Inside the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence

Nobody likes delays.

The stakes are even higher when a mission depends on getting the right parts at the right time. For the U.S. Navy, a delayed part can stall a mission and force a vessel to remain tied to the pier instead of patrolling the seas.

This is where the U.S. Navy Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) steps in. Housed within the Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA) on the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus, this collaborative project reduces delays and increases part availability and production capabilities. Involving eight partners, including Austal USA and IALR, the AM CoE helps develop digital technical data packages, or “manufacturing recipes,” that activate suppliers in the Maritime Industrial Base (MIB).

This shift enables quicker turnaround times and provides the U.S. Navy with options that did not exist a few years ago. Rather than waiting on months-long casting or forging lead times, which are susceptible to a high level of quality-related issues, the Navy can distribute these recipes to qualified suppliers, speeding up production and ensuring higher quality and accuracy on each part produced. 

“The AM CoE is the nexus of additive integration.” – Aaron Wiest, Additive Manufacturing Program Manager, MIB Program

An Ambitious Goal

As part of the MIB Program, the AM CoE project supports the Navy’s ambitious goal of producing one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines annually. Achieving this build rate while simultaneously maintaining the existing fleet and supporting the recent AUKUS agreement is challenging because it requires a dependable supply of thousands of parts, both for the suppliers and at the shipyards themselves.

Many of those parts are traditionally produced using castings and forgings, which result in significant constraints on where and how many can be made.

By shifting to digital “recipes” for additive manufacturing, the AM CoE provides a more flexible path that reduces cost, time and reliance on limited foundries. These technical data packages guide approved suppliers, ensuring consistency across the supply chain. Instead of waiting on a single foundry, multiple vendors can print identical parts from the same digital file.

“When you move to a digital paradigm, you have a digital casting mold or an additive data file that allows you to use a 3D printer and manufacture the shape that you need, which will then later go through value-added processing. The CoE gets to be the repository of those files for any of the companies that wish to join in that collaborative network and support the U.S. Navy.” – Aaron Wiest, Additive Manufacturing Program Manager, MIB Program

IALR’s Center for Manufacturing Advancement supports the AM CoE’s work by providing a high-performance environment for this manufacturing optimization. Its ISO-certified CNC Machining Innovation Lab refines subtractive processes for additively produced parts, and the Precision Metrology Lab’s advanced inspection capabilities ensure quality. Both labs also serve other clients seeking process improvements. Emerging technology is tested, proven and implemented within this ecosystem for immediate impact.

AM CoE Partners

The Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence includes many partners, several of which have staff stationed on the IALR Campus full-time. 

• Austal USA Advanced Technologies: enterprise team lead overseeing program management and technical execution
• Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM):  lead for digital thread and digitally enhanced qualification
• FasTech, LLC: provides parameter and post-process development, DED & PBF, CNC and enterprise beta testing
• IALR: provides post-processing services in the CoE. This includes CNC machining, saw cutting and processing of test samples
• Industrial Inspection & Analysis, Inc.® (IIA):  provides in-house qualification and testing
• Mitutoyo: provides coordinate measuring machining (CMM) services
• Phillips Corporation: serves as principal for the additive manufacturing processes, part selection process and part digitization
• The SPECTRUM Group: provides strategic oversight and guidance for the AM CoE

Rapid Results When Needed

Though the AM CoE focuses on developing processes, it has swiftly produced parts to meet urgent demands. Three recent examples exemplify its ability to deliver results:

Case One: Reducing Delivery Time

A small bracket helps a destroyer’s hangar door sensor function properly. It functions like a garage door sensor–ensuring nothing is under the door before it closes.

Due to limited supply chains, a malfunctioning helo hangar door bracket on a U.S. Destroyer threatened to delay its mission for months.

Over the 2023 holiday season, the AM CoE printed, machined, inspected and delivered the bracket in under three weeks. A few months later, another request came for the same part, and the turnaround dropped to just 13 days.

“Two different destroyers went out and were able to maintain their mission because of the CoE.” – Jesse Geisbert, Advanced Manufacturing Director, MIB Program

The bracket is now a procurable item, meaning future suppliers can produce it on demand.

