Development and qualification of additively manufactured parts for space

Abstract

Additive manufacturing fabricates the desired final part by depositing and fusing layer upon layer of the source material and offers both benefits and disadvantages compared to traditional manufacturing. New engineering designs are possible in which a single optimized part with topology can replace several traditional parts. The complex physics of metal deposition leads to variations in quality and to new flaws and residual stresses not seen in traditional manufacturing. Additive manufacturing currently has gaps in knowledge. Mission assurance for the space industry will require: qualification and certification standards; sharing of data in handbooks; predictive models relating processing, microstructure and properties; and development of closed loop process control and nondestructive evaluation to reduce variability. A tailored qualification strat- egy for additive manufacturing accounts for the manufacturing readiness level, mission risk class, and the knowledge of material properties. Three case studies are presented on the development and qualification of AM for the space industry with the common goals of maturing the technology and improving its reliability.