NASA develops a new metal additive manufacturing method

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama have reportedly developed and tested a new metal additive manufacturing method called Laser Wire Direct Closeout (LWDC). A process that could be used to make nozzles more quickly for rocket engines at a reduced cost.

NASA has been working with additive manufacturing for some time now, using it to help streamline 3D printing in space, their development of stronger materials and the design of better equipment. In addition, they also have partnered with others for several projects, including Relativity Space, which creates rockets through additive manufacturing.

Relativity Space tests 3D-printed rockets at NASA Space Center

More recently, NASA engineers have claimed to have developed a new metal additive manufacturing process called Laser Wire Direct Closeout. As its name implies, this process is not based on a powder bed but instead, uses a concentrated energy wire metal deposition process to create complex metal parts. NASA has already filed a patent for LWDC technology that would reduce manufacturing time from a few months to just a few weeks.