In the aerospace field, application3D printingTechnology to make rockets is becoming popular because3D printingThe rocket has good efficiency and carrying capacity. On February 13, 2020, it was noted that foreign media summarized the year 2020.3D printingThe latest development of the Rockets! We will take a look at this article together.
3D printingAdvanced rockets-changing the aerospace industry
This3D printingThe machine is powered by multiple robotic arms that can print metal parts for end use.
It seems that the space industry hasn’t really taken any big steps in recent years. However, many companies have invested astronomical funds in research and development, hoping to create the next major achievement in the aerospace field. to this end,3D printingThe latest development (also called additive manufacturing) has made it one of the most important technologies affecting the aerospace industry.
Satellites have become the main focus of scientists and engineers, and they can be used for advanced research and more commercial purposes, such as global Internet systems. However, these satellites need a way to get into orbit, and the best way is still to use a rocket. As it happens, building rockets and sending payloads to space is a very expensive task.
At present, minimizing the cost of manufacturing rockets has always been the goal of the industry. The key to achieving this goal is to make the rocket lighter, more fuel efficient, and cheaper.This is3D printingWhere it comes in.
3D printingThe advantages
3D printingThe main advantage in the rocket manufacturing business is the ability to reduce the number of parts and make the production line flexible, without the need to invest tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in special tools before manufacturing each design.
The rocket is composed of thousands of parts, making it a very complex product.With the help of3D printing, Can greatly reduce the number of rocket parts, thereby reducing costs. In this way, we are entering a new era of cost-effective rocket manufacturing and space operations.
Stay with us and explore3D printingThe latest and most exciting development of the Rockets!
3D printingAdvanced Rocket-Relativity Space:3D printingWhole rocket
3D printingRocket Engine Aeon 1 (Source: Relativity Space)
Relativity Space is a company founded in 2015 with the goal of manufacturing the world’s first complete3D printingRocket, called Terran 1.
The main goal of the company is to use3D printingIn order to reduce the number of rocket parts as much as possible, and make rocket production a flexible process.
On average, a rocket has about 50,000 to 100,000 parts, which makes it as complex as a car. Relativity Space has successfully reduced the number of parts on the rocket to about 1,000, thus greatly reducing the cost.
Stargate 3D printingmachine
because3D printingSeems to be the ideal manufacturing method for its projects, so Relativity continues to develop its own3D printingMachine Stargate.It is the largest metal in the world3D printingOne of the machines, and is responsible for most of the production of Terran 1.
The entire system consists of three robotic arms, one robotic arm is used for printing, and the other two robotic arms are used for post-processing. The technique used is direct energy deposition, which involves feeding a wire into the melting zone and then extruding it into the desired shape. In layman’s terms, it is basically 3D welding.
Nuts and bolts
The innovation of Relativity Space does not stop there, because they have also invested in AI to monitor the production process to make it better and more efficient in every possible way.
The Terran 1 rocket has a maximum payload of 1,250 kilograms and is powered by 9 Aeon 1 engines that have passed3D printing, And use liquid methane and liquid oxygen as propellants.
The fuel tank also goes through the Stargate printer3D printing. From the outside, the fuel tank looks like a simple structure, but in fact it consists of two internal fuel tanks because each propellant needs to be stored separately. Due to the large volume of the Stargate printer, the can can be printed in one piece without seams, so it is very safe and avoids potential leakage.
As claimed on the company’s website, their Stargate factory was able to print out Terran 1 within 60 days, taking it from the raw materials all the way to the flightable vehicle. In contrast, the lead time for conventional rocket manufacturing usually exceeds one year!
Stargate is responsible for manufacturing the rocket structure and propellant tank, while the smaller components and engines are in direct metal laser sintering (DMLS)3D printingPrint on the machine.
The orbital test is scheduled for 2021, and the official launch of the commercial rocket should be carried out soon thereafter.
