Considering Strategically: AM Trade Advisor Tali Rosman on AM for the Protection Market – 3DPrint.com

By now, roughly everybody within the AM business appears to understand the central position in accelerating AM adoption performed by the protection sector usually, and the U.S. army particularly. Nonetheless, as was highlighted on this latest 3DPrint.com interview with Mike Shepard of 3D Programs Company, there nonetheless aren’t that many true broad-based specialists in AM for the army.

Tali Rosman is one such skilled. The onetime CEO of Xerox’s Elem Additive, which was in the end acquired ADDiTEC, Rosman has written various experiences for Additive Manufacturing Analysis, together with a number of research particularly on the AM marketplace for protection. Her opinion is sought out by AM corporations and commerce associations all over the world.

At Additive Manufacturing Methods 2026 (February 24-26 in New York Metropolis), you possibly can see Tali moderating a panel on “The Way forward for Metallic Elements for Aerospace & Protection,” as she and the panelists dive in to what appears to be like like it is going to stay one of many key demand drivers for the AM business for years to come back. Should you haven’t registered for the occasion but, this can be a excellent time to take action — the usual registration deadline expires December tenth.

To get an concept of what sorts of themes will probably be mentioned on the panel, and through the Aerospace and Protection session as an entire, Tali shared her beneficial perception on some vital subjects presently animating the world of army AM.

Matt Kremenetsky: For no less than the final yr or so, everybody targeted on AM for protection has been paying essentially the most consideration to the Navy. Which purposes past maritime are you most targeted on?

Tali Rosman: The Navy has rightfully taken the highlight for its work in shipboard AM and the SIB program, however AM is getting used compellingly throughout the DoW. On the Military facet, I’m equally enthusiastic about each expeditionary and floor logistics purposes, together with:

• Ahead-deployed half manufacturing for automobile restore, unmanned programs, or base infrastructure — particularly in contested logistics environments.
• Half restore at each the tactical and depot ranges to cut back lengthy lead occasions and enhance readiness.
• Additive building, similar to 3DP concrete for barracks, partitions, and shelters — which is quietly shifting from pilot to functionality.

The Air Drive, in the meantime, has a number of fascinating use circumstances in MRO and sustainment, spanning AM applied sciences. We’re additionally seeing rising cross-branch momentum in warfighter medical purposes — from surgical fashions to customized orthotics — the place AM’s potential to personalize and ship rapidly is a transparent differentiator.

MK: How is what’s occurring in protection a mannequin that may be utilized to profitable AM adoption in different sectors?

TR: Protection has grow to be a real-world check mattress for de-risking AM at scale — taking applied sciences out of the lab and into among the most demanding environments. That’s beneficial far past the army. Particularly:

• Qualification pathways: The structured, rigorous half vetting in protection can inform frameworks for aerospace, vitality, and different demanding industries.
• Distributed manufacturing fashions: What the DoW is piloting throughout depots, bases, and afloat ships can function a blueprint for distant or multi-site industrial operations.
• Public-private collaboration: Applications like DIU present how stakeholders with very completely different timelines can nonetheless align on shared targets — a beneficial lesson for any giant OEM making an attempt to companion with AM startups.

Backside line: protection isn’t simply an early adopter — it’s constructing the playbook for scaling AM underneath real-world constraints, and that playbook interprets on to different high-consequence sectors.

Marines from seventh Engineer Assist Battalion together with engineers from the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers Development Engineering Analysis Laboratory pose with a concrete bunker throughout a 3D concrete printing train. Picture by way of U.S. Marines/Workers Sgt. Michael Smith, seventh ESB.

MK: As somebody who has labored with the US army, what’s some recommendation you can provide corporations who’re hoping to enter the federal government market?

TR: Breaking into the DoW isn’t nearly promoting a product — it’s about studying to function inside a singular procurement and decision-making ecosystem. My high items of recommendation:

• Begin small however strategic — a profitable prototype by way of an SBIR or a DIU pilot could be your wedge into a lot bigger alternatives. We’ve seen success when applications give innovators a transparent path into sustainment — just like the Navy’s CRADA with FormAlloy at FRCSW, which turned a pilot restore course of right into a funded functionality. Streamlining requirements throughout branches would multiply these sorts of wins.

• Get fluent in “DoW-speak” — align your worth proposition to not “higher printing,” however to operational readiness, value avoidance, or logistics discount.

• Herald somebody who’s walked the halls — hiring or partnering with a former DoW insider dramatically accelerates the educational curve, from navigating procurement guidelines to discovering the correct champions. For instance, in 2024 Nikon appointed Admiral Mike Mullen (Ret., USN), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, as a Strategic Advisor — and lately introduced a partnership with the U.S. Navy to broaden maritime AM.

• Be affected person however persistent — timelines are lengthy, budgets are cyclical, and success comes from repeatedly aligning with shifting program priorities.

MK: As army AM adoption steadily expands, do you see cybersecurity as an more and more vital challenge?

TR: Completely — and I’d really broaden it to incorporate each cybersecurity and sourcing integrity. As we digitize extra of the protection provide chain, the assault floor is getting wider — not simply when it comes to information, but in addition when it comes to the machines we’re counting on.

• On the cyber facet, AM introduces actual dangers: design recordsdata, course of parameters, monitoring information — they will all be tampered with in methods which are exhausting to detect however catastrophic in the event that they fail within the area.
• On the availability chain facet, we’re nonetheless seeing corporations label issues as “Made within the USA” whereas quietly reselling imported machines — together with programs with unknown firmware and connectivity danger. It checks the compliance field however misses the purpose completely.

Backside line: in AM, the machine is the manufacturing facility, and if we’re severe about nationwide safety, we will’t deal with the digital and bodily layers individually. It’s not nearly securing recordsdata — it’s about securing the complete stack: {hardware}, software program, sourcing, and the ecosystem round it. Securing the file is desk stakes; securing the manufacturing facility is the actual problem.

3D printed steel components from Trident Warrior 25. This helicopter hangar door sensor bracket was printed by NAVSEA Warfare Facilities/Naval Floor Warfare Heart Carderock Division (NSWCCD) and put in on a DDG. Picture courtesy of FLEETWERX.

MK: Should you had the power to alter one factor about how protection procurement works within the context of AM, what would it not be?

TR: Just one factor? I’ve a couple of in thoughts, however to select one, I’d begin with streamlining the qualification and procurement requirements throughout branches. Right this moment, you possibly can qualify an element with one service and begin again at sq. one with one other — even when the fabric and utility are practically equivalent.

This fragmentation slows innovation and frustrates suppliers. A extra unified method would speed up adoption and scale back redundant value and energy.

MK: Do you see AM for the US army shifting extra within the path of 1 enterprise atmosphere that works throughout the entire division, or do you assume the army’s AM exercise will at all times be primarily siloed into every department/company?

TR: Realistically, some siloing is inevitable, given the distinctive mission units and platforms of every department. However I do assume we’re seeing momentum towards a extra interoperable and related AM ecosystem:

• Shared repositories for certified components.
• Frequent supplies libraries and testing protocols.
• Cross-branch pilots and consortiums.

Even when we will’t keep away from silos completely, we should always be certain that information, information, and components can circulation between them — particularly in joint operations or contested logistics situations. We don’t want full uniformity — simply interoperability. That’s what’s going to make AM really scalable throughout the providers.

Should you’re serious about extra of what Tali thinks concerning the present state of the AM business, catch her on this episode of Printing Cash. And don’t overlook to register for AMS 2026!

This interview was initially seen in AMS: The Preprint. 

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