America Makes awards $6 million for refractory alloy additive‑manufacturing program

America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) announced the selection of four research teams for the Powder Alloy Development for Additive Manufacturing (PADAM) 2.0 program, funded with a $6 million budget from the Air Force Research Laboratory. The initiative aims to advance the additive manufacturing of high‑temperature refractory alloys for aerospace and defense applications, improving manufacturability, performance and supply‑chain resilience.

Lead teams include Lockheed Martin (with Quadrus Corporation, Colorado School of Mines and 3Degrees), HRL Laboratories (with The Boeing Company, Amaero, Alloyed and Texas A&M University), ATI Materials (with The Boeing Company and University of Dayton Research Institute) and Colorado School of Mines (focused on supply‑chain assessment). John Martin, Additive Manufacturing Research Director at America Makes, said, "PADAM 2.0 is about moving AM refractory alloys from promise to practice." The program is expected to strengthen domestic manufacturing capability, lower qualification barriers and deliver more reliable high‑temperature materials for critical Department of War and warfighter needs.