The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) will oversee a $1.66 million project aimed at improving inspection and qualification procedures for complex 3D printed parts. The initiative, funded through the QTIME program by America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), will concentrate on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology.
“This award will allow us to focus on breaking one of the biggest bottlenecks in metal 3D printing: inspection,” said Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President & General Manager of ASTRO America. “By integrating real-time, layer-wise monitoring with advanced modelling and analysis, our team will deliver a framework that reduces inspection time and cost while giving industry the confidence to scale.”
Key collaborators on the project include Applied Optimization, providing high-resolution melt-pool imaging and predictive stress modeling; the Penn State Applied Research Lab, focusing on automated CT defect detection and neural-network-driven image analysis; Florida State University, contributing flaw-informed deformation modeling; the Colorado School of Mines, overseeing materials characterization and validation of deformation models; Honeywell Aerospace, delivering system integration and engineering support; and Lockheed Martin, offering advisory support to guide project execution.
Project Scope, Applications, and Goals
The LPBF process has been chosen for its capability to create highly complex lattice structures and thin-walled designs, making it particularly well-suited for aerospace and defense applications. Although these structures offer significant benefits, their wider adoption has been limited by challenges in inspection.
To address this, the ASTRO-led team plans to implement in-situ, layer-by-layer inspection, allowing for near real-time detection of flaws and prediction of deformations during the build process. The initiative aims to cut inspection times from several hours of traditional CT scanning to under one hour, while also reducing costs by up to 90%.
ASTRO America will manage the production of components using Inconel 718 and integrate advanced sensor systems into a Colibrium Additive M2 Series 5 metal 3D printing system. Potential applications include lightweight structural parts and sophisticated heat exchangers, with expected benefits across aviation, energy, and naval sectors.
Bridging AM’s Inspection Gap
Inspection and qualification remain critical challenges in scaling additive manufacturing for high-stakes applications. The ASTRO America initiative reflects a broader effort to accelerate the deployment of validated, application-specific inspection technologies across the AM supply chain.
Last year, America Makes announced the winners of a $6 million project call focused on advancing materials and process development for AM. Among the selected projects, RTX Technology Research Center led the “Inspection Using In-Situ Height Mapping Data” project to improve dimensional accuracy, while R3 Digital Sciences developed a framework integrating in-process monitoring with ex-situ inspection workflows. Earlier in the year, the organization awarded $1.2 million across five proposals to address qualification challenges, data standards, and machine reliability.
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Image featured shows Fringe Inspection for M2 Series 5 kit comes equipped with 3D visualization software, showing a summary of part defects and a quality chart. Image via Phase3D.
