powder studies, testing hundreds to thousands of tensile bars and mechanical specimens (thin-wall, low-angle, high-cycle fatigue), filling build plates with witness specimens, CT scanning, and extensive qualification testing. Adding these challenges together inhibits the ability to quickly scale component manufacturing by adding cost, and increasing the barrier to entry, leaving LPBF reserved for the highest cost and performance dependent components.

HOW DID WE GET HERE? EOS was one of the first companies to deploy LPBF machines at scale. Initially, they coined the term Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) because early systems mostly microsintered the material as opposed to fully melting/welding.

Early machines suffered from inconsistent and low power laser sources, gas flow issues, and powder quality concerns contributing to poor density and mechanical properties.

EOS and new entrants improved during the M280 era,

ISSUES LIMITING LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRIALIZATION MANIFEST AS FOLLOWING: • Print file interchangeability • Proprietary closed-source and buggy software • Sliced print files created per machine serial number • Standardization and calibration • Laser power, focus, scanner, and degradation • Machine sensor drift or ambiguity • Complex machine operation • Complex processes such as recoater dosing profiles • Poorly updated manuals, training, and documentation • Valid material certification • Poor qualification process definitions • Poorly defined material certifications • Unknown powder lifecycle requirements • Machine reliability • Gas flow and recoating issues • Random sensor failure • Thermal management

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upgrading lasers to higher power Yb-fiber, and improving gas flow. (Visit History-of-DMLS.pdf (i3dmfg.com) to learn more.) Steady upgrades came to the systems culminating in the EOS M290, one of the most common machines in operation. Once fully dense material was achieved, applications exploded, and EOS and others began widely deploying machines to meet the growing demand. However, the slow technical evolution coupled with the subsequent explosion of machine manufacturing left many legacy problems in the systems making issues more difficult to solve.

Focus was shifted from developing robust underlying technology toward deploying and maintaining systems at scale. Machine vendors advertised their machines as “plug-and-play” with little development needed. While the material spec sheets looked promising, users found out they only applied in specific circumstances. It would take a team of engineers to build a qualified program capable of producing high performance components at scale.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS LPBF machines need to be “plug-and-play” like high-end CNC machines. The creation of universally readable sliced print files that can run interchangeably on any machine should become standard. Laser, scanner, sensor calibration, installation requirements, and machine operation need to be consistent, integral, tightly controlled, and detailed in accurate machine manuals culminating in valid material certifications. Machines operating within the qualified ranges should produce conforming material under all conditions across any machine serial number. Additionally, LPBF users need to start sharing and open sourcing development solutions to help lift the entire community.

PRINT FILE INTERCHANGEABILITY Many machine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) still employ a strategy where sliced print files can only be run on a specific machine serial number and not universally on any model. Furthermore, some machines can edit sliced files on the printer human machine interface (HMI), adding in more opportunities for accidental changes and increasing the likelihood of operator error.

Some machine vendors employ “black box” print file parameters, enabling a higher level of

TECHNOLOGY

Lead Additive Manufacturing Engineer Thomas Pomorski works with a 3D-printed copper engine chamber at the Ursa Major Advanced Manufacturing Lab in Youngstown, Ohio.

consistency across part families and similar components. However, when these black box parameters fail, it is challenging to troubleshoot and improve results. Greater transparency will assist the end user in resolving issues that arise.

Ideally, a sliced print file containing vector toolpaths and parameter information should be created using a universal AM printer code language to run on any machine, like G code for CNC machines. This file could be reviewed and revision-controlled, allowing for increased traceability.

STANDARDIZATION & CALIBRATION Accurate machine components and sensors are essential for LPBF machine operation and, therefore, need to be properly calibrated using National Institute on Standards Technology (NIST) traceable methods and achieve acceptable ranges

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that are verified and qualified. Will a parameter region with a small process window (thin wall overhang skin process) yield acceptable results if the laser power is low by 4% assuming the “acceptable” range is +/- 5%? If these limits exist, they need validation enabling conforming material under all variations.

Some machines include in-situ calibration, however, most of these systems can fail to live up to the repeatability needed for “plug-and-play” large-scale operation. Are the set limits for alignment sufficient in all geometric conditions? How are these alignments statically verified? What if there is failure in a critical thin wall area and it causes a delamination between the contour and infill region? The existing processes are not robust enough to be dependent to 6σ confidence, which causes challenges when qualifying complex hardware on multi-laser systems.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) should be utilized to redesign gas flow systems to create a powerful laminar sheet of argon to keep the condensate from affecting the build quality and other powder bed issues.