3D printingAdvanced rocket-Orbex: the largest in the world3D printingRocket engine
Orbex3D printingThe engine is also a great thing (Source: Orbex)
Orbex is a start-up company headquartered in the UK, specializing in the development of satellite launch vehicles. Orbex launched the company’s environmentally friendly rocket Prime, used to provide low-cost orbital launch services, and received extensive media coverage. Considering that Orbex has only been established for 5 years, this is a remarkable achievement.
In order for Orbex to achieve the goal of low-cost orbital launch, it is very important to make light rockets with the best materials available.Although most rockets are made of carbon fiber, aluminum and graphene composite materials,3D printingStill playing a role in Orbex, what is its role.
A big deal
Orbex’s launch vehicle consists of the world’s largest3D printingRocket engines provide power. It is printed once on the SLM Solutions 800 machine without extra connectors. It burns biopropane fuel to ensure that carbon emissions are as low as possible.
At the time of writing, Orbex’s launch vehicle is about to launch for the first time in 2021.
3D printingAdvanced Rocket-Rocket Lab: a small satellite in low earth orbit
This is the magical place (Source: YouTube’s Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab is an aerospace company based in California dedicated to putting small satellites into low Earth orbit.
Recently, the company launched a new two-stage launch vehicle, Electron. The rocket itself is made of carbon composite materials to reduce weight as much as possible, with a maximum payload of 225 kg.
One of the more interesting aspects of Rocket Lab is the use of special3D printingRutherford engine.
What is a Rutherford engine?
The Rutherford engine, named after Ernest Rutherford, is a small rocket engine that uses oxygen and kerosene as propellants. Combining easy-to-produce simple design with professional electron beam melting (EBM)3D printingThe combination of machines can realize efficient cost-cutting settings.
Rocket Lab3D printingRutherford Engine (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
So far, Rocket Lab has printed more than 100 such engines, and they have successfully completed various test procedures. The production process itself is impressive (this is unique to Rocket Lab), and each rocket takes only 24 hours.
Having said that, it can be said that Rocket Lab is working hard to realize its vision of unleashing the potential of space.
3D printingAdvanced Rocket-Launcher: Efficient Engine
Test Engine-1 (Source: Launcher)
Launcher is a start-up company based in Brooklyn dedicated to developing the world’s most efficient “small rocket” to put small satellites into orbit. Their solution is Rocket-1, which is a 20-meter-long rocket equipped with a set of 5 Engine-2 thrusters. The maximum payload capacity of the rocket is 773 kg.
In order to provide a competitive price for satellite launches, the production costs of rockets and engines must be as low as possible.By cooperating with EOS and AMCM, Launcher has implemented3D printing.
Engine-2
Engine-2 has the world’s largest all-in-one3D printingCombustion chamber, the combustion chamber is made of powder3D printingThe copper alloy on the machine is integrally formed. Printing all parts at once makes production easy because no seams are required. This also enabled them to develop a thruster with an efficiency of up to 98%, which is a remarkable achievement.
The engine uses kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants, and it is expected to provide a strong thrust of 22,000 lbf (approximately 97,860 Newtons).
3D printingAdvanced Rocket-Skyrora: Plastic Waste to Propellant
3D printingMachines are essential for development and production (Source: Skyrora on Instagram)
Skyrora is a company based in Edinburgh that focuses on satellite launches. We have several similar companies in the article, but Skyrora has attracted our attention with its innovative fuel addition method.
Skyrora managed to find a way to develop fuel from plastic waste, especially kerosene. They call it “eicosene”, and the gas emissions produced during combustion are reduced by about 45%.
Skyrora’s process of extracting fuel from plastic waste has attracted widespread attention in the aerospace industry. And it gets better because the process is said to be able to produce 600 kilograms of kerosene from 1,000 kilograms of plastic waste in a record 24 hours.
Skyrora developed this fuel for its 3.5 kN 3D printingThe engine system Leo provides power, which is expected to find its use in the 22-meter Skyrora XL rocket. 3D printingThe engine system can also be used to maneuver the rocket after it reaches orbit, because it has an innovative function that can be restarted.
(Editor in charge: admin)
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