US-based think tank ASTRO America together with ASTM International’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence and Florida State University’s InSPIRE program, has named five finalists for its inaugural Actionable In-Situ Awareness Challenge. The initiative seeks to identify advanced sensor and monitoring technologies that enhance quality assurance in aerospace and defense manufacturing.
The finalists, eddy current array sensing specialist Jentek Sensors, quality assurance provider Additive Assurance, 3D printing monitoring software developer Phase3D, software and sensor integration firm Applied Optimization, and real-time analytics company Addiguru,. will participate in a three-month initiative to showcase their market-ready in-situ monitoring and data analysis technologies for additive manufacturing.
“Despite a long-standing understanding of the importance of monitoring and data analytics in additive manufacturing, users still lack clarity on which solutions offer genuine value,” said Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President, ASTRO America. “This challenge is designed to help separate effective solutions from less impactful ones.”
About the Challenge
Currently, metal AM quality control is primarily conducted post-process, often revealing defects too late. Although several sensor-based and corrective technologies exist, widespread industry use remains limited. This challenge aims to highlight the most effective and scalable solutions.
As part of the program, each finalist will install and test their systems on industrial-scale metal 3D printers at Maritech Machine in Panama City, Florida. The objective is to gather operational data and evaluate how well their solutions support quality control needs in defense and aerospace applications. Participants will showcase their technologies during a demonstration week this summer, using performance logs and time-lapse imagery to illustrate their capabilities. A professional videography team will also document the process for both outreach and evaluation purposes.
Final results will be shared publicly during an event on August 26–27, 2025, in Panama City. Representatives from GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Florida State University, and the organizing sponsors will attend and evaluate the results.
Comments from the Finalists
JENTEK Sensors expressed enthusiasm about being named a finalist, highlighting that its in-situ eddy current array technology delivers high-resolution imaging of defects, geometry, and material characteristics—without interrupting the manufacturing process. “The opportunity to showcase our capability and integrate onto another commercial machine is timely and critical to our commercialization plans.”
Additive Assurance also said it is proud to feature its AMiRIS platform in the In-situ Awareness Challenge. “We are optimistic that this program is the ideal opportunity to showcase the best in-situ monitoring available today. By bringing these leading commercial solutions together, the challenge gives the industry an excellent opportunity to observe the powerful tools now available to improve quality, which is essential for building confidence and driving progress.”
Phase3D said the challenge will demonstrate how its Fringe Inspection addresses the critical need for repeatable, calibrated in-situ monitoring in AM. “Our product is uniquely positioned to meet all challenge requirements, delivering unit-based measurements with ±10 µm accuracy that are traceable to NIST standards—something no other in-situ monitoring solution can provide,” said Niall O’Dowd, Founder & CEO of Phase3D.
Applied Optimization stated it will present its Open Sensor Interface (OSI) in the challenge, a system that directs and controls light from the melt pool to MWIR and visible optical pathways. “Participating in this challenge is a very beneficial opportunity for us to demonstrate the OSI’s capabilities. This challenge has also pushed us to refine parts of the OSI and has given us new problems to solve, such as tracking melt pools on multi-laser machines.”
Shuchi Khurana, CEO of Addiguru, stated that the company will demonstrate how its multi-sensor monitoring and analytics platform delivers real-time insights, helping manufacturers make informed decisions and lower post-process inspection costs. “We believe this challenge is a critical step toward accelerating the adoption of scalable, data-driven quality control in metal AM.”
3D Printing Quality Assurance
In addition to these companies, others bring proprietary defect-detection technologies that further advance the precision and reliability of additive manufacturing quality control. 3D printing software and services company Materialise developed its AI-powered Process Control software for metal 3D printing. This allows users to analyze data collected during the 3D printing process. Defective parts can be located before the post-processing and quality inspection stages, which adds 30% to 70% to production costs.
Similarly, Californian metal 3D printer manufacturer Velo3D offers its Assure Quality Assurance and Control System. Compatible with the firm’s laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Sapphire 3D printers, the tool monitors the metal 3D printing process. Defects in the build are detected as they occur, with quality control and build report summaries automatically generated for each 3D print job. It also uses live, multi-sensor, physics-based detection algorithms to trace part quality during production, streamlining the 3D printed-part validation process.
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Featured image shows Real-time inspection with Phase3D Project Fringe. Photo via Phase3D.
