A giant 90-ton 3D printer is building Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket

The machine will dramatically cut down on production time, saving over 150,000 hours.

Mrigakshi Dixit

The 90-tonne Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) machine.

Rocket Lab/YouTube

Building large composite rockets has been a painstaking process. Teams of engineers spend countless hours manually laying thousands of layers of carbon fiber, ensuring precise alignment and quality.

Rocket Lab has now simplified this process with its innovative Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) machine. Thanks to this equipment, the process will be streamlined from weeks to a single day.

The company is using this huge 90-ton machine to 3D-print its Neutron rocket. This giant 3D printer can make carbon fiber layers at incredible speeds, building complex structures with unmatched precision.

“As we build the world’s largest carbon composite rocket, it makes sense that we require a world-first carbon composite fiber placement machine,” said Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, in an earlier release.

In August, the company installed this largest AFP machine at its Neutron rocket factory in Middle River, Maryland.

The 39-foot (12-meter) robotic machine, custom-built by Electroimpact in Washington, can 3D print carbon-fiber layers.

Interestingly, the machine can rapidly lay carbon fiber composite at a speed of 328 feet (100 meters) per minute while moving up to 98 feet (30 meters) in length.

The machine will fully automate the production of the Neutron‘s large composite structures.

This includes the panels for the 91-ft (28-meter) interstage and fairing, the 22.9-ft (7-meter) first stage tank, and the 16.4-ft (5-meter) second stage tank.

In other words, the machine will be able to produce all of the large parts of the Neutron rocket that are made of composite materials. This will help to make the production of the Neutron rocket more efficient and cost-effective.

Moreover, this autonomous machine has a built-in inspection system that can automatically check for tiny defects in the carbon fiber composite material as it is being laid down.

If the system finds a defect, it will alert the operator so that they can fix it before the machine continues to the next layer. This helps ensure that the launch vehicle’s structures meet Rocket Lab’s high-quality standards, which are necessary for reusable Neutron launches.

The machine will dramatically cut down on production time, saving over 150,000 hours.

“We’re combining our proprietary flight-proven carbon composite technology, additive manufacturing, and autonomous robotics to design and build large-scale aerospace components at a pace that will support not only Neutron’s launch cadence, but support Electron and carbon composites structures for our spacecraft customers too,” said Beck in the press release.

The AFP machine will be used to produce various small carbon composite structures, including Electron first stages, and other spacecraft parts.

While other rockets like SpaceX‘s Starship and Boeing’s Starliner use different materials, Rocket Lab’s Neutron is pioneering the use of carbon fiber composites on a massive scale. This material offers incredible strength and lightweight properties, making it ideal for space travel. With this machine, the company will be able to launch more frequently and at a lower cost.

Rocket Lab plans to launch the first Neutron rocket in 2025.

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Mrigakshi Dixit Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.

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