LEAP 71 produces 2000 kN rocket engine injector head with Nikon SLM Solution
LEAP 71, headquartered in Dubai, has announced the successful production of a 2000 kN (2 Meganewton) full-flow staged combustion rocket engine injector head in collaboration with Nikon SLM Solutions, based in Lübeck, Germany. The large-scale metal part was manufactured using the NXG 600E Additive Manufacturing machine from Nikon SLM Solutions, marking an important milestone in a partnership that began over two years ago.
The component is a critical element of the LEAP 71 XRB-2E6 methane/liquid oxygen rocket engine. At 600 mm in diameter, the component is reportedly one of the most complex additively manufactured spacecraft parts produced to date. It was generated entirely by LEAP 71’s Noyron Large Computational Engineering Model, a physics-driven software described as the ‘first AI that builds machines,’ operating without human intervention.
Nikon SLM Solutions built the part from IN718, an aerospace-grade nickel alloy specially designed to withstand the heat loads and pressures of a full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) engine cycle. FFSC is said to be the most efficient method for converting the propellant’s chemical energy into thrust. The advanced engine cycle, however, comes at the cost of dealing with hot pre-combusted methane and oxygen flowing through the intricate injection mechanism.
At 2 Meganewton, the XRB-2E6 targets a similar thrust level to the engines currently powering the world’s latest generation of heavy-lift launchers. The company aims for practical testing of the XRB-2E6 in Q4 2027. As part of its aggressive schedule, LEAP 71 is forging partnerships for early validation of the industrial processes required to reliably manufacture the engine, reportedly utilising some of the largest metal AM machines in the world.
Christoph Wangenheim, Head of Additive Material Products & Development at Nikon SLM Solutions, shared, “When LEAP 71 came to us to discuss the production of a key element of one of the world’s most advanced space propulsion systems, we knew it would be a challenge we couldn’t resist. We worked closely with LEAP 71 on incorporating essential manufacturing parameters into their Noyron system and fine-tuning the interplay between the steps of the process chain. As a result, we were able to not only print the intricate structure reliably on the NXG 600E, but also in the record time of less than four days using our IN718 PROD parameter set — key to making production economically viable and enabling rapid iteration during qualification.”
Metal Additive Manufacturing is central to the LEAP 71 paradigm because it gives Noyron the freedom to design complex, efficient structures with minimal production constraints. By manufacturing the component as a single monolithic whole, LEAP 71 eliminates the challenge of assembling hundreds of standardised parts that all need to be precision-machined and sealed. This significantly improves machine reliability and cuts time-to-produce from weeks to days.
Josefine Lissner, Co-founder and CEO of LEAP 71 and principal architect of the Noyron Large Computational Engineering Model, commented, “We are happy to collaborate with Nikon SLM Solutions on this ambitious project. With their legacy as one of the original inventors of metal 3D printing, we couldn’t hope for a better partner on this journey.”
“The NXG’s 12-laser system brings down manufacturing time to a level that enables the rapid turnaround we need to take full advantage of the iteration speed our paradigm enables,” Lissner added.
Noyron generates the entire engine design from abstract specifications without human intervention in a matter of hours. The result is a functionally integrated part that doesn’t require assembly and can be moved to the test stand with minimal additional post-processing. This is key to LEAP 71’s philosophy of fast and frequent practical testing to enrich Noyron with real-world insights.
The XRB-2E6 machine is intended as a reference design, with customer engines computationally derived for differing target specifications. LEAP 71 works with leading global companies to accelerate humanity’s access to space.
The part will be shown at the Formnext 2025 trade show in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Nikon SLM Solutions booth in Hall 12.0 D119.
