Sept.15 (EIRNS) — On Sept. 11 NASA posted a statement titled, “Future Rocket Engines May Include Large Scale 3D Printing.” The release starts, “As part of the Artemis program, NASA is returning astronauts to the Moon where we will prepare for human exploration of Mars. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, experts from NASA, industry, and academia are pioneering methods to print the rocket parts that could power those journeys..”
NASA’s Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT) project is advancing development of an additive manufacturing technique to 3D print rocket engine parts using metal powder and lasers. The printing method injects metal powder into a laser-heated pool of molten metal, or melt pool. The blown powder nozzle and laser optics are integrated into a print-head. This print-head is attached to a robot and moves in a pattern determined by a computer building one layer at a time.
