Orbex opens large scale 3D-printed rocket engine production facility
By DE staff
Additive Manufacturing AerospaceLaunch services firm’s Prime monobody rocket reduces launch emissions by 86 percent, company says.
AMCM’s 3D printer features a large z-axis and is currently the largest high precision metal 3D printer available in Europe, Orbex says. With the one-of-a-kind printer, Orbex says it can print full main stage rocket engines in a single run, which reduces the engine’s overall mass and eliminates having to join smaller sections with welds, bolts or flanges.
Despite it’s high 40-micron resolution, the four-laser system printer is also relatively fast, producing a mono-body engine in a few days of continuous printing, Orbex says. In addition to the M4K, the company also installed a Solukon SFM-AT1000-S de-powdering machine to remove un-sintered superalloy powders from the engine parts after production.
Headquartered in Scotland, Orbex specializes in the small satellite industry. The company claims its Prime micro-launch vehicle is the most eco-friendly in the world. Rather than traditional highly refined kerosene fuel like RP-1, Prime burns BioLPG, a propane fuel produced from renewable feedstocks. According to a University of Exeter study, a single Orbex Prime launch would produce up to 86 per cent less emissions than a similar-sized vertical launch vehicle powered by fossil fuels.https://orbex.space