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SIMPLE MACHINE OPERATION Operation and maintenance processes are not well defined

by OEMs. A CNC technician class is typically one to two years; the average operator training to run a LPBF machine is one week. Manufacturing best practices are not taught and can often be misunderstood, leading to poor practices perpetuated within organizations. Cleanliness requirements are not rigorously enforced and lead to contamination of surfaces and powder. Furthermore, OEM training and maintenance manuals for machines and processes are not consistently updated and can lag by years, leaving them outdated.

Powder recoater dosing challenges are present on nearly every machine platform, which requires constant supervision for large builds and lack tractility into complex dosing profiles, increasing the risk of short feed defects. Also, there is a lack of integrated systems to detect powder dosing issues to alert the user to recoat.

VALID MATERIAL CERTIFICATIONS Material certifications from OEMs need to be realistic as to what can be achieved using a statistical basis, such as Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization (MMPDS) on as-printed geometry under nearly any condition. Issues, such as build plate variability, thin walls, parameter overlap, near surface porosity, and laser overlap defects, can affect mechanical properties but are not accurately categorized and documented on a

material cert. It is not enough for a machine to be able to print complex geometry if the same quoted material properties do not apply to those regions.

There is a general lack of agreement around powder certification and lifecycle. Standard requirements should be created and agreed upon by the LPBF community. For example, what level of oxygen pickup is acceptable in a copper-based material before the printed material falls out of specification? How often should it be tested? What is the tracking metric: total exposure time, number of builds, or maybe powder temperature during the build? There are many challenges that make this a difficult problem to solve.

HIGH MACHINE RELIABILITY Machine hardware reliability issues are present on leading machine OEM platforms. Issues the Ursa Major team has experienced across multiple machines and OEMs over the past year include: • Random ambiguous recoater axis failure causing build pause • Pressure sensor error in bulkhead causing build pause sensor setpoint was too aggressive, but purge was not lost • High machine humidity levels due to part failure (replacement miss during scheduled preventative maintenance) • Random argon leak after machine service and an inability to check for leaks

ENHANCING LPBF EFFICIENCY: KEY ACTIONS FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION • Print file interchangeability: Create an open-source and common framework that enables transparency, interoperability, and consistency between sliced print files like G-code for CNC machines or Linux for operating systems. At minimum, print slice files have complete transferability to all similar machines, such as a “golden sliced print file” approach with improved file transparency.

• Standardization and calibration: Standardize inherent laser, scanner, focus, and sensor calibration tools to keep machines operating consistently.

• Simple machine operation: Create robust training and maintenance documentation. Reduce complexity of machine operation.

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• Valid material certifications: Create an industry wide acceptance framework to statically certify powder feedstock (through reuse cycles) and as-printed material in the geometric conditions the parts are used in for all conditions.

• High machine reliability: Improve machine reliability by increasing component robustness, creating standard part replacement programs, and iterating based on customer feedback. Fix common machine problems around dosing and recoating.

• Cost reduction: This should be done without increasing the machine cost as it is already challenging to create an AM business case for most components.

TECHNOLOGY

Hotfire test of a Hadley engine at Ursa Major’s headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado.

• Powder bed camera failure due to failed USB port • Part to part differences observed between two lasers after service even though both lasers passed all calibrations • Argon flow issues causing good powder to be blown into filtering system • Software bug causing custom parameters to reset back to defaults upon opening the build file, eliminating traceability into as built parameters • Build delamination from the baseplate due to under dosing the first five layers • Build short feed on the last 20 layers due to running out of powder on a tall build, despite the hopper starting at 105% capacity • Recoater crash due to build overheating phenomena

COST Building inherent calibration protocols, extreme levels of robustness, and high levels of material quality could come at a high cost when LPBF already struggles to be competitive against conventional manufacturing processes. Other compromises need to be made to decrease costs elsewhere.

Utilizing open-source software, commodity grade hardware and sharing data and solutions can reduce costs significantly.

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CONCLUSIONS There are many challenges facing the LPBF community, but there is strength in numbers. LPBF powder users should collaborate and share data, processes, and solutions to tackle the challenges facing the LPBF community. As a nation, we are potentially placing ourselves at a great disadvantage in the defense and aerospace industries.

See “Enhancing LPBF Efficiency” sidebar – these changes are comprehensive and complex but desperately needed to accelerate LPBF from a mostly niche process into the industrialized manufacturing era.

ABOUT URSA MAJOR Ursa Major is the leading independent rocket propulsion provider and a critical player in building the defense industrial base in the United States. As the first American company to fire an oxygen-rich staged combustion engine – a milestone previously only achieved by Russian engine-makers – Ursa Major provides reusable, high-performing propulsion systems to commercial space enterprises, defense contractors, and the Department of Defense for launch, hypersonics, and national security missions. The company employs the country’s leading propulsion experts at its one-of-a-kind headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado, which houses engineering, manufacturing, and tests all in one campus. Manufactured using 3D printing for scalable production, Ursa Major propulsion systems save customers an average of five years and millions of dollars compared to building propulsion in-house.

