Researchers 3D print moon rover wheel prototype space exploration, 3D printers could use local material from the moon or Mars as a feedstock.
NASA mechanical design engineer Richard Hagen, left, and ORNL researcher Michael Borish inspect a lunar rover wheel prototype that was 3D printed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of EnergyThe project demonstrated the potential of additive manufacturing for creating highly specialized parts needed for space exploration.
Members of the team that printed the rover wheel prototype display the result in front of the laser powder bed printer where it was created in the MDF. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy Despite enabling a more complex spoke pattern and spoke locking features for the wheel, 3D-printing simplified and reduced the cost of the wheel design and made final assembly easier. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
ORNL researchers at the MDF monitored the printing of the prototype lunar wheel as two lasers melted metal powder to build it up, layer by layer. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy Made of a nickel-based alloy, the prototype wheel is about 8 inches wide and 20 inches in diameter — much larger than typical parts printed with metal powder bed systems. Making it required the ability to print small geometric features spread over a large work area. Additive manufacturing enabled greater complexity in the rim design without added cost or manufacturing difficulty, Gibson said.
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