The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) and America Makes have introduced a new project call, which is valued at $11.7 million
This project call is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD (R&E)), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
“This project call addresses the needs of a broad cross-section of our nation’s supply chain including the casting and forging supply chain,” said Brandon Ribic, Ph.D., America Makes Technology Director. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to deliver longer-term strategic investments to scaling AM technologies.”
The IMPACT project call: a chance to shape the future of AM
NCDMM and America Makes named the project call as “Improvements in Manufacturing Productivity via Additive Capabilities and Techno-Economic Analysis (IMPACT).” Its objective is to demonstrate the benefits of AM technologies for casting and forging, conduct techno-economic analysis for metal powder AM, and address sourcing gaps with AM parts. The project call also emphasizes novel solutions for robotic AM process planning, while focusing on continuous fiber-reinforced composite structures.
America Makes says AM technologies hold significant opportunities for U.S. manufacturing, offering benefits like energy reduction, shorter lead times, complex shapes, customization, and on-demand part production. The IMPACT project call aims to leverage this potential and is vital for advancing AM technologies. The request for proposal (RFP) covers ten distinct areas of focus, each with its specific topic. The number of anticipated awards and maximum funding allocated will depend on the topics addressed, promoting a variety of proposals.
A kickoff webinar was scheduled for June 1 at 11:30 a.m. E.T., providing important information to participants. The lead proposer was supposed to complete a membership agreement with America Makes to be eligible. The agreement deadline was June 14 for topics 1-8 and June 23 for topics 9-10.
Proposals had to be submitted by June 28, 5 p.m. E.T. for topics 1-8 and topics 9-10 by July 7, 5 p.m. E.T. Award announcements will be made on July 21 for topics 1-8 and August 4 for topics 9-10, with successful applicants notified accordingly.
Focus topics of the project call
The project call includes a range of topics aimed at advancing manufacturing productivity and capabilities in the casting and forging industries. The first topic focuses on exploring the use of 3D printed molds/cores for sand castings. The second topic aims to advance AM ceramic technology for low-volume investment castings. Tools and frameworks to improve die in die casting are the focus of the third topic. The fourth topic centers around incorporating wear layers and complex features into forgings. AM preforms for expedited forging of low-volume components are the subject of the fifth topic. Directed Energy Deposition (DED) and cold spray techniques for die repair in forging are explored in the sixth topic.
The seventh topic focuses on AM solutions specifically designed for casting and forging in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs. Techno-economic analysis for bridging component sourcing gaps is the focus of the eighth topic. Techno-economic analysis for powder bed AM is the subject of the ninth topic. Lastly, the tenth topic revolves around robotic AM process planning for continuous fiber-reinforced composites.
America Makes defining the AM sector with project calls
This year, America Makes, in partnership with OSD ManTech and Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, initiated a project call with a budget of up to $1.5 million. This funding was designated for initiatives that align with the MII Point of Need (PoN) Challenge, which was supported by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD PoN Manufacturing Challenge Project Call highlights the dual-use applications that cater to the specific needs of both the DoD and the domestic manufacturing industry. The maximum limit for individual project budgets was $0.5 million, as stated by the organization.
Last year, America Makes announced two project calls with total funding of $1.7 million. The 2022 Rapid Innovation Call (RIC), funded by AFRL, aimed to advance AM technology for member needs with a budget of $400,000. RIC focused on Design, Process, Materials, Value Chain, and AM Genome swimlanes. The Steel (HY-80) Wire-Arc Additive Heat Treatment (SWAAHT) Project Call, funded by NCDMM, AFRL, and Office of Naval Research (ONR), offered $1.35 million for developing modeling frameworks to enhance ferritic steel DED and post-build HT procedures at scale. These calls provided opportunities to accelerate AM industrialization.
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Featured image shows America Makes logo. Image via America Makes.