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Answering the Demand Signal Building a Strong Talent Stream for AM JOSH CRAMER | DIRECTOR, EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, NCDMM/AMERICA MAKES

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atman is one of the most iconic superheroes in the world, introduced in 1939 by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in DC Comics. Behind the mask, Batman was a philanthropist and industrialist dedicated to deploying an arsenal of advanced technologies, materials, and solutions for vigilante justice.

We can assume that in the 21st century, to maintain his advantage, Batman would continue to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing (AM), including aiding in the development of a strong AM workforce to create innovative movie set props and costumes. But in 1939, it is highly unlikely that Bob and Bill realized they stumbled into the formation of the perfect character to

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base an education and workforce development strategy, which now parallels the strategy in place at America Makes more than 70 years later. The spirit of Batman is a concept that America Makes and the larger manufacturing industry can align with. An individual concerned with the betterment of society and dedicated to innovation in technology for the safety and competitive advantage of the U.S. The Batman series wasn’t just about his character, it wasn’t even about the team of people bringing the character to life, it was about bringing his principles and mission to life for the greater good. There it is – the direct alignment to America Makes Education and Workforce Development (EWD).

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

“Meeting every learner, where they learn, and how they learn" is a mantra that drives the efforts of the EWD team at America Makes every day. It is ingrained in our mission, our passion, and our daily work with our partners. Whether in meetings, projects, programming with youth, reskilling and upskilling of the current workforce, or in our efforts to train the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce, we meet people where they are in their journey. As a team, we provide pathways in the form of off-ramps and on-ramps into the industry, including tailor-made AM training and industry-recognized credentialing. We desire to use our platform to recruit and train a workforce, K-Grey, to fill the thousands of positions that will be available in this advanced industry

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in the coming years. We work broadly across our membership to develop training programs that equip learners with assets that align with how they learn best. Although many innovations in manufacturing are working to provide us, as humans, with more capabilities, a safer work climate, and more efficiencies than ever before, we must remember that the harmony between technology and humanity will ultimately make us successful. We continue to search for new talent streams because we currently have a substantial mismatch of skillsets and mindsets. The skillsets problem is one we can tackle with our membership, including those in industry, academia, and government. Together, we can create the training assets, build the frameworks, validate the

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

competencies, and scale solutions. The bigger concern is often the mindset, which is an awareness problem. So many times, we have world-class solutions that few people take advantage of when onboarding into the industry.

We must widen the funnel. To achieve a robust talent stream, the workforce funnel must reach far and wide to build awareness and create inspiration. You can be 14 or 40 years old and still not know what you don’t know.

Opportunity can be obtained or limited by zip code, the difference between rural or urban, a life situation/circumstance, or maybe even a sense of an opportunity being too far out of reach. AM offers a pathway for every learner, no matter where they are in their journey. Although some tracks are traditional, AM also offers non-traditional paths rooted in inspiration. Chasing opportunity that allows them to define their journey and find their self-wealth. But in the end, we need companies and organizations within our membership that can embrace and welcome them. Many of these companies have great culture, excellent working conditions, and offer rewarding and challenging work solving problems for the betterment of society.

The Institute is here to help validate learning with 21st-century tools, such as credentials, and ensure students can access new upskilling and reskilling programs through microlearning. America Makes is always standing by to help small and medium-sized manufacturers deploy tools like the "Guide to 21st Century Talent" to lessen the burden

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of building their talent strategy alone. With these learning tools, we can demonstrate that businesses can adopt the capabilities of AM with their people driving innovation, deploying the technology, and pushing the boundaries of what’s next. Let’s aspire to be the industry that “meets every learner, where they learn, and how they learn.”

SEEING THE BAT SIGNAL Research out of the Institute and Deloitte Consulting shows that we will likely face a 2.4M shortage of workers in manufacturing in the U.S. soon. With AM still recognized as an emerging technology, complementary to many manufacturing processes, and dependent on others for supporting operations, what does this mean for the industry? A recent study done by America Makes showed that 77% of manufacturers will continue to need help finding talent, primarily the technical workforce, which includes blue and whitecollar workers. The average manufacturing technician is 45 years old, and over 75% are male. To date, this remains our most significant gap in the talent stream. We must cultivate a diverse workforce that offers a more robust and productive work culture, invites those who are new to the industry, and often accelerates the adoption of new ideas and technologies.

As it stands, the AM industry is typically above the trend in diversity compared to traditional manufacturing.

