Swiss students build unique 3D printer that makes rocket parts faster, cheaper
SMRTR summary
A team of Swiss undergraduate students has revolutionized rocket manufacturing with a 3D printer that spins while it works. Their innovative prototype fuses metal powder with lasers on a rotating platform, slashing production time for cylindrical components by more than two-thirds.
"This process is ideally suited to rocket nozzles, rotating engines, and many other components in the aerospace industry," explains Michael Robert Tucker, PhD, from ETH Zurich's Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. "They typically have a large diameter but very thin walls."
The RAPTURE project's breakthrough allows simultaneous printing with two different metals, enabling rocket nozzles to feature copper cores with nickel-alloy exteriors in a single seamless operation.
The rotating design incorporates a sophisticated gas flow system that prevents oxidation while extracting soot and spatter, ensuring higher quality finished parts.
Developed in just nine months to help the Swiss Academic Space Initiative reach the Kármán Line, the technology has been patented and already produced turbine stators nearly eight inches in diameter.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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