Aerospace 3D Printing
NASA Uses Hybrid Process to 3D Print Rocket Engine Igniter From Two Different Metals
Whenever NASA comes up, it’s a pretty good bet that something exciting is happening. The space agency has been doing some amazing work with 3D printing, including building an entirely 3D printed rocket engine, which they’ve been testing as it gets closer...
The ESA Explores 3D Printing on Earth and Beyond
Sometimes when a new technology leaves the laboratory, it goes off to perform its functions in an industrial setting, research facility, or educational institute. Sometimes, though, its installation may be quite literally out of this world — and that’s...
Australian Researchers Design, Build, and Test-Fire 3D Printed Rocket Engine in Four Months
The race to a complete, 3D printed rocket engine is on – NASA has been working for years to develop a fully 3D printed rocket engine, and this summer Rocket Crafters, Inc. received a DARPA contract to build and test a 3D printed, large-scale rocket engine. Now,...
The Refabricator Will Be Recycling Plastic and 3D Printing Onboard the ISS Next Year
In 2015, NASA awarded Washington-based technology firm Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue developing its Positrusion Recycler, which recycles plastic waste into 3D printable filament, for use aboard the...
3D Printing News Briefs: August 29, 2017
We’ve got a lot of 3D printing business news to shareion today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, along with some news on competitions, 3D printing material, and some 3D printed clothing. Robo and colorFabb have announced a partnership, while Type A Machines...
3D Printing News Briefs: August 22, 2017
We’re talking about everything from business and 3D printing materials to outer space in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. Using a new digital platform, thyssenkrupp has connected all of the machines in its materials division, and a German medical...
US Army Forges Ahead in Their Commitment to 3D Printing
There are so many examples today that demonstrate the impact 3D printing is having all over the world, and in so many different areas of industry. But if you wonder what the true potential for the future of 3D printing technology is, just take stock of its biggest...
The R&D Tax Credit Aspects of 3D Printing Helicopter Parts
The unique abilities that helicopters possess have allowed for tasks to be completed that have not been possible by use of other aircrafts. Today, helicopters are widely applicable to transportation, tourism, law enforcement, construction, military, and other...
The Department of Defense & Youngstown Business Incubator Weigh In on 3D Printing in the US
As additive manufacturing continues to see increased use around the globe, national strategies for adoption of the technology are becoming a bigger focus for governments seeking to ensure that they are not left behind in the next industrial revolution. With support...
Russian Cosmonauts Deploy Satellite with 3D Printed Casing During Livestreamed Spacewalk
We bring you news from the International Space Station (ISS) today, as two Russian cosmonauts stepped into outer space this morning to begin a planned six-hour spacewalk, also known as an EVA (extravehicular activity). According to NASA, Flight Engineer Sergey...
Made In Space Announces That Final 3D Printed Test Shield for Radiation Experiments Aboard the BEAM Is Complete
Earlier this summer, we heard about radiation experiments being conducted on the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This experimental module, made by Bigelow Aerospace, was compact during travel, but filled with air...
Airbus Defence and Space Enhances Satellite RF Filter Production with Metal 3D Printing
When it comes to 3D printing in the aerospace sector, France-based Airbus is one of the biggest adopters of the technology, and the company has teamed up with big names in the additive manufacturing industry like Dassault Systèmes, Sciaky, and Renishaw to develop and...
Made In Space Successfully Manufactures First Extended 3D Printed Objects in a Space-Like Environment
In 2015, space manufacturing company Made In Space revealed that it had completed successful tests that indicated that its newest generation of 3D printers would be fully functional in the vacuum of open space. Today, the company announced that it recently...
High-Performance Aluminum Alloy for Additive Manufacturing in Focus for Renishaw and Aeromet
Materials are increasingly in focus in additive manufacturing, with particular attention being paid to metals. As the industry well understands by now, moving a material from a traditional to an additive manufacturing process is not so simple as dropping the same type...
US Naval Research Lab's Latest Version of Stackable CICADA Drone Features 3D Printed Fuselage
No matter the user level, 3D printing and drones seem to go hand in hand—and the technology just keeps progressing. From camera drones to cargocopters to delivery services, it has become obvious that the potential for these machines—in all sizes—is definitely...
Vector Has Another Successful Test Flight of the Vector-R Launch Vehicle, Featuring a 3D Printed Engine Injector
In May, Vector Space Systems, headquartered in Arizona, launched a successful test flight of its Vector-R launch vehicle engineering model. The Vector-R, which features a 3D printed engine injector, was built to carry small payloads into space. The rocket’s test...
Virtual Reality and 3D Printing Among Technologies to be Used at Lockheed Martin's New $350M Satellite Production Facility
Lockheed Martin has been pouring a lot of money into new facilities lately, both their own and others’. In July, the company invested $1 million in the first additive manufacturing facility to open in Colorado, to be established on the campus of Metropolitan...
Metal 3D Printing Company COSM to Design Electron Beam System for NASA Space Manufacturing Program
The future of human space exploration depends on our ability to manufacture in space – and we’re making good progress in that area, with 3D printers installed on the International Space Station and technology in the works to 3D print habitats on the moon...
Up Close and Personal with GE's 3D Printed Advanced Turboprop Engine
We’ve heard a lot about GE’s in-progress 3D printed turboprop engine, which was first announced a year ago. The engine, which will contain multiple titanium and steel 3D printed parts, will power the Cessna Denali, a 10-person business aircraft being...
Rocket Crafters Receives DARPA Contract for 3D Printed Rocket Engine
This week, Rocket Crafters, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a $542,600 contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build and test a large-scale hybrid rocket engine using D-DART, or Direct-Digital Advanced Rocket Technology. The...
3D Printing and Recycling in Space Among New NASA and Freelancer.com Design Challenges
It’s become obvious over the last several years that NASA loves a good contest. The agency is enthusiastic about crowdsourcing ideas and inventions from the general public through design challenges, and those design challenges have led to everything from tools...
Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE Soars with Billion-Dollar Boeing Partnership, Educational Adoption for Tomorrow's Aerospace Workforce
In 1986, aviation powerhouse Boeing turned to CATIA software from Dassault Systèmes for the design and manufacture of new airplanes. A few decades on, 3D technologies have become a staple tool in Boeing’s toolbox as the company has employed digital simulation as...
Techmer PM Materials Design Know-How "Vital" in 3D Printed Habitat Challenge Success
Early last week, NASA announced the winners of the second level of the second phase of the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, a multiphase competition that began in 2015 and challenges participants to 3D print habitable structures that could potentially be used as housing...
NIAR Increases Capabilities with New Metal 3D Printer, Industrial X-Ray CT
This spring, 3DPrint.com was on site when Airbus and Dassault Systèmes became official residents of the Innovation Campus at Wichita State University (WSU) in Kansas, with a combined goal of innovation in the aerospace field. The grand opening marked a big step...
3D Printing News Briefs: July 18, 2017
We’re diving headfirst into some 3D printing legal and business news for today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to an additive manufacturing competition and a new additive manufacturing company, a new hybrid material, and a 3D printed solution...