However, when we explore our engineering sector across

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

manufacturing, we find that accelerating the recruitment, graduation, and onboarding of underrepresented groups, such as females, Black people, and Native Americans, would add an exponential growth factor. Additionally, there is untapped potential for civilians and reservists in the U.S. military, with over 800K active reservists considered underemployed. Utilizing civilian and reservist training, for those who are stateside and deployed, we can tremendously impact the service member and manufacturing sector.

Talent is not a problem we can attack with a single approach; it must be multi-faceted. When looking downstream at our youth, grades K-12, it has been found that one of the most significant influences on children choosing a career path in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is due to exposure in early elementary school. It is as early as the second or third grade that children begin making choices about their career pathways. It is predicted that over 30% of students in the U.S. lack access to STEM pathways due to poverty, a considerable hit to the talent pool we need to fill the future talent pipeline in advanced and additive manufacturing. According to research and survey responses from our membership, over half currently have openings and need help to fill vacancies with qualified talent. This is a trend we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and watch without action – not when AM is outpacing overall manufacturing growth by almost double. The Bat Signal has been activated, and it is bright. AM advocates from across the industry, academic

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institutions, and community-based and non-profit organizations have joined in the fight to change employment trends to ensure the supply of workers meets the demand of the manufacturing industry.

Over the past year, we have seen an average of approximately 2,500 AM job openings that need filling, causing those in the industry to be starved for talent.

ANSWERING THE BAT PHONE Picking up that Bat Phone allows us to dive into “what do you need?” and “how we can help?”

To ensure U.S. manufacturing maintains its competitive advantage, our efforts must be strategically focused and fueled by data and metrics that are deemed critical by industry leaders. To start programming, we must incorporate AM competencies: design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), qualification and certification, material specialization, maintenance, and machine operations, and understanding the AM business case. We have found some overlapping or cross-competencies with core manufacturing, such as manufacturing process knowledge, applications and design, understanding of vertical and commercial markets, and workplace/ interdisciplinary skills. The more critical workplace skillsets needed across the additive industry are problem-solving, creativity, communication, and a willingness to participate in lifelong learning. A review of where we most need talent in the industry shows that 50% of openings are at the entry

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EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

level, which offers a pay range from $45K to $120K depending on training, experience, and credentials. Expanding into the 4-year degree programs and above, we are finding that now more than ever institutions are already embedding AM materials, processes, technologies, and concepts into their programs, with some offering degrees and certifications within AM. There continues to be a gap or opportunity for growth in material science, qualification, certification, AM as a secondary process, and focus on industry sector-specific applications. Specific industry sectors seeing higher growth rates for AM include automotive, controls and measurement systems, aerospace, scientific research, industrial machine, semiconductor, and communications equipment manufacturing. It is important to note that many positions in the manufacturing industry see a higher rate of pay because of their specific knowledge and skillsets.

So, where might they be calling from?

Meaning, where are the areas with the highest saturation of job openings? The West Coast has a large allocation of unfilled jobs and job postings. Regions that include Alabama/ Tennessee up through Ohio/Pennsylvania show high demand. There are also pockets in New York and Maryland/Virginia, along with a cluster around New Mexico/Arizona/Colorado.

Although talent is always a problem felt mostly on the local level, we are also facing a national shortage.

our Roadmap to Impact, which includes the pathways and programs offered through a systematic engagement model for learners across the K-Grey spectrum. From awareness to inspiration, our programs are designed to widen the funnel, open minds to career opportunities, and inspire individuals to enter programming that will hook them into the industry. This includes career exploration tools, such as AMJobs, STEM exploration for students through partnership with Edge Factor, and microlearning modules to understand what is truly possible throughout the AM spectrum.

This sets the stage for AMTrain, a recent project in collab-

THE “POW”

oration with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), which provides tailored, deep-dive training programs that were built to match job roles and competencies, offering participants the opportunity to complete apprenticeships and even credentialing. This digital training tool is available to the manufacturing industry at large, including the DoD, and offers support organizations, such as companies, manufacturing extension partnerships (MEPs), economic and workforce organizations, and community-based organizations, access to onboard their local talent. When we, as AMNation, put this Roadmap to Impact to work, we can move the needle. Through dedication to these programs, we impact incumbent workers, warfighters, and K-12 learners, along with educators, professors, and trainers.

Together with AMNation, we can make an impact – one jab, one kick, one knockout at a time. It will take all of us to strengthen our AMNation.

Some of you are joining that crusade in what we call AMNation, not too far from the “League of Justice.” I hope most of you get the analogy. AMNation is our national network of deployment partners that are aligned in this mission, passion, and dedication to realizing impact.

AMNation impacts over 8,000 learners annually and has nearly 20 focused regions nationwide.

