The US President Mr. Joe Biden signed an Executive Order in January 2021 titled ‘Made in America’ that seeks to prioritize and incentivize relevant opportunities for American manufacturers wherein they can be the official suppliers to the various departments of the US Government. This strategy includes all forms of manufacturing, conventional as well as additive manufacturing. 

Additionally, the Biden Administration launched the Additive Manufacturing Forward (AM Forward) – a voluntary contract between global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their small-scale US-based suppliers. The agreement aims to boost the adoption of additive capabilities by the smaller US manufacturers and the purchase of these additively-produced parts.

Additive Manufacturing and the US Federal Government

The US government has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in 3D printing applications for more than three decades. Before the Executive order of January 2021 and the AM Forward, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (RAMI) of 2013, transformed the American manufacturing sector.

The resulting rapid expansion and incorporation of additive manufacturing can be seen across various governmental actors: 

• Department of Defense
• Department of Energy
• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
• FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
• NIH (National Institute of Health), to name a few.

The inauguration of the Additive Manufacturing Strategy by the Department of Defense aims at setting up a sustainable national quality for additive technologies, 3D printing processes, and overall digital manufacturing processes.

The strategy emphasizes the Department of Defense’s need to lay down clear policies for the incorporation of additive manufacturing technologies in key areas:

• Defense system modernization
• Speed up the prototyping and production of parts for the aerospace, automotive, and tracking and detection sub-sectors in order to overthrow obsolete hardware
• Incorporate innovative, AI-enabled solutions for warfighters

The Department of Defense is aiming to bring together all critical internal and external military and academic stakeholders in a bid to streamline and ease the incorporation of additive technology in the United States military manufacturing and supply chain. 

Along with Defense, the Department of Energy has been a key player in implementing additive and 3D printing capabilities. In partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) of the Department of Energy has 3D-printed functional nozzles, sports cars, heat exchangers, and even houses. The AMO also enables R&D and partnerships with critical players to investigate newer developments and innovations in additive technology.

And, through this exciting additive manufacturing journey, Phillips Corporation has been a key and staunch partner to the US Government. With an aim to provide dedicated and customized additive technologies and streamline a hassle-free manufacturing pathway, we have set up a separate Phillips Federal division and assembled a Phillips 360 team of experts to assist the US government and its various sectors.

To ensure that the additive technologies are properly implemented and harnessed at various levels of the US Government, like federal departments, defense, automobiles, aerospace, medicines, and so on, and offer advanced additive training and customized additive courses for Federal employees, we have set up ‘Additive Minds’ in partnership with EOS North America. 

Phillips Federal is incorporating its own Phillips Additive Hybrid, along with partnerships with EOS Additive Machines, Markforged Additive Machines, and so on, to strengthen the additive manufacturing capabilities of the US Government and its various sectors.

Our core strengths include a robust presence in the local manufacturing sector as well as a remarkable position in the international market. With those, we have applied additive capabilities for pathbreaking innovations and efficient processes via support from the Phillips 360 team.

In 2021, the US Defense released its first-ever comprehensive Additive Manufacturing Strategy. This strategy offers a roadmap to fully integrate additive manufacturing and 3D printing systems in its acquisition and sustainment communities. The strategy outlines three key impact areas of additive manufacturing on the country’s defense and economic dominance:

• Modernizing the defense systems
• Boosting the speed of prototyping and producing direct parts, reducing the risk of obsolete hardware
• Enabling Warfighters using innovative solutions using additive manufacturing capabilities

Phillips is the exclusive and sole distributor of EOS additive manufacturing equipment and services to the United States Federal Government.

EOS Solutions

EOS Global offers manufacturing solutions using 3D printing machines and technology to various manufacturers. Its innovative products and practices, like the Industrial 3D Printer, coupled with its commitment to shaping the future of manufacturing, have established the brand as a trusted name in additive manufacturing in the world. EOS is the pioneer and innovator of various integrated solutions in additive manufacturing.

Benefits offered by Phillips via EOS to the US Defense 

• Over three decades of experience in Direct Metal laser Sintering and Selecting Laser Sintering – additive manufacturing techniques
• Most US Defense production tasks are repeatable making EOS the ideal partner
• Comprehensive quality control that ensures optimum production quality
• Detailed build documentation to boost system monitoring
• Laminar gas management. This helps ensure the ideal management of gas for different build conditions.
• High levels of accuracy and part strength
• More than two dozen validated materials and process parameters to offer the best-quality builds
• Recirculating filter system for longer filter life and lower operating costs as it removes condensate cake
• Nesting of multiple parts

Phillips also offers customized additive manufacturing (AM) solutions using EOS and AMCM M 1K laser(s) machines. 

Performance Assurance Program

To ensure that the Federal facilities make the optimum use of AM machines and mitigate any downtime, Phillips offers a Performance Assurance (PA) program. This is an extension of the preventive maintenance plan and goes beyond the standard routine maintenance. The US Defense facilities can customize the program based on their specific requirements and choose between one-time visits and dynamic contracts across facilities and the number of visits.

Training

Phillips Federal offers a range of courses in traditional and additive manufacturing areas. These courses are customizable allowing Defense personnel to select the course, topic, and subject areas as per the requirements of their facility. Phillips has also joined hands with EOS to deliver Additive Minds training to Federal users and consulting for EOS 3D Printing technology and machines.

The services offered by Phillips and EOS help build prototypes and manage series production. The team offers consulting and service, from designing the application to generating data and constructing parts and post-processing. EOS offers end-to-end manufacturing solutions for the entire industrial value chain.

Summing Up

Phillips has been associated with the US Department of Defense for over 50 years providing manufacturing technology expertise and products. The company has also entered into an agreement with the US Army’s Rock Island CoE for manufacturing unique parts using additive technology applications and processes.