A new national initiative, Additive Manufacturing Forward, is paving the way for the rapid adoption of 3D printing by small and medium-sized manufacturers in America.
Speaking in Ohio a week ago, President Biden announced his administration's plan to promote 3D printing (additive manufacturing) as a solution to rising prices and the declining competitiveness of small and medium-sized manufacturers in America.
"3D printing technology is amazing," Biden said. "It can reduce 90% execution time, cut 90% material costs and halve energy consumption. All this reduces the cost of producing goods here in America. But not all SMEs have access to the resources, funding and support they need to adapt to this technology to date. ”
Through a new initiative introduced by Biden called Additive Manufacturing Forward (AM Forward), large manufacturing companies in America are committed to buying 3D printed parts from small to medium-sized suppliers in the United States and reducing their dependence on factories abroad. Efforts will bring production back to America and transform workshops across the country, the administration said.
Several companies have already joined this voluntary agreement, including GE Aviation, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Siemens Energy. Each will support the adoption of new 3D printing capabilities by their US-based suppliers. The broad initiative includes training workers on new methods for producing additives and developing common standards and certification for additive products, which is a barrier for the whole industry.
With the wider adoption of 3D printing, America will create high-paying manufacturing jobs, improve supply chain resilience, keep pace with technological change, and strengthen its global industrial competitiveness, according to the White House.
"Insufficient American companies use 3D printing or other high-performance manufacturing technologies," the administration said in a statement. "The ability of a few or a goal beyond the horizon, beyond the reach of most of our production base, must not keep pace with technological change."
Doing more in America.
AM Forward also includes a number of federal programs that US SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) manufacturers can use to support the adoption of additive manufacturing opportunities and increase their competitiveness. The actions of the administration are aimed at helping to overcome common challenges that slow down the implementation of AM technologies, especially among smaller manufacturers.
Undoubtedly excited by the news are the manufacturers of machines and materials for additive production.
"Stratasys is leading the transition to additive manufacturing on a large scale for large manufacturers such as GM, Boeing and Lockheed Martin," said Rich Garrity, president of Americas at Stratasys, a major manufacturer of 3D printers and materials. "This new AM Forward initiative is a great way to help small to medium-sized producers gain the confidence to invest in technology and experience in additive manufacturing on a production scale. This is an additional signal that we have reached a breaking point in the use of 3D printing in production applications. "
Strengthening the AM Forward initiative is further a plan that the US Department of Agriculture will make its business and industry program available to farmers to support the purchase of new additive manufacturing machines, along with the training needed to improve skills. of their workforce. The Export-Import Bank will highlight its new domestic lending program, which could help SME producers modernize their existing production equipment. And the Small Business Administration will work with AM Forward participants on loans to support the widespread introduction of new additive manufacturing opportunities in the US industry.
"Federal agencies will increase access to credit and education because the private sector has told us they can't do it alone," Biden said.
Extended technical assistance for the introduction of 3D printers will come from the Ministry of Energy's Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where manufacturers can test new additive techniques, while the Department of Defense will work with America Makes, sponsored by the DOD Institute for Industrial Innovation, and members of AM Forward on a standardization pilot project. America Makes will also develop a curriculum to train the workforce in additive manufacturing.
Finally, the administration is committed to supporting the U.S. Department of Commerce's efforts - through the National Institute of Standards and Technology - to high-priority standards for the production of metal-based additives and to disseminating these results through standardization bodies.
While in Ohio, Biden also took the opportunity to call for the adoption of the Bipartisan Innovation Act (BIA), which establishes an office for the supply chain at the Department of Commerce, supports key technologies such as additive manufacturing and invests in regional technology centers as well as increases funding for Manufacturing USA Institutes and Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
The full text of the AM Forward initiative is available on the administration's website, and President Biden's full speech can be viewed on C-SPAN.
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