America Makes announced a five-year Cooperative Agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The CA is a Cost-Reimbursement/Cost Share agreement with a value of up to a combined $75 million of government cost and America Makes cost share. The first project under the agreement is for developing additive manufacturing technologies for Air Force sustainment applications. It is anticipated that further special topic projects appropriate for a public-private partnership will be added as funding becomes available. This vehicle provides an opportunity for any government agency to partner with America Makes to address its AM and 3D printing needs.

Three and a half years ago, America Makes launched an industrious and high-energy pace for what the Institute had to accomplish to ensure we fulfill the mission and meet public and private expectations. AFRL values the specialized capabilities of additive manufacturing research and development that America Makes has.

The new CA confirms the value of America Makes on many levels, namely the success of the private-public partnership model, the Institute’s performance and contributions to date, and the Institute’s ongoing sustainability. Moreover, this CA provides a streamlined contractual mechanism for future Institute collaborative efforts with its membership community to accelerate the development, transition, and use of innovative, cross-cutting AM / 3DP technologies in the United States through the execution and delivery AM / 3DP technology research projects, commercialization activities, and workforce, education, and outreach initiatives. The new CA with AFRL is a clear endorsement of the value of a public-private partnership to advance the state-of-the-art in additive manufacturing within the United States.

Through effective collaboration, the NCDMM has established a new normal for public-private partnerships in what the NCDMM envisions as the pathway to reinvigorating the U.S. manufacturing base and enabling the return of manufacturing jobs for a sustainable U.S. economy. Additionally, the NCDMM has taken great care in planning for and executing against the Institute’s strategic future as a high-performing, sustainable, non-profit organization.

The current management of America Makes is through the original CA with AFRL awarded in 2012 to the NCDMM to launch America Makes as the pilot institute for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) infrastructure. The initial CA combined $55 million of funding from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and NASA with $55 million of cost share from industry, universities, and the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

America Makes
https://www.americamakes.us