America Makes TRX explores accelerating industrialisation of Additive Manufacturing
May 6, 2025
America Makes partnered with SME to co-locate its Spring Technical Review and Exchange (TRX) with RAPID + TCT in Detroit, Michigan, April 8-10, 2025. Through presentations across twenty-three active projects, experts shared advancements in material science, process optimisation, and Additive Manufacturing data management, highlighting data-driven strategies to improve material qualification and the integration of additive with traditional manufacturing.
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“I’m delighted that the America Makes TRX was hosted alongside our premier event. Not only did TRX bring key stakeholders to the event, but this strategic partnership showcased the ability of both organisations to collaborate and convene the AM landscape under one roof,” stated Steve Prahalis, SME Chief Operating Officer.
From a broad perspective, the event examined the strategic potential of Additive Manufacturing to deliver economies of scale and reduce costs in small-batch production and customised production scenarios. Event participants also discussed the need to overcome challenges such as material availability, qualification hurdles, and scalability to fully capitalise on AM’s role in strengthening the defence industrial base (DIB) and driving sustainable industry growth.
“TRX@Detroit was a powerful example of what can happen when the right people, ideas, and technologies come together,” said Brandon Ribic, PhD, Technology Director at America Makes. “The energy and collaboration we saw across industry, academia, and government reaffirmed our community’s commitment to advancing additive manufacturing and solving real-world challenges. Events like this set the tone for the progress we can make together.”
Presentations
Keynote speakers Calvin Mickler, PhD, and Nick Huber, Director of Metallurgy and Innovation at Scot Forge, from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), discussed the importance of bridging the Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) gap while addressing supply chain bottlenecks in the production of refractory metal powders and introduced the Future Alloy Study & Testing Center (FAST), a public/private partnership between the US Department of Defense (DoD) and Scot Forge, respectively.
The Investment Casting Institute addressed knowledge gaps and barriers to qualification and shared updates from its AM Ceramic Shell Technology for Investment Casting project, which aims to reduce lead times for military parts. Honeywell’s Greg Colvin presented updates on its IMPACT 1.0 and 2.0 projects, focused on best practices and technological advancements of additively manufactured molds/cores for sand castings as well as additively manufactured sand equipment.
Harshil Goel, CEO of Dyndrite Corporation, discussed how his team is leveraging sensor data to analyse gas flow patterns, enabling more reliable machine evaluations and high-quality part production. The company’s efforts include baseline builds, a detailed Department of Engineering (DOE) plan, and an automation tool chain assessment for long-term risk mitigation.
Innovations in Robotic Additive Manufacturing Process Planning – led by Brennon Wilsey of Continuous Composites and his team – explored the development of a 3D-focused user interface and tool pathing system. By incorporating variable slicing and intelligent algorithms, the system enables designers to define fibre pathways and ensure compatibility with finite element analysis software.
Peter Coutts of Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory presented insights from the Data Management Strategy Development project, which focuses on improving the accessibility, shareability, and reusability of material datasets through the America Makes CORE platform.
Read the full report here.
