Phase3D Introduces Early Adopter Program for 3D Printing Real-Time Inspection

New era of 3D printing in-situ inspection goes beyond monitoring, enabling reduced part costs – and now available for early adopters.

Chicago, IL (February 16, 2023) – Phase3D is launching its Early Adopter Program for Project Fringe, an opportunity for companies to access a state-of-the-art in-situ inspection system for additive manufacturing (AM) / 3D printing.

Real-Time Inspection

Phase3D emerged as a spinout from the University of California in 2021 with a real-time quality monitoring system. The patent-pending Project Fringe technology goes beyond monitoring via in-situ inspection of each powder layer in the 3D printing processes.

“At Phase3D, we’ve created a real-time inspection system using rapid height measurement technology to detect and classify process anomalies during 3D printing,” explains Niall O’Dowd, PhD, Founder and CEO of Phase3D. “Our goal is to reduce the cost per part in AM by shifting the paradigm from in-situ monitoring (i.e., identifying outliers) to in-situ inspection, a repeatable quality and certification system based on direct measurement.”

Project Fringe

Project Fringe is a proprietary structured light technology that measures any powder-based AM process. The real-time data creates detailed measurements for where and when a print anomaly occurs. Project Fringe presents data in 3D, enabling users to see a multitude of print anomalies in real-time.

To date, Phase3D is compatible with 3D printers including the EOS M 290, ExOne/Desktop Metal Innovent, Concept Laser M2, Renishaw AM400, and DMG MORI LASERTEC 30. Additional 3D printers can be retrofitted based on individual customer demand.

Validated Technology

Project Fringe has been validated through investments and partnerships from leading organizations.

Phase3D secured a two-year funded contract with the Air Force Research Lab and Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex and has in place a cooperative agreement note for a one-year development partnership at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The company completed a one-year technical collaboration and is now moving to phase II with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a two-year cooperative research and development agreement with Argonne National Laboratory. Finally, Phase3D established a two-year fellowship from Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

“After validating the technology with partners at NASA, the Air Force Research Lab, and several Department of Energy labs, we are excited to unveil the Early Adopter Program this February. We are offering our inspection tool to manufacturers for a greatly reduced software fee, in exchange for data exchange,” Dr. O’Dowd says.

The Early Adopter Program includes hands-on time with the Phase3D team to initialize Project Fringe on-site, retrofit installed printers, and keep up and running via monthly software license.

Project Fringe Early Adopter Program

Available for inquiry now, the Early Adopter Program is set to superpower customer operations. Limited space is available in the program, which will offer early access and reduced pricing structures for commercial installation of Project Fringe.

The Early Adopter Program is targeting production-oriented businesses that have in-house powder bed fusion or binder jetting systems.

The hardware-and-software package will:

• Attach to any powder bed-based 3D printer
• Detect defects in real time throughout all print cycles

About Phase3D

Phase3D is on a mission to reduce the cost per part of additive manufacturing through real-time part health inspection. The company launched in fall 2021 as a spinout from the University of California and is committed to advancing in-situ monitoring for AM in production environments. Project Fringe, Phase3D’s flagship system, is an inspection tool which uses structured light to objectively detect and classify print anomalies which lead to part defects. Phase3D produces quantitative height mapping and is the only system available that can measure out-of-plane surface anomalies in real time for both powder bed fusion and binder jetting processes. Learn more at phase-3d.com.