Barnes Global Advisors Builds Metal AM Materials Database for the US Navy

The Barnes Global Advisors has landed a contract to build and manage a materials database for metal additive manufacturing parts bound for the US Navy. The work, commissioned by Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. (BPMI), aims to fix one of the biggest bottlenecks in defense-grade 3D printing: the lack of consistent property data for metal AM materials.

Right now, qualifying a new metal alloy for a military application takes months of testing, documentation, and review. Different suppliers often produce parts with the same material but report properties in different ways. That inconsistency slows adoption at shipyards, aircraft maintenance depots, and logistics commands that want to use 3D printed components for urgent repairs.

Nathan Weiderspahn, BPMI Executive Manager for Industrial Base Management, said consistent design property data is essential for rapid AM adoption in the maritime industrial base. He described the database as an integral part of the Navy's digital manufacturing transition.

The Barnes Global Advisors will interpret existing data, standardize formats, and manage a centralized repository that suppliers can use when submitting metal AM parts for approval. The results are expected to be released publicly, which means commercial aerospace, automotive, and medical manufacturers could eventually benefit from the same standardized data.

This contract puts The Barnes Global Advisors at the center of a broader push to professionalize metal 3D printing supply chains. With the Department of Defense investing heavily in additive manufacturing across multiple programs, having a single trusted source for material properties could cut qualification timelines dramatically. That matters when a broken part on a deployed ship can ground an aircraft or delay a mission.