Monash University researchers are investigating how AM can change the design of next generation rocket engines. Alloyed's technology is helping them push the design envelope.
Marten Jurg from Monash University is researching how the design complexity available through AM can push rocket engine design concepts further. As one of our academic research partners we provided access to our technology to help him push go beyond the boundaries of conventional rocket design.
For his final year project Marten developed a demonstrator that embodied a range of new concepts. One of these was a conformal cooling jacket sandwich structure within the walls of the rocket to reduce overall dry mass.
Due to the critical importance of the structure’s design, Marten opted to develop his own script to specify the micro-lattice. By using our open Arch format, Marten was able to avoid the complexity of creating water tight mesh data, allowing him to concentrate solely on the design.
Using our Engine build processor, Marten was able to rapidly produce build data for production. The initial scale demonstrators were built at Monash University.
AMAERO, a Monash University spin-out that focuses on contract manufacturing using powder bed fusion and direct energy deposition technologies decided to support Marten’s work and demonstrate their own capability by building a full size demonstrator.
Built on a Concept Laser X-line, these parts are almost 3x larger than the initial demonstrators and represent a truer scale of part.
Part of our aim with working closely with partners such as Marten is to understand the design and manufacturing challenges that exist within industrial additive manufacturing. These challenges exist throughout the process from design to manufacture. From the specific geometries types within rocket engine design to the challenges of slice data generation for large scale systems. Building technologies that directly learn from emerging applications is key to understanding the real challenges for AM today and in the future.
