3D desgn/printing inconel & titanium rocket parts

[Dr Mordrid]

SpaceX doing this at all for real parts is impressive, but in Inconel and titanium?

[Brian Ellis]

It's really a form of pressureless sintering. I can't imagine the precision to be very good, but it would be much easier to machine these parts to close tolerances after printing than to machine from solid raw material.

[Dr Mordrid]

The layer thicknesses are 0.05 to 0.03 mm, the applied tolerances achieve 0.02 mm, and the surface roughness is less than 20 μm.

Good enough to produce the SuperDraco launch abort / propulsive landing thrusters - over 20,000 lbf each and DragonRider will use 8 of them. SuperDraco has been under test for well over a year, and does its first full-up pad abort test about December.

SpaceX SuperDraco inconel rocket chamber w regen cooling jacket emerges from EOS 3D metal printer

http://pic.twitter.com/Tj284OuAk1

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