Sciaky's EBAM Process Achieves Qualification for Satellite Fuel Tanks
July 31, 2018Comments
Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) and provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, recently announced that it achieved qualification with its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) process, stemming from the completion of qualification testing performed by Lockheed Martin Space on a multi-year development program to create giant, high-pressure tanks, which carry fuel for satellites.
Traditionally, it would take a year to secure a 4-ft.-dia., 4-in.-thick titanium dome, but Lockheed Martin has reduced production time of the fuel tank domes by 87 percent, while reducing delivery time from two years to three months. Also reduced is the amount of wasted material from 80 percent to virtually zero. Including the middle tank, the titanium vessel is about 95 in., or 8-ft. tall.
Lockheed Martin, which 3D printed both halves of the 46-in. titanium fuel tank domes on a Sciaky EBAM 110 machine, announced to the media that the tanks met or exceeded the performance and reliability required by NASA, allowing it to become a standard product option on LM 2100 satellites.For more, click here.
