ADDMAN Scales Additive Manufacturing for Defense Drone Sector

Six months after acquiring Forecast 3D, ADDMAN has focused on becoming a key manufacturing provider for the rapidly expanding unmanned systems sector within defense. The company's integration of Forecast 3D's operations has created a cohesive production environment in Southern California, enabling drone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and defense prime contractors to move from initial design to flight-ready components more efficiently.

This integrated approach streamlines the entire additive manufacturing process, from prototyping and iteration to bridge production and scalable volume manufacturing, all managed under a single customer relationship. This continuity is crucial for customers facing compressed program timelines, where traditional manufacturing pipelines struggle to keep pace with the demand for new unmanned aerial systems.

The company's model directly addresses supply chain vulnerabilities common in defense programs, such as single-source dependencies and extended lead times for specialized parts. By consolidating multiple manufacturing stages under one roof, ADDMAN reduces the risk of schedule delays and quality issues associated with multiple supplier handoffs.

ADDMAN is now actively involved in production programs, manufacturing structural components, thermal management parts, and payload enclosures for fielded drone systems. The demand is reportedly growing exponentially, with increasing complexity in the parts being produced. The company operates with over 550 employees across eight sites nationwide, utilizing more than 170 additive systems, over 120 CNC assets, and 26 injection molding machines.