AM I Navigator and Leading Minds Announce Joint Alliance

Two leading initiatives in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry have announced the creation of the Additive Manufacturing Alliance, an umbrella bringing together Leading Minds and the AM I Navigator. The Additive Manufacturing Alliance intends to help accelerate the industrial adoption of additive manufacturing.

The Additive Manufacturing Alliance brings together two established initiatives with complementary approaches. The Alliance will collaborate on selected joint activities, while AM I Navigator and Leading Minds will engage independently where appropriate. By aligning their efforts, the Alliance supports the shared objective of advancing additive manufacturing as a core industrial technology and enabling its scalable adoption across industries.

"Our shared goal is to make additive manufacturing more accessible, less complex, and more integrated into everyday industrial production," says Brigitte de Vet-Veithen, CEO of Materialise, on behalf of the Additive Manufacturing Alliance. "Together, we can help more companies across a wider variety of industries benefit from the flexibility, efficiency, and innovation that AM enables."

Initial joint activities of the Additive Manufacturing Alliance will focus on knowledge exchange, joint industry communication, and supporting companies along their path toward industrializing additive manufacturing.

AM I Navigator: Framework for Accelerating AM Maturity

The AM I Navigator, launched at Formnext 2023 by Siemens, DyeMansion, HP, BASF Forward AM, and EOS, provides companies with a framework for industrializing additive manufacturing and scaling it into serial production environments integrated with other manufacturing technologies.

Since its launch, the AM I Navigator has been applied in multiple industrial transformation initiatives. Companies use the maturity model to benchmark their current AM capabilities, align investments across the end‑to‑end process chain, and derive clear roadmaps toward higher levels of automation, quality, and economic viability. 

The AM I Navigator ecosystem has continued to grow and now includes additional partners such as Materialise, AMTPro, AZO, as well as knowledge partners including Capgemini and BCG.

"Via the newly launched AM I Navigator website, companies worldwide can independently and free of charge assess their additive manufacturing maturity and explore transformational insights derived from proven industrial applications," says Karsten Heuser, vice president Additive Manufacturing at Siemens. “The assessment tools are voluntary resources designed to help companies of all sizes from startups to global manufacturers benchmark their capabilities and identify improvement opportunities.”

The AM I Navigator Maturity Model, Transformation Insights, and self‑assessment tools are accessible via the AM I Navigator website: https://am-i-navigator.com/

Knowledge Partner

Wohlers Associates, powered by ASTM International, strengthens the AM I Navigator network as a Knowledge Partner, contributing expertise in qualified additive manufacturing for regulated industries. With focus on standards, certification, and industrial readiness—particularly in industries, such as Defense, Aerospace, Medical—Wohlers Associates will use Its market intelligence database, its global network of experts, and its methodologies to advance bring AM I Navigator.

"By joining the AM I Navigator, we aim to contribute our experience in translating additive manufacturing standards into robust industrial practice. Together with the partner network, we want to help manufacturers accelerate the transition from experimentation to qualified, scalable production," says Dr. Mohsen Seifi, vice president of Global Advanced Manufacturing Programs at ASTM International.

Leading Minds: A Collaborative Effort

Announced at Formnext 2024, Leading Minds is a consortium formed by eight founding members: Ansys, EOS, HP, Materialise, Nikon SLM, Renishaw, Stratasys, and ATLIX (formerly Trumpf Additive Manufacturing). Together, these companies share two main objectives: increasing awareness of additive manufacturing’s capabilities across industries and removing the hurdles manufacturers face when adopting and scaling AM solutions for industrial use.

The first initiative announced by the consortium focuses on addressing the fragmentation and complexity of AM terminology. Leading Minds is developing an open, common language framework that enables manufacturers and technology providers to communicate more clearly and consistently. 

Leading Minds Welcomes New Member

The Leading Minds consortium announces the addition of the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group (MTDG) as its newest member. MTDG, along with its subsidiary — the National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining (NCDMM) and its America Makes program — focuses on helping manufacturers deploy advanced manufacturing technologies, and Colleges and Universities to embrace advanced manufacturing technologies.

About the Leading Minds Consortium

Leading Minds is a collaborative initiative formed by leading companies in 3D printing.

About the AM I Navigator

The AM I Navigator is an industry initiative that brings together leading experts across the additive manufacturing value chain to support companies in advancing their AM maturity. Built around a holistic five‑stage maturity model covering ten key dimensions—from strategy and design to production, quality, and organization—the AM I Navigator helps organizations assess their current capabilities and define a clear path toward industrialization.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.