Eplus3D and LEAP 71 unveil world’s largest metal additively manufactured rocket thruster at Formnext 2024
November 19, 2024
Eplus3D, based in Hangzhou, China, and LEAP 71, a developer of AI-based engineering technology headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, have designed and additively manufactured a 200 kN rocket thruster standing more than 1.3 metres tall. Believed to be the world’s largest single-piece additively manufactured rocket thruster, Eplus3D manufactured it in one uninterrupted build process that lasted 354 hours.
The thruster was designed by LEAP 71 using the Noyron Large Computational Engineering Model. It combines previously separate components into one design and was additively manufactured from AlSi10Mg, a high-performance aluminium alloy, on an Eplus3D EP-M650-1600 Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing machine using six 500 W lasers. The 650 x 650 x 1600 mm build volume of the EP-M650H enabled LEAP 71 to design a fully integrated thruster geometry.
Powered by cryogenic liquid oxygen and kerosene, the thruster is a distant relative to the Noyron TKL-5 rocket engine that LEAP 71 successfully hot fired in June, but it is 40 times more powerful.
Josefine Lissner, Managing Director of LEAP 71, said, “LEAP 71’s computational models can design space hardware autonomously without the use of CAD. But limitations of current Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes, including the small build volumes of most industrial 3D printers, have continued to hold us back. I commend Eplus3D for pushing the limits, not only in print size, but also in terms of repeatability of high-quality end results, that exceeded our expectations.”
Traditionally, rocket thrusters are made up of many parts, all of which need to be assembled, sealed against hot gases, and individually quality assured. The demonstrated thruster integrates all engine components, including the combustion chamber, nozzle, cooling channels, manifolds, as well as structural elements into one additively manufacturable part.
The achievement is said to mark a significant milestone in the advancement of Additive Manufacturing technology, particularly for the aerospace industry. The successful cooperation between LEAP 71 and Eplus3D demonstrates the ability of Computational Engineering to design functionally integrated machinery with intricate structures. The build accuracy and surface quality has been elevated to high levels, resulting in a finished product that exceeded the quality requirements, without the need for post-processing.
Visitors can see the 200 kN thruster at the Eplus3D booth in Hall 12.0, Booth E101, at Formnext 2024.
