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NASA's Rocket Maker To Begin 3D Printing Flight-Ready Components
Lucas123 writes: United Launch Alliance (ULA), the company that makes rockets for NASA and the U.S. Air Force, plans to 3D print more than 100 flight-ready components for its next-gen Vulcan rocket. The company also just printed its first flight-ready component, a new Environmental Control System for its current Atlas V rocket. The ECS assembly had previously contained 140 parts that were made by third party suppliers, but ULA was able to reduce the parts to just 16, resulting in a 57% part-cost reduction. Along with cost reduction, ULA said 3D printing frees it from contracts with parts providers who may or may not deliver on time depending on whether the deem the rocket maker a priority at any given time. The company, which launches 12 rockets each year, is also hoping to use 3D printing for a more traditional role — rapid prototyping of parts. "We have a long list of [parts] candidates to evaluate — over 100 polymer parts we're considering and another 50 or so metal parts we're considering," said Greg Arend, program manager for additive manufacturing at ULA.
I would assume they are not printing parts that have anything to do with the fuel yet. im assuming more along the lines of clips other such. I could be wrong but I highly doubt they will be using a new technology without testing it many many times before it goes into a rocket.
Lets also not forget the fact that they are not using makerbot or other commodity 3dprinters
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Plus, SpaceX is already printing parts. So how is it news when their competitor does it?
It's news because ULA has Congress all bought off, and SpaceX represents a disruptor. So it is better to make the incumbents look as high-tech as possible even as the scramble to catch up with what the upstart SpaceX is already doing.
SpaceX is already printing rocket engines.
How long before all the subcontractors start complaining to their local congresscritters about being bypassed for the pork?
Yep. Some parts of the Merlin 1D are built additively, I think, but the *entire* SuperDraco thruster (which uses Hydrazine rather than cryogenic fuels like RP1/LOX) is printed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
It's really cool to see this technique taking off (pun not initially intended, but let's go with it). People think of 3D printing as making rough plastic parts, but it can be used to create extremely precise parts out of various metals, too.
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Considering that SpaceX has started printing *entire* rocket motors - not primary launch motors, to be sure, but rocket motors for production spacecraft nonetheless - I don't think ULA playing "me too" with building a few parts this way is going to make them as cool as SpaceX!
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Stereo lithography has (had?) been used for decades to prototype various 3D parts for fit and interference, though it could not make structural parts, certainly not for high temperature applications.
3D printing is a newer iteration of this technology as used for part fit and interference testing. The ability to actually fabricate the final product vs. just making resin shape prototypes is the really cool potential of this technology. It's being done now, but it will interesting to see how ubiquitous this becomes. It will be something when you see these next to the CNC machines in machine shops.
But watching 5-axis CNC machines make stuff is just mesmerizing.
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So much for ULA's space "technology." Sure, there's the whole bit about the unique demands of space, but commercial additive manufacturing's been around for ages.
The SuperDraco may not be a "primary launch motor" but you wouldn't know it seeing a test firing. I didn't realize there was a 3D printing system out there that even came close being able to produce components that could take the kind of temperature/pressure you find in a rocket engine chamber. I'm sure there is some catch somewhere (heavier, longer individual production time, etc) but at least from what I can find it can't be much of a catch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
This is an edge of the tide glimpse of what will happen with machine shops. Machining is already in great decline and is about to take the type of hit the printing industry has already suffered by even more so. Who will create the first fully printed, street legal automobile?
"... may or may not deliver on time depending on whether the deem the rocket maker a priority at any given time"
I bet they haven't been the best client over the past few years either.
Laser Sintering has been around long enough that the *initial* patents have expired. I used to think of it being used predominantly for prototyping, but apparently it's used for low volume runs as well, which is exactly what the SuperDraco thruster and ULA components will be.
The first patent (which had no attempt to commercialize) was in 1979. Most early research, with largely failed attempts to come up with a commercially viable product, were in the mid 1980s. The tech has slowly advanced since then, and nowadays is becoming rather mature.
I don't know why this is seen as a way to diss 3d printing. Some people's hatred of makerbots and their ilk is so great that they can't accept that 3d printing broadly has developed into actually useful production processes in some fields. Rocketry is a great example. It's just silly to have to make (and warehouse) moulds or stamps for parts that you only need a couple dozen of and which you may revise after just a couple launches. Now that 3d printing technologies have advanced enough to produce high quality metal parts, it's properly taking of. It even pairs nicely with CNC, there's now hybrid 3d printing / CNC machines out there. CNC gets you the coarse, primary shape and 3d printing adds in the intricate and/or jutting out components.
3d printing is a very useful technology for low volume or rapidly evolving part runs. No need to play it down just because Makerbots exist.
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Huh, I wasn't playing it down at all, not sure where you got that idea.
SpaceX is already printing rocket engines.
Which is great! And even more great, now that the MIC is doing it, too. I name this a win for competition-driven cost-saving measures.
Makes sense. Even if Dragon 2 takes over completely from the initial Dragon, if SpaceX gets anywhere near the reusability out of it that they're aiming for (and, unlike the Falcon 9 first stage, Dragon 2 is designed from the start for safe landings and reusability) they won't need to manufacture that many of the rocket motors. Certainly not enough for economies of scale, at least not for the first revision or two. In the meantime, they (and ULA, and everybody else doing this) will be driving down the cost of this kind of manufacturing.
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