Phase3D Secures $2.9M for Metal AM In-Situ Inspection Technology
Metal additive manufacturing quality assurance firm Phase3D has closed a $2.9 million funding round to scale production of its Fringe Inspection system, which monitors builds layer-by-layer.
Chicago-based Phase3D, a developer of quality assurance software for 3D printing, has successfully closed a $2.9 million funding round. The investment was led by Quest Venture Partners and included participation from Trinity Capital, Kinisis Ventures, Leroy Street Capital Partners, and Asimov Ventures. The round was reportedly oversubscribed.
Funds from this investment will be allocated to scaling the manufacturing of Phase3D's Fringe Inspection system, a structured-light heightmap sensor. Additionally, the company plans to enhance its software and data science capabilities. Fringe Inspection utilizes structured-light metrology to capture detailed surface heightmap data at each layer of a metal powder bed fusion (PBF) build. This sensor can be mounted directly onto the printer and operates continuously without interrupting the printing process.
The data collected by Fringe Inspection provides insights into powder bed consistency, spatter particle deposition, recoater streaks, and internal feature geometry. This allows operators to identify anomalies as they occur, rather than waiting for post-process inspection methods like CT scanning. The technology supports critical decisions, such as verifying internal channel geometries against design tolerances, detecting spatter particles that could impact fatigue life, and confirming uniform powder bed coverage across the entire build plate.
Phase3D currently serves 25 enterprise customers across the aerospace, defense, and industrial sectors. The company also maintains active collaborations with organizations including NASA, the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy, and national laboratories such as Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The company aims to transition from a custom build model to standardized, scaled manufacturing, positioning Fringe Inspection as an industry standard for in-situ quality monitoring.
This funding round for Phase3D highlights the growing demand for in-situ quality assurance in metal additive manufacturing. By providing layer-by-layer inspection during the build process, Fringe Inspection addresses a key bottleneck in scaling metal AM for serial production. This move towards "born qualified" components is crucial for sectors like aerospace and defense, where rigorous qualification is paramount and post-process inspection is a significant cost driver.
Edited by the news editor with AI from the original report — please refer to the original source.