Department of Defense offices have partnered with military services to develop implementation plans and technical guidelines for additive manufacturing technology used to make 3D objects from polymer and metal materials, DOD News reported Thursday.
The collaborative effort comes after the release of the Additive Manufacturing Strategy in January, aimed at laying out a common vision and five strategic approaches for AM, and the Instruction 5000.93 that presented an overarching AM guidance for the department.
Robert Gold, director of technology and manufacturing industrial base at DOD, said that AM technology allows for the production of lighter innovative designs that veer away from traditional processes like lathes and welding.
"What we're trying to do with this highly flexible technology is to align activities across our enterprise, so that there is a sense of harmony and so that our processes work together and we can exchange lessons learned," Gold added.
Tracy Frost, director of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program, noted that integrating AM technology into the department and the organic and commercial industrial bases is one of the goals outlined in the DOD AM strategy.
The agency is also looking to partner with the commercial and academic sectors, strengthen the workforce through training and ensure the cybersecurity of AM processes within the defense supply chain.
