The US President Mr. Joe Biden signed an Executive Order in January 2021 titled ‘Made in America’ that seeks to prioritize and incentivize relevant opportunities for American manufacturers wherein they can be the official suppliers to the various departments of the US Government. This strategy includes all forms of manufacturing, conventional as well as additive manufacturing.
Additionally, the Biden Administration launched the Additive Manufacturing Forward (AM Forward) – a voluntary contract between global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their small-scale US-based suppliers. The agreement aims to boost the adoption of additive capabilities by the smaller US manufacturers and the purchase of these additively-produced parts.
Additive Manufacturing and the US Federal Government
The US government has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in 3D printing applications for more than three decades. Before the Executive order of January 2021 and the AM Forward, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI) of 2013, transformed the American manufacturing sector.
The resulting rapid expansion and incorporation of additive manufacturing can be seen across various governmental actors:
- Department of Defense
- Department of Energy
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
- FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
- NIH (National Institute of Health), to name a few.
The inauguration of the Additive Manufacturing Strategy by the Department of Defense aims at setting up a sustainable national quality for additive technologies, 3D printing processes, and overall digital manufacturing processes.
The strategy emphasizes the Department of Defense’s need to lay down clear policies for the incorporation of additive manufacturing technologies in key areas:
- Defense system modernization
- Speed up the prototyping and production of parts for the aerospace, automotive, and tracking and detection sub-sectors in order to overthrow obsolete hardware
- Incorporate innovative, AI-enabled solutions for warfighters
The Department of Defense is aiming to bring together all critical internal and external military and academic stakeholders in a bid to streamline and ease the incorporation of additive technology in the United States military manufacturing and supply chain.
Along with Defense, the Department of Energy has been a key player in implementing additive and 3D printing capabilities. In partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) of the Department of Energy has 3D-printed functional nozzles, sports cars, heat exchangers, and even houses. The AMO also enables R&D and partnerships with critical players to investigate newer developments and innovations in additive technology.
And, through this exciting additive manufacturing journey, Phillips Corporation has been a key and staunch partner to the US Government. With an aim to provide dedicated and customized additive technologies and streamline a hassle-free manufacturing pathway, we have set up a separate Phillips Federal division and assembled a Phillips 360 team of experts to assist the US government and its various sectors.
To ensure that the additive technologies are properly implemented and harnessed at various levels of the US Government, like federal departments, defense, automobiles, aerospace, medicines, and so on, and offer advanced additive training and customized additive courses for Federal employees, we have set up ‘Additive Minds’ in partnership with EOS North America.
Phillips Federal is incorporating its own Phillips Additive Hybrid, along with partnerships with EOS Additive Machines, Markforged Additive Machines, and so on, to strengthen the additive manufacturing capabilities of the US Government and its various sectors.
Our core strengths include a robust presence in the local manufacturing sector as well as a remarkable position in the international market. With those, we have applied additive capabilities for pathbreaking innovations and efficient processes via support from the Phillips 360 team.