Case Two: Addressing Quality Challenges

The interior liner for a submarine’s trash disposal is certainly not glamorous and may seem insignificant, but it is integral to submarine operations. During underwater missions, submarines compact waste and securely store it in sealed metal containers, which are then safely released into the ocean.

Six of these large trash disposal liners units were delivered to a shipbuilder producing a submarine in 2024, and all six were defective and could not be used.

“It’s a very hard to cast alloy, somewhat complex part, and they didn’t have a path forward, which meant stalled submarine construction for one piece,” Wiest said. 

In just nine days, the AM CoE modeled and printed a first article of manufacture. In contrast, a cast part would have taken months to deliver. This solution is expected to restore momentum and prevent submarine construction from grinding to a halt.

Case Three: Providing Sustainment Solutions for Parts that No Longer Exist

Aging ships and submarines like the USS Michigan also rely on critical parts, many of which are no longer produced by traditional methods. The Michigan is a 42-year-old submarine, and its trim and drain valves, especially the tailpiece, regularly corrode due to operational conditions.

The AM CoE printed the tailpiece using both laser powder bed fusion and wire arc methods, creating multiple additive manufacturing data files. This dual approach provides flexibility, ensures future availability and supports other classes of submarines that use similar components. Instead of uncertain wait times for casting or forging, the Navy now has proven digital recipes to quickly produce these vital parts when the next repair cycle comes around.

“In one place now, we’ve created two different AM data files that can be distributed,” Geisbert said. “The Ohio class will be around still for quite a considerable amount of time, and now we have a better way to produce these trim and drain valves when they need to be replaced.” 

A One-Stop Shop

How to best print the part is only one part of the digital recipes provided by the AM CoE. The AM CoE also provides instructions on post-printing machining, metrology and measurement techniques and heat treatment.

“The CoE project has end-to-end capabilities. The team provides data on how to take an additive part through all the various steps, like machining and heat treatment, to make it a finalized, finished component. We learn things at each one of those stages that we can implement into a more well-rounded and complete end-to-end strategy.” – Jason Wells, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing Advancement, IALR

In addition to what’s happening in the AM CoE, skilled workers are trained at the adjacent Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program. This program prepares workers for the Maritime Industrial Base, ensuring a talent pipeline ready to operate cutting-edge equipment. A spinoff of ATDM that is also located on the IALR campus, the Naval Aviation School for Additive Manufacturing (NASAM) program trains active-duty Navy personnel to use additive manufacturing equipment and techniques on ships and submarines.

“The AM CoE is a one-stop shop for industry to come learn about additive, get qualified, understand the Navy requirements.” – Jesse Geisbert, Advanced Manufacturing Director, MIB Program

Activating the Industrial Base

The AM CoE is a unique public-private partnership where industry, academia and government work together toward a common goal. This collaborative approach maximizes resources, knowledge sharing and innovation. Instead of operating in separate silos, partners pool their expertise and align their efforts, ultimately strengthening the entire industrial base.

“We have an era of unprecedented collaboration,” Wiest said. “It is amazing to see companies willing to jump in, willing to share some of their IP actually to help the industrial base grow.” 

This kind of cooperation ensures that if one supplier faces delays, another can step in, preventing bottlenecks. Over time, the public-private partnership model builds resilience, scalability and trust across the network of suppliers and shipbuilders supporting the U.S. Navy.

“The AM CoE is that connective tissue for the OEMs and the shipbuilders and the industrial base at large.” – Jesse Geisbert, Advanced Manufacturing Director, MIB Program

Making an Impact

The three success stories highlight how critical this work has become. A hangar door bracket was delivered in under three weeks, a trash disposal unit liner was produced in days rather than months, and a valve component for an aging submarine was quickly developed.

However, the goal of producing these digital recipes is to have even more success stories where approved suppliers utilize an existing recipe to produce needed parts on demand.

Each success means more time at sea, more deterrent strength and more efficient use of national resources. The Navy’s ambitious goals, the expansion of additive manufacturing and the AM CoE’s model all point to a future with fewer delays and heightened readiness.

“The AM CoE is a model,” Geisbert said. “Nothing is stopping us from creating something like the CoE, operated by public-private partnerships and intended for production outside every shipyard.”

The CMA’s mission to help manufacturers integrate technology and optimize processes extends beyond the Navy. It reflects a broader push for more innovative, faster and resilient manufacturing across various industries.