Ceramic Manufacturing Module Successfully Operates in Orbit
Made In Space, a subsidiary of Redwire, demonstrates first successful ceramic additive manufacturing in space.
Edited by AM Staff
Ceramic Manufacturing Module
Technology from Made In Space, a subsidiary of Redwire, successfully manufactured a ceramic part in space for the first time. The company’s Ceramic Manufacturing Module (CMM) demonstrated the utility of ceramic additive manufacturing in space.
The commercially developed in-space manufacturing facility successfully operated with full autonomy using additive stereolithography (SLA) technology and pre-ceramic resins to manufacture a single-piece ceramic turbine blisk in orbit along with a series of material test coupons. According to the company, the successful manufacture of these test samples in space is an important milestone to demonstrate the proof-of-potential for CMM to produce ceramic parts that exceed the quality of turbine components made on Earth. The ceramic blisk and test coupons will be stowed and returned to Earth for analysis aboard the SpaceX Dragon CRS-21 spacecraft. The CMM is the first SLA printer to operate in orbit.
CMM aims to demonstrate that ceramic manufacturing in microgravity could enable temperature-resistant, reinforced ceramic parts with better performance, including higher strength and lower residual stress. For high-performance applications such as turbines, nuclear plants, or internal combustion engines, even small strength improvements can yield years-to-decades of superior service life.
The CMM was developed in partnership with the ISS Research Integration Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The ceramic facility is one of three ISS pilot payloads developed through this partnership that aims to catalyze and scale demand for commercial capabilities in low Earth orbit by producing high-value products for terrestrial use. Made In Space first demonstrated the SLA printing technology found inside CMM through a series of parabolic flights funded through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program in 2016.
Additional technical partners for the CMM mission include HRL Laboratories of Malibu, California, and Sierra Turbines of San Jose, California. The successful CMM mission builds upon Redwire’s flight heritage with four other additive manufacturing facilities developed by the Made In Space team that have successfully flown and operated on the space station.
According to engineers with GE Aviation, the challenges of additive metal manufacturing—serious as they are—are small compared to the promise that this technology holds. How else can you make a plane engine 1,000 pounds lighter?
Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions’ robotic metal 3D printing process is a choreographed dance between welding, robots, automation, heat management and machining. The new venture may have a distinct advantage in the field: its parent company’s 125 year-old legacy.
A contract manufacturer routinely reverse engineers and 3D prints prototypes of aerospace legacy parts for more confident production.