Aerojet Rocketdyne, manufacturer of rockets and missile propulsion systems, recently performed a series of hot-fire tests on a Bantam demonstration engine that was made entirely with 3D printing. Best of all the engine passed those tests successfully and will help the GenCorp company develop more cost-effective engines for booster, upper-stage, and in-space propulsion
By additively manufacturing aerospace components such as the Bantam engine, manufacturers can create complex, efficient designs, while reducing the number of separate moving parts. This engine, for instance, is normally made up of dozens of parts, but, in the case of the 3D printed upgrade, there are only three separate components. Adapting a proven design of the Atlas Sustainer engine, the Aerojet Rocketdyne team was able to reduce design and manufacturing time from over a year to a couple of months. Additionally, the cost of the engine was brought down a stunning 65%
This 3D printed Baby Bantam – standing at the lower end of the Bantam family’s thrust range – uses liquid oxygen and kerosene to produce a thrust of 5,000 pounds, compared with the farthest thrust ranging engines, which use various fuels to thrust up to 200,000 pounds. As a part of the aerospace and defense contractor’s ongoing study into the possibility of producing engines with 3D printing, we may even see these farther thrusting engines produced with the technology.
