Phase3D partners with NASA on flight qualification for metal AM parts
Phase3D is supporting NASA's efforts to qualify additively manufactured metal parts for spaceflight by generating a massive dataset of in-situ inspection data.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has enlisted Phase3D to participate in a new initiative focused on validating metal additively manufactured parts for spaceflight during the production process. This program aims to create one of the most extensive in-situ inspection datasets for metal additive manufacturing qualification research, involving over 50,000 individually inspected build layers generated on a production-scale EOS M300-4 quad-laser system.
The significant scale of this dataset is crucial because the primary challenge is not inspection itself, but the extensive time currently required. NASA estimates that qualifying a single flight-critical additively manufactured component can take upwards of 18 months. This program pairs Phase3D with a confidential U.S. aerospace prime and space propulsion manufacturer, concentrating on topology-optimized Invar 36 brackets, which are representative of structural components used in spacecraft.
Phase3D will implement its Fringe Inspection and Fringe Qualification systems on the EOS machine. Fringe Inspection captures calibrated 3D height measurements after each powder layer and laser exposure using structured green light projection. Fringe Qualification then consolidates this data across multiple machines, facilities, and production programs into unified qualification workflows. The objective is to determine if this continuous, layer-by-layer measurement record can be reliably correlated with post-build CT scanning results.
If successful, this correlation could enable manufacturers to establish real-time, quantitative go/no-go thresholds for qualification decisions, a concept NASA refers to as "born qualified" manufacturing. Fringe Inspection is designed to detect process disturbances that typically go unnoticed until post-build testing, such as powder spreading irregularities, recoater blade interactions, layer shifts, melt pool anomalies, spatter accumulation, delamination, and unexpected surface height variations. By capturing these measurements at every layer, engineers can pinpoint the exact time and location of deviations.
This current program builds upon prior research. Earlier collaborations between Phase3D and NASA Marshall demonstrated a correlation between Fringe Inspection measurements and CT-detected porosity. Separate studies with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) showed strong agreement between anomalies flagged during production and defects identified in post-build analysis. The current initiative aims to validate these findings at a production scale using a multi-laser machine that reflects current industry deployments, specifically the EOS M300-4, which is increasingly adopted by aerospace and defense contractors for production work.
This development is significant as it addresses the critical bottleneck of qualification time for additively manufactured flight-critical components. By demonstrating "born qualified" manufacturing through real-time, layer-by-layer in-situ monitoring and correlating it with post-build inspections, NASA and its partners aim to drastically reduce lead times. This aligns with the broader industry push for faster, more reliable AM adoption in aerospace and space applications, potentially enabling more complex designs and on-demand production.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.