Beehive completes first fire tests for additively manufactured jet engine
Beehive Industries, based in Englewood, Colorado, USA, has successfully completed the first fire test of its additively manufactured jet engine demonstrator. The engine is a high-efficiency, attritable engine designed for unmanned aerial defence vehicles such as cruise missiles, collaborative combat aircraft, and drones.
As a demonstrator, it is said to represent a future class of engines with thrust capacity ranging from 250-1,000 lbf. The design features 90% part consolidation, allowing a price approximately half that of traditionally developed engines.
“This is a huge milestone for Beehive Industries, as well as our country,” stated Beehive CEO Mohammad Ehteshami. “This 500 lbf programme is demonstrating the untapped potential of Additive Manufacturing for defence applications. I believe we are only scratching the surface of what’s possible for additive and defence.”
A first fire — whereby the engine produces thrust for the first time as fuel is ignited within the system — is a significant milestone in the development of any new jet engine. It is the first in a series of tests to validate first engine performance known in the industry as FETT (first engine to test). Typically, it can take several years to reach this stage. Beehive’s endeavour took just sixteen months.
“The rapid design and production of the engine was made possible with an incredibly talented team and 3D printing; you simply couldn’t manufacture its design with castings and forgings,” added David Kimball, Beehive VP of Engineering. “Beehive consolidated hundreds of traditional engine parts into just fifteen primary components. This allows us to bring tailored engines to market rapidly, and in the long run, ship thousands of similar engines faster and more affordably than with traditional manufacturing.”
Utilising its existing capacity, Beehive has stated it is poised to mass-produce additively manufactured engines for American defence applications. Customers can expect to work directly with Beehive to produce propulsion systems with custom performance metrics across thrust, payload, and/or range.
“This is innovation in America, for America,” added Ehteshami. “The 500 lbf demonstrator and Beehive’s family of engines are part of a much bigger initiative to strengthen the American supply chain and modernise our country’s defence capabilities.”
