How MIT is Pushing the Boundaries of AM Research in Space

Additive Snack · 28 Feb 2023 · 28m · Episode 3

What this episode covers

Zach Cordero, a professor at MIT who leads the aerospace materials and structures laboratory, discusses his new crash course on additive manufacturing for aerospace engineers and his research into bespoke materials for space applications. He explains why additive manufacturing aligns perfectly with the low-volume, high-performance needs of the space industry, particularly for propulsion systems like those used by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Cordero highlights the critical role of post-processing, specifically a new heat treatment process his team is commercializing to improve creep resistance in laser powder bed fusion components, enabling them to compete with traditional single-crystal alloys in gas turbines.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 38m

    HIBT Lab! Ursa Major: Joe Laurienti

    Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major, explains how he leveraged his experience at SpaceX and Blue Origin to launch a company focused on 3D-printed rocket engines in 2015. He details the strategic decision to use additive manufacturing to reduce part count and cost, the company's early adoption of off-the-shelf metals before developing proprietary alloys, and the rapid 'fail fast' testing philosophy that defined their prototype development. Laurienti also discusses the geopolitical shift following the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea, which created a domestic supply gap for rocket engines, and Ursa Major's current role in supporting both commercial space launches and U.S. hypersonic defense programs.

  • The Next Byte Podcast · 23m

    21. AI Rescues Firefighters, NASA Prints Spacecraft Parts, Plug & Play Prosthetics

    Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss three engineering stories: an AI model by NIST that predicts flashover in fires using sensor data and simulations; NASA’s use of ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) via subcontractor Fibrosnic to create complex, dissimilar-metal heat exchangers; and Levitate, a company founded by an amputee in partnership with the Technical University of Denmark, which offers affordable, plug-and-play athletic prosthetics using proprietary composite materials.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 39m

    Why Your Toughest Parts Still Use 50-Year-Old Materials w/ Fazal Mahmood

    Fazal Mahmood, co-founder and CEO of Phase Shift Technologies, explains how AI is accelerating the discovery of new metal alloys to replace 50-year-old materials in industries like oil and gas, aerospace, and defense. He details the critical gap between designing a material and qualifying it for regulated markets, noting that legacy producers often lack the incentive to innovate outside their core franchises. Mahmood highlights three key drivers for this shift: the maturation of additive manufacturing, the performance limits of existing materials in technologies like nuclear fusion, and supply chain disruptions in critical raw materials like tungsten. He illustrates these points with a specific example of a new printable tungsten carbide alloy designed for laser powder bed fusion to solve wear resistance issues in complex flow components.

  • Over the Air · 31m

    Star Trek Replicators? How Additive Manufacturing is Changing the Industry

    Blake Teipel, Cofounder and CEO of Essentium, explains how additive manufacturing has matured from hobbyist 3D printing to an industrial solution for agile, mid-range production, particularly in aerospace sustainment. He details Essentium's 'Flash Fuse' technology, which uses electromagnetic energy to create isotropic, strong parts from conductive plastics, solving a decades-old strength issue. Teipel discusses the company's pivot to government and aviation clients during the pandemic, the challenges of team composition and knowledge retention, and the critical need for better software tools to enable next-generation design.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 20m

    The Digital Warehouse: A Look Inside Additive Manufacturing w/ Melanie Lang

    Melanie Lang, Co-Founder and CEO of FormAlloy, discusses the evolution of additive manufacturing from prototyping to production, focusing on Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology. She explains how DED uses laser energy and metal powder to build or repair parts layer-by-layer, enabling multimaterial solutions and large-scale builds without support structures. Lang highlights aerospace applications like rocket nozzles and heat exchangers, where DED combines copper alloys for thermal properties with nickel superalloys for strength. She also addresses the industry's shift toward viewing manufacturing as a 'digital warehouse,' where digital files replace physical inventory, though she notes that trust and certification standards are still evolving.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Additive Snack. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.