America Makes Extends Deadlines for AIM-4AM and PADAM 2.0 Project Calls

America Makes pushed two active project call deadlines this week, giving teams chasing a combined $8 million in defense additive manufacturing funding a bit more runway to pull their proposals together.

America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining extended the proposal submission deadline for PADAM 2.0 to 5 p.m. on April 8. Funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, the $6 million project call targets three primary topic areas and seeks to advance the readiness, manufacturability, performance, and supply chain resilience of high-temperature refractory alloys for AM applications relevant to the U.S. Department of Defense. Four awards are anticipated, with award announcements expected May 12.

The PADAM 2.0 RFP spans three topic areas: existing refractory alloy systems, with up to two awards and a maximum of $2 million per award; novel or emerging refractory alloy systems, with one award capped at $1.7 million; and a refractory alloy supply chain assessment, with one award of up to $300,000.

On the AIM-4AM side, the timeline also shifted. Funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office, the $2 million project call consists of two phases and aims to develop an AI-driven framework that identifies and quantifies risk in the current material allowables approach for 17-4PH stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion, with one award anticipated and the announcement expected April 28.

The technical scope of AIM-4AM is narrowly defined but ambitious. Using machine learning to model process-structure-property relationships, the effort seeks to safely reduce physical testing while linking any reductions to clear, probabilistic risk categories. For shops and research institutions already deep in LPBF work with 17-4PH, this is the kind of qualification acceleration that could meaningfully cut the time and cost between a proven process and production-ready certification.

"This project call is about moving refractory alloys for additive manufacturing from promise to practice," stated John Martin, AM Research Director at America Makes. That framing applies equally well to AIM-4AM: the goal in both cases is closing the gap between what AM can do in the lab and what defense programs will actually accept on a flight-critical part.

A few eligibility details worth noting before you start formatting that proposal. The lead proposer must be a current America Makes member. Team members receiving federal funding must be an America Makes member paid in full by March 11, 2026, meaning the organization must fulfill annual dues via cash payment, accumulate at least $15,000 in cost share, or use a combination of both totaling $15,000. Questions for either project call can be directed to projectcall@americamakes.us, and the full RFPs are available through the America Makes member portal.

With four awards on the table for PADAM 2.0 and one high-value award for AIM-4AM, the extended deadlines make this a rare window where the door is genuinely open for smaller teams who needed a few extra weeks to build out competitive proposals.