Automation Alley to develop secure distributed AM network under $7.5 million defence contract
Automation Alley, based in Michigan, USA, has announced the award of a Phase I $7.5 million Task Order with a Base and Option under the Industrial Base Analysis Sustainment (IBAS) programme, administered through the US National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) IDIQ.
The contract supports the US Army’s efforts to modernise defence supply chain sustainment through secure, distributed Additive Manufacturing.
This first phase will see Automation Alley lead the design and validation of a secure digital manufacturing environment that enables intellectual property-protected streaming of manufacturing instructions to a distributed network of AM equipment. The effort is part of Automation Alley’s defence manufacturing initiative, Project DIAMOnD.
Phase I technical work includes the development of a secure encrypted digital workflow architecture aligned with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity standards, identification and validation of candidate polymer and metallic weapon system components, and production of additively manufactured parts using validated processes. A key deliverable will be demonstrating the secure, end-to-end transfer of smart product recipes (SPRs) to distributed manufacturers, including digital quality assurance instructions for each part produced.
Automation Alley will execute the program in partnership with Markforged, a Massachusetts-based company, and Fraunhofer USA, headquartered in Michigan. NCDMM, which manages America Makes of Youngstown, Ohio, will serve as the prime contractor.
“This award reflects years of work building a platform and a network capable of supporting the Department of War’s most critical manufacturing needs,” said Tom Kelly, Automation Alley executive director and CEO. “Phase I gives us the opportunity to demonstrate, in a real and rigorous way, that secure distributed Additive Manufacturing is not just possible – it is ready.”