AMNation is anchored in a vision of National Strategy through Local Impact. Through the growth and scale of programming and local partnerships and collaborations, our team can deploy national best practices as identified by our members from the AM industry. The regional engagement and train-the-trainer activities provide a rich foundation for impact and sustainment. The Institute trains hundreds of trainers and educators each year to deploy these programs. Local AMNation partners embrace

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ECOSYSTEM

Diversifying is Key to the Future of AM Chapter Support Grants Inspire Women to Excel in AM DAWN MARZANO | COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, AMERICA MAKES

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o support the continued development of the additive manufacturing (AM) ecosystem, America Makes launched a grants initiative in April 2023 to support Women in 3D Printing (Wi3DP) chapters across the United States. Through these chapter support grants, America Makes displays its commitment to fostering a balanced ecosystem of diverse organizations with pooled resources to increase U.S. competitiveness and inclusion in the global manufacturing market.

America Makes offered a $10k grant to be distributed among select U.S.-based Wi3DP chapters to support member engagement, chapter collaboration, and the diversification of individuals in the industry. Each selected chapter was required to host a special local event with the allocated funds. Wi3DP is a global organization with over 30,000 members and 107 chapters in 38+ countries, and its mission is to heighten the visibility of female leaders in the AM industry and inspire more newcomers to use 3D printing technologies.

“America Makes strongly believes in the promise of additive technology and is committed to its advancement,” states Kimberly Gibson, America Makes Ecosystem Director.

“Promoting AM adoption across various industries is vital to further strengthen, grow, and diversify the ecosystem. It is important that we continue to showcase the plethora of options available through AM and embrace its potential for revolutionizing the supply chain.”

With a total of 14 chapters/areas recognized during this inaugural year, each grant provided up to $1,000 per chapter to promote AM ecosystem programming and future goals. Moving forward, grants will be awarded annually to chapters, on a rolling basis, as funding allows.

This has been a pivotal year for Wi3DP as they support

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130+ ambassadors worldwide and scale up programs.

“Our partnership and collaboration with America Makes is crucial to bringing visibility to our members and their companies,” notes Kristin Mulherin, Wi3DP President. “By harnessing the power of 3D printing, we have the opportunity to not only address supply chain challenges but also empower and cultivate a more experienced female workforce. As we work to showcase all the options available through additive manufacturing, we can inspire women to explore and excel in this innovative field, driving diversity and inclusivity in the future of manufacturing.”

2023 grant recipients were announced at the 2023 Rapid + TCT conference held in May in Chicago.

Congratulations to the following ambassadors and their chapters/areas: Ashley Totin | Northeast OH Imani Malaika-Mehta | Kansas City, MO Callie Higgins | Colorado Melanie Lang | San Diego, CA Anne Pauley | San Francisco & Silicon Valley, CA Liyang Wang | New Jersey/New York Sarah Jordan | Dayton, OH Liza Allison | Pittsburgh, PA Alyssa Welch | Austin, TX Carolyn Allan | Charlotte, NC Will Kruspe | Portland, OR Shikshya Gautam | Bowling Green, OH Rachael Enfield | Boston, MA Tracey Driscoll | Orlando, FL

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ECOSYSTEM

UNLOCKING POTENTIAL:

The Three Key America Makes’ Partnerships That Are Propelling Additive Manufacturing Kimberly Gibson, Ecosystem Director for America Makes, Discusses the Importance of Creating Mutually Beneficial Relationships to Advance the Adoption of Additive Manufacturing for Creative Freedom in the U.S. FIONA LAWLER | ASSOCIATE EDITOR, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

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ollaboration is a core component of America Makes’ mission to encourage and accelerate the deployment of additive manufacturing (AM) in the U.S. For America Makes, the creation of meaningful partnerships is an ongoing process. The vision for additive adoption requires a shared set of goals be met. Kimberly Gibson, Ecosystem Director for America Makes, recently discussed the importance of finding, forming, and fostering partnerships to further AM growth, including the value of three of the newer partnerships that the Institute formed to further the future of AM.

CREATING PARTNERSHIPS Acquiring meaningful partnerships begins with a shared set of goals – in this case, the main priority being to accelerate the deployment of AM in the United States. America Makes is passionate about leveraging AM for creative freedom and finding the niches the industry can best serve.

According to Gibson, the Institute is focused on partnerships with equal concern for the following goals: An increased awareness of sustainability; addressing pointof-need action where and when it’s needed; expansive data gathering; and, advocacy for public policy.

“Simply put, we can’t do everything on our own, so the only way to advance certain areas is through establishing partnerships and collaborations,” Gibson says. By design, America Makes chooses to remain a small team for the purpose of targeting its efforts and the ability to be nimble in areas of interest.

