Phase3D has secured a Phase I contract from the U.S. Department of the Air Force to expand its Fringe Inspection platform to ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), targeting real-time, in-situ inspection for a material class used in propulsion, hypersonic systems and thermal protection applications.
Phase3D has received a contract from the U.S. Department of the Air Force to extend its Fringe Inspection platform, a real-time, in-situ inspection system for metal additive manufacturing (AM), to ceramic matrix composites.
The Phase I award will support the development of CMC-specific calibration routines and defect-detection models for the platform, which is already used across aerospace, defense and industrial additive manufacturing programs.
The initiative addresses inspection challenges associated with CMC manufacturing, where conventional non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques developed primarily for metals and polymer composites may not reliably identify defects such as matrix cracking, fiber pull-out, porosity and delamination.
Structured-Light Inspection for CMC Manufacturing
Fringe Inspection uses structured-light scanning to generate calibrated surface heightmaps during production. Phase3D has previously validated the approach for metal additive manufacturing through work with NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.
Under the new program, the company will apply the technology to CMC manufacturing, where defects can emerge across multiple stages of production. These include tape fabrication, ply stacking, autoclave consolidation, pyrolysis, melt infiltration and machining.
The objective is to identify defects during manufacturing rather than relying solely on post-process computed tomography (CT) scanning or destructive sectioning after the component has been completed.
“Fringe Inspection was built to answer one question in real time: is the part you are building the part you designed?” said Dr. Niall O’Dowd, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Phase3D. “We’ve spent years proving that out on metal parts for NASA, the Air Force, and leading aerospace primes. This program lets us ask the same question of a completely different material system, one the Air Force is counting on for the next generation of propulsion and thermal protection, and where the cost of finding a defect after the part is finished is even higher than it is in metal.”
Focus on Real-Time Defect Detection
CMC components are increasingly important for demanding aerospace and defense applications because of their ability to withstand high temperatures and harsh operating conditions. However, their multi-stage manufacturing processes can introduce different types of defects, creating challenges for inspection and qualification.
According to Phase3D, the new program will focus on developing inspection capabilities tailored to these material and manufacturing characteristics.
“Ceramic matrix composites are notoriously hard to qualify because so much can go wrong across so many stages, from tape fabrication all the way through infiltration and final machining,” said Andrew Holliday, Applications Engineering Manager at Phase3D.
“The industry has been trying to solve that with post-process CT scans and destructive testing, the same approach that used to hold back metal additive manufacturing. Real-time, layer-by-layer visibility is exactly what this material needs, and it is exactly what Fringe Inspection already does.”
The Phase I contract marks an expansion of Phase3D's in-situ inspection technology beyond metal additive manufacturing. By adapting structured-light scanning, calibration and defect-detection models for CMC production, the company aims to provide manufacturers with earlier visibility into defects and reduce dependence on inspection methods performed only after manufacturing is complete.
Reference: https://www.phase-3d.com/blogs/resources/phase3d-air-force-contract-cmc-inspection
