News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Eaton‘s Aerospace Group has selected two Concept Laser AM machines from GE Additive, as well as GE’s AddWorks consultancy services, to direct industrialization activities as Eaton further evolves and executes its long-term additive manufacturing strategy.
Lockheed Martin has embraced a 3D printed titanium dome for satellite fuel tanks so big you can’t even put your arms around it. The 46-inch- (1.16-meter-) diameter vessel completed final rounds of quality testing this month, ending a multi-year development program to create giant, high-pressure tanks that carry fuel on board satellites.
CIMON (Crew Interactive MObile CompanioN), the AI-based assistant for astronauts for the DLR Space Administration, developed by Airbus in cooperation with IBM, took off last Friday aboard SpaceX‘s Dragon cargo capsule and is scheduled to arrive today (June 2nd). Like many unique robots, the technology demonstrator was built using metal and plastic 3D printing processes. It is the size of a medicine ball and weighs around 5 kg. It will be tested on the ISS by Alexander Gerst during the European Space Agency’s Horizons mission scheduled to last through October 2018.
There was a time when many people who were starting to familiarize with 3D printing did not see any real value in 3D models and thus limited their exploration to free models from Thingiverse and other free 3D model databases. Not much has changed but, as 3D printing becomes more widespread, and people’s capabilities improve, the demand for higher quality models for more challenging projects is starting to increase. For example with this impressive 3D printable jet model
Norsk Titanium (NTi), the world’s first FAA-approved supplier of aerospace-grade, additive manufactured, structural titanium components, announced today a major milestone in qualified production. NTi’s Plattsburgh, New York Development and Qualification Center (PDQC) site was officially added to Boeing’s Qualified Producers List (QPL) on May 1 and initiated qualified production on May 15 by manufacturing its first part under the Boeing contract. This milestone is a culmination of recent company successes including certification under AS9100D and the October 2017 dedication of PDQC by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
SAE International has announced the release of its first suite of Aerospace Material Specifications (AMS) additive manufacturing materials and process specifications which will support the certification of aircraft and spacecraft critical parts by providing a framework to protect the integrity of material property data and provide traceability within the aerospace supply chain.
The recently fired up Ignus-II is the second iteration of the Ignus-I engine, the first 3D printed engine launched by a student organization. Ignus-II builds upon UCSD’s research and data gathered, featuring many improvements to optimize efficiency.
NASA has invited Made In Space, Inc. (MIS) to submit a proposal for a technology flight demonstration mission (Phase II) of its Archinaut technology. Archinaut is an in-space robotic manufacturing and assembly platform capable of constructing space-optimized systems of sizes not previously feasible. NASA’s Space Technology and Mission Directorate (STMD) awarded MIS its initial Archinaut contract in 2016. Since that time, MIS, who recently won a bid to continue developing VULCAN, has made significant advancements in space-capable extended structure additive manufacturing and robotic assembly.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced a new partnership with Assembrix Ltd, an Israeli company known for its cloud-based platform that virtualizes and streamlines industrial 3D printing. Through a newly signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), Boeing will adopt Assembrix’s software in order to protect the intellectual property it shares with vendors throughout the design and manufacturing processes.
As additive manufacturing technologies continue to evolve here on Earth, they are also moving steadily ahead in outer space, due in large part to American company Made In Space. The company, which in 2016 sent the first 3D printer into space to be used aboard the International Space Station (ISS), has now won a contract from NASA to continue developing VULCAN, its next-generation metal space manufacturing system.