In January 2021, US President Mr. Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) titled ‘Made in America’ to prioritize and exemplify opportunities for small and medium-sized American manufacturers to come on board as official suppliers for the US Federal government.
This Build Back Better Recovery Plan strategy aims at investing in American businesses, unions, and workers in a bid to strengthen and promote American manufacturing. It also targets certain escape clauses that make foreign purchases possible, thereby working to enhance domestic accountability and promote US manufacturers.
Additive Manufacturing Strategy by the US Department of Defense
However, the strategy is not just limited to traditional or conventional manufacturing technologies and processes. The US Federal government has also recognized the importance of additive manufacturing technologies and is prioritizing it for multiple manufacturing applications in the various Federal Departments. The cost-efficient and flexible additive technology and additive manufacturing processes have built a robust manufacturing sector in the US, one that could withstand even the COVID-19 slowdown.
To emphasize the importance, contribution, and future applications of additive manufacturing technology for the US Federal Government, the US Department of Defense brought out the inaugural Additive Manufacturing Strategy to implement national quality for 3D printing manufacturing techniques, additive technology, and digital manufacturing processes.
The strategy underscored the need for chalking out clear and defined policies to incorporate additive manufacturing technologies and processes in key sectors, including but not limited to warfighter capabilities, defense systems, and material readiness.
One of the primary aims of the Department of Defense in developing this AM strategy was to assemble all internal and external academic as well as military stakeholders and simplify the incorporation and utilization of additive technologies in the US military supply chain and manufacturing.
Additionally, the Department of Defense wants to highlight the various advantages of applying additive manufacturing capabilities and set the tone for other industries – government as well as otherwise.
One of the key factors that prompted these executive actions was the critical role additive manufacturing played in revitalizing the US supply chain, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While the unprecedented pandemic exposed the nation’s unsustainable overdependence on foreign imports and purchases, it also highlighted the critical role played by the American manufacturing sector, especially the advanced manufacturing sector, in securing the supply chain gaps.
The executive strategies aim to prioritize and strengthen the domestic manufacturers that rallied during tough times to ensure the nation’s safety and security, while simultaneously driving groundbreaking design and technological innovations in the manufacturing sector.
In recent years, additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology have gained traction with implementations in a wide range of industries and applications. The speed, cost-efficiency, flexibility, virtual warehousing of designs, compatibility with AI-based generative designs, energy efficiency, and material-saving nature of additive manufacturing has made its use more widespread and industrialized.
By implementing strategies to prioritize additive manufacturing in the US, the federal government aims to create an automatic crisis response system and boost/shift crucial products in crisis areas – local, national or global.
The Federal Division at Phillips Corporation has been critical in providing additive manufacturing capabilities to major industries in the United States of America, such as the federal government departments, defense, aerospace, medicine, custom automobiles, etc. We have been instrumental in implementing additive manufacturing capabilities for groundbreaking innovations and efficient production processes by means of flexible training courses with experts, process-optimizing consultations, and relevant funding opportunities.
For more details, get in touch with us today.