Defense manufacturers are under growing pressure to produce critical parts faster, reduce dependence on constrained supply chains, and make better use of advanced manufacturing equipment. But increasing manufacturing capacity is only part of the challenge.
For additive manufacturing and other advanced manufacturing technologies to support production at scale, manufacturers also need reliable ways to understand what is happening during the manufacturing process, not simply inspect the finished part afterward.
Phase3D is expanding access to that capability through a new partnership with Phillips Federal, which will serve as Phase3D's exclusive Channel Partner for the North American defense market.
The partnership combines Phase3D's quantitative, in-situ inspection technology with Phillips Federal's extensive experience supporting U.S. federal manufacturing programs.
Expanding In-Situ Inspection Across the Defense Industrial Base
Phillips Federal has worked with the federal government for more than 60 years, supporting manufacturing programs through equipment sales, contracting, project management, training, service, and lifecycle support.
Through the new partnership, defense organizations will have an established route to evaluate and purchase Phase3D inspection technology through a team already familiar with advanced manufacturing and the requirements of federal facilities.
For Phase3D, the partnership creates the infrastructure to bring its inspection technology to a much larger number of defense manufacturing environments.
"Phase3D has had good early success in defense, but there is a limit to how many organizations a company our size can reach and support on its own,"
"Phillips has the relationships, manufacturing experience, and team to help us do that at a much larger scale. For customers, it means there is now a trusted defense partner they already know who can bring Phase3D inspection technology into more depots, bases, laboratories, and manufacturing programs.
"The end goal is simple: catch defects sooner, waste less machine time and material, and get more usable parts through the same equipment."
Michael Brennen, Commercial Director at Phase3D.
Why In-Situ Inspection Matters for Defense Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing can give defense organizations new options for producing difficult-to-source parts, supporting distributed manufacturing, and reducing reliance on long or constrained supply chains.
The value of that capacity, however, depends on manufacturers being able to produce usable parts consistently.
Traditional quality assurance frequently relies on inspection after manufacturing is complete. In additive manufacturing, that can mean significant machine time and material have already been committed before a defect is discovered.
In-situ inspection moves that visibility into the manufacturing process itself.
Phase3D's Fringe Inspection platform provides quantitative inspection throughout manufacturing, allowing defects to be detected as they develop rather than waiting until the completed part reaches post-process inspection.
Earlier defect detection can help manufacturers:
- identify process problems before an entire build is completed;
- reduce material lost to failed manufacturing;
- avoid consuming machine capacity on parts that are already compromised;
- improve overall manufacturing throughput; and
- generate quantitative process data that can support a deeper understanding of manufacturing performance.
For defense manufacturing environments, where machine availability, material, lead time, and part availability can all have operational consequences, that distinction matters.
“Our defense customers are looking for practical ways to increase manufacturing capacity and get critical parts into production faster,” said Tim McClanahan, President of Phillips Federal. “Real-time inspection gives them greater visibility into the manufacturing process and the ability to catch defects before they consume additional machine time and material. Adding Phase3D to our portfolio gives the organizations we support another tool to improve throughput, reduce manufacturing costs, and strengthen their ability to produce parts where and when they are needed.”
From Process Monitoring to Quantitative Inspection
There is also an important difference between knowing that a manufacturing process is being monitored and having quantitative inspection data that can be evaluated throughout the build.
Phase3D develops real-time, in-situ inspection technology designed to detect defects during advanced manufacturing. Its Fringe Inspection platform measures the manufacturing process throughout production, providing manufacturers with objective data about what is happening as a part is created.
Rather than relying solely on an indication that process conditions may have changed, quantitative inspection provides data that manufacturers can use to identify and investigate specific manufacturing anomalies.
This creates an additional layer of visibility between machine process data and final part inspection.
Ben Ferrar, Michael Brennan of Phase3D with Tim McClanahan, President of Phillips Federal at J-DAMMIT 2026
Building on Phase3D's Existing Defense Manufacturing Work
The Phillips Federal partnership builds on Phase3D's existing work within the U.S. defense manufacturing ecosystem. Phase3D systems are already deployed with organizations including the U.S. Navy's Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, Virginia, and the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing.
