Stratasys has received $7.8 million in funding through the 2026 America Makes and Department of War Organic Industrial Base Modernization Challenge to develop in-process quality assurance capabilities for industrial additive manufacturing. The 24-month program will focus on Stratasys’ F3300 and F900 industrial FDM platforms.
Stratasys plans to develop monitoring capabilities that generate quality data in real time during the additive manufacturing process.
The technology is intended to help manufacturers scale additive production while reducing dependence on costly post-build inspection and qualification processes.
America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and operates as a public-private partnership bringing together government, industry, and academia.
The 2026 modernization program targets manufacturing technologies considered important to industrial production, resilient supply chains and the defense industrial base.
One barrier to broader industrial adoption of additive manufacturing is the ability to consistently verify part quality at scale.
Manufacturers in regulated sectors often rely on extensive post-print inspection before approving components for use.
Stratasys’ project is designed to capture data while parts are being produced, potentially reducing inspection workloads and shortening qualification cycles.
The company plans to develop capabilities that identify potential anomalies during production and generate documentation that supports quality decisions.
The resulting technology is expected to have applications across defense, aerospace, commercial aviation and other regulated industrial markets where traceability and part qualification are important.
Stratasys believes real-time process data could help additive manufacturing move from qualification on an application-by-application basis toward a more scalable production model.
KEY QUOTES:
“The next phase of additive manufacturing adoption within the defense industrial base is about moving from isolated applications to qualified, scalable production. Stratasys’ work to advance in-situ monitoring on established polymer production platforms addresses a critical part of that challenge, building greater trust in the manufacturing process and generating the data needed to support qualification.”
John Wilczynski, Executive Director Of America Makes
“This initiative is about helping manufacturers scale additive production with confidence. When production teams have access to quality data during the build process, they can qualify applications with less friction, expand production capacity more efficiently and integrate additive manufacturing more effectively into demanding production environments.”
“America Makes plays a critical role in bringing together industry, government and technology leaders to address some of manufacturing’s most important challenges. Collaborative initiatives like this help accelerate innovation and strengthen the capabilities needed to support the future of advanced manufacturing.”
Rich Garrity, Chief Business Unit Officer At Stratasys
