Additive manufacturing techniques applied to the space industry

Additive manufacturing is used in the space industry to create rocket components - including entire engines and propulsion systems - because the method is known to be cost effective, to lower the number of parts, and can produce intricate products that are not possible to create using traditional methods. This paper will present several additive manufacturing techniques, including stereolithography, selective laser melting, direct metal laser sintering, electron beam freeform fabrication, and extrusion. The advantages, disadvantages, and important characteristics of each technique are then described. Notable additive manufacturing projects involving propulsion system components are also detailed. Then example additive manufacturing machines and their details are tabulated. Based upon this research, additive manufacturing is found to be feasible for propulsion system projects depending on an independent economic analysis. The economic analysis is needed before adopting the methods described in this paper due to the high fixed costs associated with additive manufacturing. However, the fixed costs can be avoided by outsourcing the project to specialized 3D printing companies.