The partnership with Phillips Federal is intended to extend that work across more defense organizations, manufacturing programs, depots, laboratories, and facilities throughout North America.
Phillips Federal brings an established federal manufacturing network alongside the contracting, service, training, and lifecycle capabilities required to support technology beyond an initial installation.
For Phase3D, that means scaling access to its technology without simply scaling its own commercial organization at the same rate. For defense customers, it creates a route to Phase3D technology through an established advanced manufacturing partner.
Increasing the Output of Existing Manufacturing Capacity
The implications extend beyond defect detection as one of the fundamental constraints on advanced manufacturing capacity is machine time.
When a build fails, the cost is not limited to the material contained in the failed component. The manufacturer has also lost the hours, or potentially days, during which that equipment could have been producing usable parts. Detecting defects earlier creates the opportunity to reduce that wasted capacity.
That becomes increasingly important as defense organizations consider advanced manufacturing as one response to supplier constraints, long lead times, and difficult-to-source components.
Adding more manufacturing equipment is one way to increase capacity.
Getting more usable output from the equipment already installed is another. Quantitative, in-situ inspection can contribute to that objective by giving manufacturers earlier visibility into defects and process variation.
A Scalable Route to Defense Manufacturing Inspection
The Phase3D and Phillips Federal partnership brings together two different parts of the advanced manufacturing ecosystem. Phase3D provides quantitative inspection technology designed to make manufacturing processes more visible.
Phillips Federal provides the established federal relationships, manufacturing expertise, contracting infrastructure, training, service, and lifecycle support needed to deploy technology across defense organizations.
Together, the companies aim to make real-time manufacturing inspection accessible to more organizations across the North American defense industrial base.
For defense manufacturers, the objective is straightforward:
detect problems earlier, reduce wasted manufacturing capacity, and produce more usable parts from advanced manufacturing systems.
Meet Phase3D and Phillips Federal at J-DAMMIT 2026
Phase3D and Phillips Federal will both be onsite at J-DAMMIT 2026 at Harrisburg University, August 25-27, 2026. Phillips Federal is exhibiting at the event, where attendees can meet both teams and learn more about the partnership and Phase3D's in-situ inspection technology.
➤ Learn more about Fringe Inspection
➤ Learn more about Fringe Technology
➤ Learn more about Phillips Federal
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Phase3D and Phillips Federal partnership?
Phase3D and Phillips Federal have entered a partnership to expand access to Phase3D's advanced manufacturing inspection technology across the North American defense market. Phillips Federal will serve as Phase3D's exclusive Channel Partner for this market, providing defense organizations with an established route to evaluate and purchase Phase3D technology.
How is Phase3D used in defense additive manufacturing?
Phase3D's Fringe Inspection platform provides real-time, in-situ inspection during advanced manufacturing processes. By detecting defects as they develop, rather than relying solely on inspection after a build is complete, the technology can help defense manufacturers reduce wasted material and machine time and improve manufacturing throughput.
What is in-situ inspection in additive manufacturing?
In-situ inspection is the inspection of a manufacturing process while production is taking place. Phase3D uses quantitative measurement to identify defects throughout the manufacturing process, giving manufacturers visibility into problems before a completed part reaches post-build inspection.
What is Fringe Inspection?
Fringe Inspection is Phase3D's real-time, in-situ inspection platform for advanced manufacturing. It provides quantitative inspection data throughout the manufacturing process to help manufacturers identify defects, understand process performance, and reduce the time and material lost to failed builds.
Why is real-time defect detection important for defense manufacturing?
Failed builds consume material and valuable machine capacity. Detecting defects earlier can reduce the amount of manufacturing time committed to compromised parts, helping defense manufacturers make better use of existing equipment and increase the number of usable parts produced.
Where is Phase3D already working in defense manufacturing?
Phase3D's existing defense work includes systems deployed with the U.S. Navy's Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, Virginia, and the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing.
How can defense organizations purchase Phase3D technology?
Under the new partnership, Phillips Federal will serve as Phase3D's exclusive Channel Partner for the North American defense market. Phillips Federal supports federal manufacturing programs through equipment sales, contracting, project management, training, service, and lifecycle support.
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