EWI to lead $13.2 million America Makes AM quality assurance project
The INSITE program will pair real-time monitoring with post-build inspection for defense-grade parts
America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) have named EWI the winner of a project call worth $13.2 million to build a quality-assurance system for additive manufacturing.
The project, called the Integrated System for In-situ Testing & Evaluation (INSITE), is meant to combine real-time process monitoring during a build with post-build inspection using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies. It is aimed at strengthening defect detection for large components, dense materials and complex geometries and at advancing Department of Defense priorities for reliable AM qualification, with the goal of delivering production-ready capabilities across the U.S. supply base.
EWI’s team on the project includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Company, GKN Aerospace GTC LLC, Norsk Titanium, Addiguru, FormAlloy, TRI Austin and Computational Tools.
Ben DiMarco, Technology Transition Director at America Makes, said the effort was intended to build confidence in AM technologies for defense applications.
“As additive manufacturing advances toward larger, more complex applications, the ability to reliably verify part quality is becoming increasingly critical,” DiMarco said. “This initiative brings together advanced analytics, real-time process monitoring, and NDE to create a more comprehensive approach to quality assurance.
“By strengthening confidence in AM technologies, this work will help accelerate their adoption across the defense industrial base. We commend the winners for advancing this important and innovative effort.”
