Additive powder used in Lunar lander engines

By harnessing the speed and flexibility of additive manufacturing, Agile is able to compress development time down to 12 months. 6K Additive

6K Additive, a division of Pittsburgh-based 6K Inc., a producer of additive manufacturing (AM) materials, and Agile Space Industries, Durango, Colo., a specialist in in-space propulsion, have announced that Agile is pursuing certification of 6K Additive-produced Ni625 powder for customer space applications, including critical rocket parts.

The Ni625 powder is being certified for use at Agile’s manufacturing facility. The first parts to be produced will be used in the A2200 bipropellant hypergolic engine. The engines are powered by a pressure-fed hypergolic bipropellant, which does not require ignition because the hydrazine derivative fuel, M20, and MON3 oxidizer combust on contact.

The engine was designed and weighs just 5.9 kg and produces 500-lbf of thrust, underscoring the benefits of lightweighting with AM while also delivering tremendous power.

“By weight, 85 per cent of our engine components are additively manufactured, meaning we rely heavily on AM powders that can withstand the extreme temperatures and forces generated during takeoff and flight. 6K Additive allows us to additively manufacture using high-quality powders that are required for our critical applications, while also helping us meet our environmental goals through their recycling program and sustainably manufactured powders. 6K Additive can deliver extremely consistent powder that allows our production line to run the long build times required for these complex components,” said Kyle Metsger, director of additive technology at Agile.

Traditional development cycles for aerospace components can be more than two decades. However, by harnessing the speed and flexibility of AM, Agile is able to compress development time down to 12 months.

“A year-long development cycle still sounds like a very long time in many industries, but we are showing the primes in the aerospace industry what the future looks like. Moving to the larger TruPrint 5000 machine gave us the ability to qualify the new parameters for the machine and material simultaneously,” said Metsger.

The A2200 engines will be used on a Lunar lander vehicle. They can throttle from 50 per cent to 100 per cent thrust in under 650 ms. This makes it a suitable engine for the demanding manoeuvring sequences that lunar missions require.

“We are always excited to partner with customers like Agile who leverage our high-quality powders to produce critical rocket parts to land on the moon. The fact that we can enable space exploration while continuing to lead the way with sustainability at home on Earth is the best of both worlds,” said Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive.

By harnessing the speed and flexibility of additive manufacturing, Agile is able to compress development time down to 12 months. 6K Additive