The Department of Defense’s inspector general office found in an audit that DoD has implemented policy on additive manufacturing across the Defense Logistics Agency and the four service branches.
At least 81 military facilities have used AM or 3D printing to manufacture a variety of tools to address the absence of phased out parts, reduce maintenance hours and improve existing system components, DoD Office of the Inspector General said Monday.
The office conducted the audit to determine DoD’s level of using AM, covering sustainment efforts, coordination and overall implementation.
The audit also discovered that DoD may standardize AM data, implement a method for sharing this data, boost AM awareness across military leadership and identify resource requirements to further achieve goals. DoD OIG recommends the department to develop and implement policy that addresses these findings.