Nikon Advanced Manufacturing & ASTM International Form Partnership to Bolster U.S. Defense Supply Chain

Nikon Advanced Manufacturing Inc., the California-based, end-to-end metal additive manufacturing (AM) company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with standards organization ASTM International to work together on multiple efforts in support of the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB). In their new partnership, Nikon AM and ASTM will be especially focused on applications engineering and workforce development.

Nikon AM and ASTM will leverage the Nikon AM Technology Center, based in the aerospace and space industry hub of Long Beach, California, to host jointly developed education and certification programs to  accelerate the growth of the powder bed fusion (PBF) workforce. According to Nikon AM, the workforce development program will center primarily on the market for U.S. Navy components.

The partnership will also include collaborations to target government funding for manufacturing R&D initiatives, as well as Nikon AM participation in ASTM-hosted industry invents like the ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM). Back in May, Nikon AM announced that the company was partnering with a number of organizations, including ASTM, in an America Makes project to develop a dataset for aluminum alloy applications.

In a press release about Nikon AM’s partnership with ASTM International to strengthen manufacturing supply chains for the U.S. DIB, CEO of Nikon AM, Hamid Zarringhalam, said, “It has become increasingly clear that advanced manufacturing is critical to national competitiveness, and over the past couple of years, Nikon AM has been executing a strategic plan focused on onshoring these vital capabilities. In order to develop, build, and operate the next generation of manufacturing equipment and solutions, we also need to inspire, educate and train the next-generation workforce about AM technology. Combined, Nikon AM and ASTM bring nearly 235 years of legacy in quality, precision and integrity — names that people already know and trust.”

The President of ASTM International, Andrew G. Kireta, Jr., said, “For more than a century, ASTM has helped industries move from possibility to production by transforming markets, enabling standards, and assisting in technological developments. This collaboration with Nikon AM brings together two institutions with unmatched legacy and global recognition. Together, we’re reinforcing the connection between workforce development, resilient supply chains, and national security — all while helping accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing at an industrial scale.”

This is the second partnership announced in the span of just a few months involving workforce development in metal AM for U.S. Navy applications that involves ASTM and a 3D printer OEM. The first was an announcement between EOS and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to train maritime industrial base workers in ASTM-certified processes. The Trump administration has continued its predecessor’s emphasis on rebuilding U.S. shipbuilding capacity, a goal that can only be achieved with generational investments in creating a labor pool suited to the task.

Even then, it will be a monumentally challenging endeavor, and it certainly won’t be one that the U.S. can achieve on its own. If the goal is to somehow “catch up” to China on this front, it is worth keeping in mind that China’s shipbuilding capacity currently outpaces the U.S.’s by 230 times. That makes the acceleration of maritime-centered advanced manufacturing supply chains all the more important, since those supply chains will ultimately need to be digitally integrated with the shipbuilding industries of allied nations.

It is also worth keeping in mind that this isn’t just about the military: the programs that organizations like Nikon AM and ASTM devise for the U.S. Navy have to eventually translate over to the commercial maritime industry, too. Along those lines, it is significant that the Nikon AM Technology Center is in Long Beach, one of the U.S.’s busiest ports.