Conversely, in order to excel in these areas of interest and promote additive on a larger scale, finding the right networks is crucial. Therefore, forming lasting connections and engaging with membership is the ideal way to further shared goals.

“This allows us to amplify additive, whether it be through connecting via a new process or beginning an important conversation,” Gibson says.

In addition to forming new partnerships, America Makes recognizes the importance of nurturing its established collaborations.

For instance, America Makes currently has three satellite centers at the University of Texas, El Paso, Texas A&M University, and the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University. These relationships are heavily focused on advancing additive in defense and aerospace and building additive literacy in supply chains.

In addition to these established industries, America Makes is interested in joining spaces where AM was not generally thought of as a possibility due to factors such as cost and repeatability but is now becoming a viable solution. The question is, ‘Where can additive fit?’ To this, Gibson says there is continued growth in medical and dental and exciting potential in the automotive sector as well.

As additive expands, so too does the need to understand the processes and form a deep knowledge base for manufacturers. Promoting additive across such a wide variety of industries is exactly why partnerships are essential.

Three America Makes’ newer collaborations within the past year include Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), Additive Manufacturing Coalition (AM Coalition), and Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).

AMGTA - ADDITIVE MANUFACTURER GREEN TRADE ASSOCIATION

Kimberly Gibson

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The youngest of the newfound relationships, AMGTA and America Makes’ official partnership began in August 2023.

“With AMGTA, America Makes is working on a memorandum of understanding and navigating how to best work together moving forward,” Gibson says. What does this look like?

Creating shared grants in the sustainability arena for technology advancement as well as infrastructure development are just a few examples. As a global organization, AMGTA has an expansive networking footprint.

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ECOSYSTEM

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURER GREEN TRADE ASSOCIATION

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING COALITION

ASSOCIATION FOR MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Founded in 2019, The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) is a global organization with the aim to bring likeminded companies together to better understand and navigate the manufacturing ecosystem as related to additive practices. Topics of conversation include environmental sustainability practices, supply chains, technological advancement and societal impacts.

Founded in 2019, the Additive Manufacturing Coalition (AM Coalition) is a national membership organization focused on educating and promoting additive manufacturing. Serving as a voice for decision-makers (such as federal agencies and Congress), the AM Coalition strives to assist the AM community in navigating challenges such as public funding and complex legislation.The second partnership to note is the AM Coalition, an organization aligned with America Makes’ focus on public policy and goal to enable conversations in an advocacy space to promote additive manufacturing.

Founded in 1902, The Association For Manufacturing Technology represents U.S. based manufacturers as a voice of the industry promoting growth, speed, competitiveness, and innovation. With the goal of advancing manufacturing technology, AMT supports manufacturers with market access and industry intelligence through numerous events and services including IMTS-The International Manufacturing Technology Show, content channels, market research, and global services.

“Networking is a key factor in collaboration, and here is an opportunity to bring in expertise at the global level to further advance additive reach and depth of knowledge.

America Makes faces challenges working with foreign nations as a result of our heavy focus on defense. Having a buffer in an organization also focused on sustainably deploying additive is a natural partnership,” Gibson says.

AMGTA brings together companies to explore additive practices to address a number of challenges such as: leadtimes, supply chains, waste streams, energy consumption, technological advancements, and overall environmental and societal impacts.

The primary goal for America Makes’ collaboration with AMGTA is to advance a mutual understanding of sustainability within additive.

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“As the partnership grows, our organizations will work conjointly on projects and opportunities as they arise,” Gibson says.

AM COALITION Like America Makes, AM Coalition is a smaller group with the right people working toward the same goals. “Within this partnership, we mutually acknowledge that growth in the additive industry is spearheaded by the understanding of policy, strategy, and working within the ecosystem,” say Gibson.

“It is not America Makes’ role to lobby Congress to achieve these goals but rather to educate, advocate, and focus on public policy. This ensures conversations include correct information and are grounded in the latest science and practice,” Gibson says.

ECOSYSTEM

This intersection is where the partnership with AM Coalition comes in to play. A membership organization, the AM Coalition brings members into these important conversational spaces to ensure the facts surrounding additive education, policy, industry, etc., are correct.

“We can come together as organizations with intersecting memberships to unite likeminded companies and individuals via sponsored and educational forums,” Gibson says.

AMT - ASSOCIATION FOR MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY The final partnership Gibson mentions is with AMT. A mature non-profit, AMT has a strong track record of excellent service to the manufacturing sector of the economy.

In the past, AMT has been heavily focused on machining companies. Steeped with a background in benchmarking surveys and data analysis, AMT has a dedicated department that focuses on emerging technologies, and this is where AM finds its platform.

