ASTRO America and Florida State University's Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research & Education (InSPIRE) have announced the second instalment of its national 3D Printing Tech Challenge.
The partners launched the second instalment of the challenge at the Defense Strategies Institute’s Military Additive Manufacturing (MILAM) Summit and are now inviting participants to submit applications.
This year, the competition will focus on distortion prediction & compensation in laser powder bed fusion with Inconel 718. This is considered a critical challenge facing precision parts manufacturing in aerospace and defence.
The challenge invites participants to predict the as-built distortion of a complex Inconel 718 geometry and propose a compensated model using a calibration build of their choice. Finalists will have the opportunity to demonstrate their solutions on industrial-scale systems and present to a panel of leading evaluators from the defence, aerospace, and investment communities.
“The goal is to accelerate adoption of modelling tools that make metal additive manufacturing more predictable, cost-effective, and production-ready,” said Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President and General Manager, ASTRO South. “This competition directly supports the national imperative to scale additive manufacturing capabilities, and we're excited to provide participants the opportunity to benchmark their solutions in a real-world setting using parts of interest to the aerospace and defence community.”
“We are proud to partner with ASTRO America,” said Drew Allen, Executive Director, FSU InSPIRE. “These challenges are key to fostering a collaborative environment that actively bridges the gap between development and production; we're nurturing an evolutionary ecosystem to rapidly advance technology into product solutions.”
Last year’s competition focused on Actionable In-Situ Awareness and recognised Additive Assurance and Addiguru as top performers, spotlighting real-world solutions for quality control in metal AM.
Key Dates:
- RFP Deadline: March 9, 2026
- Participant Selection: March 13, 2026
- Evaluation Period: March 16 – June 30, 2026
- Tech Showcase & Winner Announcement: July/August 2026
Evaluations will be based on criteria such as:
- Accuracy and repeatability
- Calibration methods and standards
- Value vs. cost of ownership
- Functionality and ease of use
- Business strategy and market potential
- Overall technical impression
Selected participants will be awarded $1,000 to offset participation and travel costs. At least one license purchase of the winning software is anticipated. The winner will also be invited to additional engagements, including one-on-one discussions with industry partners and potential investors.
Final results will be presented during an invitation-only showcase event taking place in July/August in North West Florida.
