Innovation in the design and manufacturing of wind power generation components continues to be critical to achieving our national goals. As a result of this challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office are partnering with public and private organizations to apply additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, to the production of wind turbine blade molds. The traditional method of blade design requires the creation of a plug, or a full size representation of the final blade, which is then used to make the mold. Creating the plug is one of the most time-intensive and labor- intensive processes in wind blade construction, so 3D printing saves these critical resources.