YOUNGSTOWN, OH, USA, May 1, 2026 — America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) announced two new project calls worth a combined $25.6M in funding.
The first project call, Maturation Initiative for Additive Metals Interchangeability (MIAMI), is worth $12.4M and is funded through the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Acquisition and Sustainment, Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program. This opportunity aims to validate that metallic additive manufacturing (AM) materials can reliably replace traditional alloys in Department of War (DoW) weapon system components. Project teams will select candidate parts, define performance requirements, and generate shared, validated data demonstrating that the AM material meets or exceeds the critical properties of the legacy alloys it is intended to substitute. The goal is to enable broad, cross-platform use of AM materials, reduce redundant testing, and accelerate qualification so AM solutions can be adopted quickly and confidently across the defense industrial base. Three awards are anticipated.
“Advancing material interchangeability through additive manufacturing is a strategic step toward strengthening the nation’s defense posture,” said John Martin, Additive Manufacturing Research Director at America Makes. “This effort delivers the analytical rigor and validated data needed to accelerate trusted AM adoption, directly supporting the Department of War’s priorities for a more resilient and responsive industrial base.”
Proposed efforts are expected to deliver actionable insights that reduce technical and industrial risk, support practical pathways to transition, and provide shared value to both the DoW and the organic industrial base.
The MIAMI project call consists of two phases, beginning with Phase 0. This phase will provide a documented assessment of applications and traditional materials where the selected AM material is expected to serve as a viable substitute.
- Planning: Define qualification-ready process, material, and feedstock specifications and provide a rigorous analysis identifying where the selected AM material can replace legacy components across a weapons system, including priority use cases, performance requirements, and adoption conditions.
- Process definition: Develop process control documentation.
- Preliminary data: Conduct preliminary qualification testing to confirm that the defined process controls produce AM material with room‑temperature mechanical properties that meet established threshold requirements.
Phase 0 work will be followed by a final phase in which comprehensive testing and demonstration will be conducted according to the test plan developed in Phase 0.
The second project call, INtegrated System for In-situ Testing & Evaluation (INSITE), worth $13.2M, is funded through the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Acquisition and Sustainment, IBAS Program, and the Office of the Under Secretary of War, Manufacturing Technology Office (OSW ManTech). One award is anticipated.
The project’s objective is to establish an integrated AM quality‑assurance system that unifies in‑situ monitoring and post‑build inspection to strengthen defect detection, advance DoW priorities for more reliable AM qualification, and deliver production‑ready capabilities that enhance efficiency, readiness, and competitiveness across the U.S. supply base.
This combined in-situ and post-build nondestructive evaluation (NDE) approach aims to improve inspection of some of AM’s most challenging parts, including large components, dense materials, and complex geometries that are difficult to assess using traditional methods. By combining real-time monitoring during production with accelerated post-build inspection and expert oversight, the approach seeks to strengthen quality assurance, support certification, and expand manufacturing capabilities for critical components. Rather than advancing individual sensing or NDE technologies in isolation, the program is focused on developing and demonstrating an integrated quality assurance system that unifies in-situ monitoring and post-build inspection within a certifiable framework.
“As additive manufacturing scales to larger and more complex components, the ability to confidently verify part quality becomes mission critical,” said Ben DiMarco, Technology Transition Director at America Makes. “This project brings together advanced analytics, in‑situ monitoring, and next‑generation NDE into a unified strategy that strengthens our industrial base and accelerates the deployment of reliable AM capabilities across defense applications.”
The INSITE project consists of tasking phases with associated decision gates for each, including:
- Gate 1: Initial integration of sensors into the AM machine and collection of in-situ data.
- Gate 2: Demonstration of in-situ data identifying areas of interest for post-build NDE.
- Gate 3: Correlation of in-situ data with NDE results.
Project call timeline:
- Launch: April 30, 2026
- Kickoff Webinars:
- Industry Day:
- INSITE: May 18 at 2 p.m. – Additional Q&A – (Registration Required HERE)
- Submission Deadline:
- MIAMI: No later than 5 p.m. ET on July 9, 2026
- INSITE: No later than 5 p.m. ET on July 9, 2026
Proposers for the project calls are advised to reference the RFP for full details and guidelines.
About America Makes
America Makes is the nation’s leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing (AM) technology and education. America Makes members from industry, academia, government, workforce and economic development organizations, work together to accelerate the adoption of AM and the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Founded in 2012 as the Department of Defense’s national manufacturing innovation institute for AM and first of the Manufacturing USA network, America Makes is based in Youngstown, Ohio, and managed by the not-for-profit National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information, visit americamakes.us.
