AMNOW programme launched to drive Additive Manufacturing adoption in the U.S. Army
May 2, 2019
The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), Blairsville, Pennsylvania, USA, along with its National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, America Makes, Youngstown, Ohio, USA, and partner, Catalyst Connection, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has launched AMNOW – a programme to support the insertion of Additive Manufacturing technology into the existing U.S. Army supply chain.
The award of the initial phase of AMNOW is valued at $3.7 million and funded by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC)’s Aviation & Missile Center through the U.S. Army Manufacturing Science and Technology (MS&T) Division under the newly formed U.S. Army Futures Command. Through the course of the project, NCDMM and Catalyst Connection will also collaborate with The Barnes Group Advisors (TBGA) and the Office for Operational Excellence at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) on AMNOW.
Ralph Resnick, NCDMM President and Chief Executive Officer and Founding Director of America Makes, stated, “Logistically, military supply chains are some of the most complex in the world. The long-term implications of the AMNOW programme for the U.S. Army and its supply chain are substantial. The work of the initial phase of AMNOW will be instrumental in creating a solid foundation and a clear path on how to best advance AM technologies into the Army’s supply chain.”
“On behalf of all of us at NCDMM and America Makes, we look forward to leading the initial phase of AMNOW in conjunction with the team at Catalyst Connection. As a long-standing partner and a founding member in America Makes, Catalyst Connection brings a depth of expertise in business development, manufacturing, and additive. I am confident that we will be successful in the initial and subsequent phases of AMNOW,” continued Resnick.
Petra Mitchell, Catalyst Connection’s President and CEO, commented, “Catalyst Connection has maintained an ongoing strategic partnership with NCDMM since its inception. With the AMNOW Program, we are excited to play an integral role in advancing AM technologies into the U.S. Army’s supply chain while growing our region’s manufacturing capabilities. The AMNOW Program signifies a tremendous regional economic growth opportunity for small- to medium-sized manufactures within the SWPA region. By developing a fully integrated plan to help these local manufactures adopt AM technologies and demonstrate the return on investment of Additive Manufacturing for them would be an economic game-changer for the manufacturing sector of our region.”
“The insertion of AM technologies into the existing U.S. Army supply chain will undoubtedly enable significant strategic and tactical advantages for the Army and its state of overall readiness. The ability to leverage AM technologies to produce low-volume, critical parts on-demand and on-site anywhere in the world could dramatically alter the Army’s supply chain, making it far more efficient and cost-effective,” reported Rob Gorham, NCDMM Executive Director of America Makes.
