How MIT is Pushing the Boundaries of AM Research in Space
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.