Transforming Metal AM Reliability With Phase3D’s Fringe Inspection
Phase3D has announced its participation in the DARPA-funded SPARES initiative, joining HRL Laboratories and a coalition of industry leaders and research institutions in an ambitious program to transform the way engineers assess structural integrity in metal additive manufacturing (AM).
The SPARES project, short for ‘Surrogate‐accelerated, Physics‐guided Assessment for the Reliability of Structures’, is a key component of DARPA’s SURGE program (Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance). Its mission: to enable faster, more reliable qualification of AM metal parts through the convergence of physics-based simulations, AI-driven surrogate modeling, and in-situ process monitoring.
The SURGE program aims to shift the focus from qualifying the machine to assessing each individual part and unlock the full potential of AM for distributed production so that any geometry can be produced on any machine, anywhere in the world, at any time, while guaranteeing part life under anticipated service conditions.
At the heart of Phase3D’s contribution is its Fringe Inspection technology, a real-time, layer-by-layer surface inspection system designed to provide objective, high-resolution data throughout the additive build process.
Real-Time Data for Predictive Qualification
In a recent milestone, Phase3D successfully installed Fringe Inspection at HRL Laboratories’ facility in Malibu, California, on a Renishaw 500Q metal AM system. This marks a key deployment in the SPARES program and signifies a major step forward in enabling non-destructive, predictive qualification methods in AM.
Fringe Inspection is designed to capture layer-resolved topology height maps, enabling early defect detection and a fully traceable digital build record. By integrating the structured light system into SPARES, Phase3D is supporting smarter modeling and ultimately safer, more efficient manufacturing processes.
Within the SPARES framework, the data generated by Fringe Inspection serves several vital functions:
- Feeds AI-based surrogate models that predict fatigue behavior and long-term structural performance
- Flags subtle deviations in build integrity that could compromise part reliability
- Enables non-destructive evaluation (NDE), eliminating the need for excessive post-process testing
This integration represents a paradigm shift in qualification, moving from traditional, often destructive methods to a predictive model driven by real-time insights.
Unlocking Scalable High-Reliability AM
The SPARES program brings together a powerful team of collaborators, including Boeing, Purdue University, and the University of Utah, under the leadership of HRL Laboratories. Together, they are addressing one of AM’s most pressing challenges: how to scale production of metal components while ensuring they meet the rigorous performance demands of aerospace, defense, and automotive applications.
By fusing advanced simulations with in-situ inspection and machine learning, SPARES offers a path forward where build reliability can be assessed dynamically—during the printing process—rather than after the fact.
Phase3D’s installation on the Renishaw 500Q is part of the company’s upcoming Fringe Inspection 500 Kit, slated for commercial release in July. The kit will allow manufacturers to equip their Renishaw systems with in-situ inspection capabilities, bringing real-time quality assurance directly to the shop floor.
Toward a Predictive Manufacturing Future
The broader implications of SPARES extend well beyond academic research. As the additive manufacturing sector pushes toward production-scale adoption, manufacturers must adopt smarter quality control methodologies to reduce costs, increase throughput, and minimize risk.
SPARES is proving that it’s possible to achieve predictive part qualification by leveraging data generated during the build, rather than relying on post-build testing, With the launch of the Fringe Inspection 500 Kit just around the corner, Phase3D plans to share more details soon on how manufacturers across industries can harness this technology to strengthen their additive workflows.
For more information: www.phase3d.com