“At America Makes, we believed partnering up with AMT would enable complementary learning for both organizations in terms of AM, as well as traditional manufacturing, that can be mutually beneficial and scaled up for the industry,” Gibson says.

Because additive differs from traditional manufacturing, promoting its advancement in the best way requires special consideration. Therefore, the partnership with AMT is concentrated on establishing that ideal approach. The collaboration will determine how additive can be further established as an industry and as a movement toward a more promising manufacturing future.

In order to achieve this, understanding the demand signals and the innerworkings of the technology itself is crucial. America Makes’ relationship with AMT serves to grasp this understanding at a granular level, to enable respective members to make more informed decisions with greater confidence around additive investments.

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With this goal in mind, America Makes is heavily focused on a data relationship with AMT. According to Gibson, joint conferences will be held in the future, but right now the two organizations are working to translate what is happening in the industry for informed decision making all around.

Gibson says America Makes is looking to answer questions such as: How can we characterize the different types of AM organizations and what kind of data can be obtained?

Through its newfound partnership with AMT, America Makes will continue the search for data-driven answers to offer a depth of knowledge and support for the AM community and manufacturers alike.

CONTINUED COLLABORATION FOR THE FUTURE America Makes strives to promote AM in the U.S. and recognizes the fastest route to success is one that includes partnerships. America Makes’ view on collaboration is similar to the age-old notion of “quality over quantity.”

Forming meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with like-minded organizations is the path forward.

Gibson is excited to see how America Makes’ new partnerships with AMGTA, AM Coalition, and AMT will flourish and continue to advance additive.

“Additive manufacturing affords creative freedom and flexibility unlike any other form of manufacturing. The learning aspect is monumental, as discovery is always just around the corner. Collaboration is vital on this path toward deployment and continued discovery in additive,” Gibson says.

Kimberly Gibson joined America Makes in 2021 as the Additive Manufacturing Ecosystem Director. In this role, practice and policy intersect. Gibson translates research into training to enable a better understanding of opportunities and capabilities located within America Makes.

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Celebrating 20 Years of Advancing Defense Manufacturing Excellence Reflecting on Two Decades of Trust, Collaboration, Results MICHELLE SCHMADER | COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, AMERICA MAKES

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or the past two decades, the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) has been on a mission to ensure the U.S. warfighter always has a superior advantage. As NCDMM recognizes its 20th anniversary this year, the organization is reflecting on its journey from past to present.

Founded in 2003 in Latrobe, Pennsylsvania, NCDMM remains committed to revitalizing and delivering innovative collaborative solutions for our nation’s manufacturing industry. The organization and its team are acknowledged as industry leaders in the execution of successful applied research and development projects to improve Department of Defense (DoD) weapon and support systems, as well as delivering customers with manufacturing and technology solutions to aid the U.S. in remaining globally competitive.

AT THE HEART OF COLLABORATION As the managing organization of America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, as well as the parent company of four subsidiaries, including the Advanced Manufacturing and Applied Research

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Innovation Institute (AMARII); Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Integration Center (AMIIC); V4 Institute; and El Paso Makes, NCDMM has continued to expand its reach while assembling an extraordinary team of conveners and problem solvers who have built trust and fostered collaboration.

“Along with our alliance partners, clients, and industry experts from government, industry, and academia, we are all working toward a common goal of driving manufacturing innovation to benefit the U.S. warfighter,” states Gary Fleegle, NCDMM President and CEO. “Looking back on the past 20 years, we are cognizant that the success of NCDMM would not be possible without the shared accomplishments of the individuals who continue to make a positive impact on our nation and beyond.”

GROWING WITH PURPOSE NCDMM has celebrated several major milestones, projects, and programs throughout the years and has adapted – and even transformed its services to affect the advanced manufacturing industry. Since its inception, NCDMM has steadily grown, hiring new employees, opening additional offices, and gaining government contracts that began in 2005 with a $24M Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) award from the U.S. Army to a $69M IDIQ award in 2021. In September 2023, it was announced that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, had increased NCDMM’s IDIQ contract funding ceiling by $176M to over $246M. “These awards make it possible for us to offer a platform for our 200+ alliance partners to research, develop, and implement lean operations, quality outcomes, and highly advanced technologies to ensure our nation is the leader in commercial and defense manufacturing across land, air, and space,” explains Fleegle. “We do this by focusing our strategies and investments in seven key thrust areas, including advanced and additive manufacturing, crisis response, education and workforce development, manufacturing assessments, roadmapping, and supply chain management.”

