According to 3D printing institute America Makes, which is leading the program, AM Forward consists of an agreement between its members GE Aviation, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Siemens Energy, with the aim of improving the competitiveness of America’s small and medium sized manufacturers.
Plans are to develop 3D printing standardization and create new jobs to help further the adoption of AM throughout the US supply chain.
"As America Makes continues to build the foundation for the acceleration of additive manufacturing, the AM Forward program represents a proof of concept for the original vision of the institute - to utilize the public-private partnership model in collaboration with private sector innovation to propel advanced manufacturing industries forward," said America Makes executive director John Wilczynski.
"Not enough American companies are using 3D printing or other high-performance production technologies," a White House press release said. "Through AM Forward, [the] companies will make clear, public commitments to purchase additively produced parts from smaller US-based suppliers; train the workers of their suppliers on new additive technologies; provide detailed technical assistance to support their suppliers’ adoption of new capabilities; and engage in common standards development and certification for additive products."
Member companies have reportedly made these specific commitments:
GE Aviation will target small/medium sized suppliers to compete on 50% of the requests for quotes that are sent out on products made using additive or related technologies and will target 30% of its total external sourcing of AM parts from US-based SME suppliers.
Raytheon will seek SME manufacturers involvement in over 50% of its requests for quotes on products manufactured using additive technologies and the company will also seek to simplify and accelerate the procurement process of AM parts.
Siemens Energy will target to purchase 20-40% of total externally sourced AM parts and services from US-based suppliers and partners. It will engage 10-20 US SME suppliers to help improve their AM capability. It will also train 10-20 SME suppliers on inspection and post-processing best practices.
Lockheed Martin will work with its SME suppliers to conduct research to improve the performance of additive manufacturing AM techniques specifically focused on the use of 3D printing as an alternative to castings and forgings and it will participate in university and technical college programs for additive workforce development, including coursework and apprenticeship.
Honeywell will target US-based SME suppliers to compete on request for quote packages sent out for products, machinery, manufacturing tooling, and/or manufacturing process development utilizing additive or related technologies. It will also offer technical assistance in part design, data generation, machine operation, post-processing, part inspection / quality management to its SME suppliers.
The whole statement can be found here.
