The world’s largest composite rocket 3D printing machine

Rocket Lab, a US-based company, is making great strides in the field of space travel with its Neutron medium payload rocket, New Atlas reported on October 20.

Initially, the Neutron fabrication process involved laying down hundreds of layers and thousands of square feet (one foot equals 0.3 meters) of molded carbon fiber by hand, requiring a large team to work for weeks to complete. . Now, with Rocket Lab’s new Automated Fiber Placer (AFP), this job can be completed in just one day.

The AFP is like a 12 meter tall, 75 ton automated 3D printer that spits out layers of carbon fiber at a speed of 100 meters per minute. Instead of printing each piece, the machine lays carbon fiber panels in multiple directions, layer by layer, giving each structure strength and rigidity.

With the ability to move horizontally up to 30 meters, AFP can build the largest pieces – the 28-meter long interstage and protective shell of the Neutron rocket. The machine also takes care of spreading the layers of the first floor (diameter 7 meters) and the tank of the second floor (diameter 5 meters).

When fabricating a piece, the machine’s built-in automated inspection system scans for defects or flaws in the carbon composite structure and pauses to warn the operator before fabricating the next layer.

Rocket Lab expects that using AFP will save more than 150,000 labor hours to manufacture Neutron, making this rocket model cheaper, faster and easier to produce. The company plans to launch its first Neutron rocket in 2025.

According to Rocket Lab, once completed, Neutron will become the largest composite material rocket in history. The rocket is expected to be 43 meters high, 7 meters in diameter, have a carrying capacity of 13 tons into low Earth orbit (LEO) and can be reused. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starship rocket system is mainly made from stainless steel, Boeing’s Starliner mainly uses aluminum alloy. SpaceX initially considered using CF composite materials for Starship, but ultimately chose stainless steel for its cost-effectiveness, heat resistance, and durability.