DYNAMIC PROGRESS NCDMM projects have been acknowledged as revolutionary within the AM industry and earned the prestigious Manufacturing Leadership Council Award for the past three years, as well as the Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award. These projects receiving recognition

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include the Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low-Cost Sustainment (MAMLS), Advanced Manufacturing Crisis Production Response (AMCPR), and Additive eXtreme Improvement in Optical Mounts (AXIOM). “The NCDMM campaign has highlighted several of our employees and partners as they offer thoughts on why their relationship with us matters. It’s important to recognize and amplify individuals, business partners, and our impactful projects as each is paramount to our past and future success,” notes Fleegle. All campaign videos, testimonials, and success stories can be viewed at www.ncdmm.org.

NCDMM is poised to continue its trajectory of growth over the next 20 years, ensuring that our nation remains the leader in worldwide manufacturing innovation and that the U.S. warfighter always has a superior advantage. Our country depends on it.

WHAT OUR ALLIANCE PARTNERS HAVE TO SAY

“SwRI and NCDMM have partnered to bring innovative science and technology solutions to government and industry.

From building frameworks to enable intelligent machine tool tending to transitioning advanced robotics processes to aerospace manufacturing, our collaboration brings ideas to reality.”

PAUL EVANS, Director, Southwest Research Institute

"UAH has benefitted from the strong network and support of NCDMM since 2016. Our collaboration resulted in the designation of both the Alabama Defense Advanced Manufacturing Community (ADAMC) and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Integration Center (AMIIC), focused on accelerating the adoption of manufacturing technologies and building the Northern Alabama workforce of tomorrow.”

BRIAN TUCKER, Principal Research Scientist, Office for Operational Excellence, University of Huntsville Alabama and the Alabama Defense Advanced Manufacturing Community

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MEMBERSHIP

Trailblazers Recognized: America Makes Honors 2023 Award Recipients

John Wilczynski, Executive Director at America Makes, presented Marilyn T. Gaska Ph.D LM Senior Fellow at Lockheed Martin, with the 2023 Distinguished Collaborator Award.

America Makes, the Department of Defense’s National Innovation Institute for Additive Manufacturing, Proudly Announced the Recipients of its 2023 Ambassador Awards and Distinguished Collaborator Award at the Annual Members Meeting and Exchange (MMX) Held on August 15-16 in Canfield, Ohio.

MARILYN T. GASKA PH.D. Senior Fellow at Lockheed Martin

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he Ambassador Award Program, launched in 2017, recognizes individuals who have continually demonstrated outstanding dedication to advancing America Makes and its mission. The 2023 class represents a cross-section of the industry whose work helped further advance additive technology and demonstrated the resilience of the additive manufacturing (AM) community. These champions also represent the progress made in AM technology, ecosystem expansion, and workforce development.

Also, during the MMX event, Marilyn T. Gaska, Ph.D., LM Senior Fellow at Lockheed Martin, was presented with the 2023 Distinguished Collaborator Award. Established in 2014, recipients of this award are celebrated for cultivating effective, collaborative relationships with academia, government, and industry. Gaska is the first dual recipient of both the Ambassador and Collaborator awards. She is recognized for her outstanding efforts to advancing AM technology,

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practices, and innovation in the manufacturing industry, as well as her contributions to the Institute.

“As chair of the America Makes Maintenance and Sustainment Advisory Group and an ambassador since 2017, I am honored to be the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Collaborator Award,” says Dr. Gaska. “In particular, hosting six of the Additive and Advanced Manufacturing Wargames and Workshops annual events provided an exceptional opportunity to support collaboration among government, industry, and academia.”

“This is an exciting time to be part of America Makes,” says John Wilczynski, Executive Director of the Institute.

“As we continue to strengthen and build upon our successful collaboration model, the work of these individuals remains critical to the industry’s future. Their passion and drive are helping to fuel the next generation of AM innovators.”

MEMBERSHIP

CAPTAIN BRAD BAKER

Thank you, Ambassadors, for your contribution and commitment.

U.S. Naval Academy

ELIZABETH HENRY Founder/Principal, Henry General Strategies

GUY COVIELLO President and CEO, Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber

CYNTHIA ROGERS

HOWARD MAROTTO

Communications ADDvisor, The Barnes Global Advisors

AM Business Director, EWI

ELISA PETERS PM2 Strategies

PRABHJOT SINGH Director, Additive Manufacturing Process Capability Center, RTX

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MIKE VASQUEZ Founder, 3Degrees

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"The year ahead holds immense potential for our Institute and our membership, and we are poised to seize new opportunities. Let us step into 2024 with excitement, ready to make a lasting impact on our industry and beyond."

— JOHN WILCZYNSKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMERICA MAKES

2024 EVENT SCHEDULE APRIL 9-11, 2024

AUGUST 6-7, 2024

NOVEMBER 12-14, 2024

SPRING TRX MMX FALL TRX