The Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) project develops and matures innovative, low-cost manufacturing processes and products including: metallic joining, additive, composites, and digital manufacturing.
NASA and the aerospace community have deep roots in manufacturing technology and innovation. Advanced manufacturing is critical to all of our NASA missions.
The Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) project develops and matures innovative, low-cost manufacturing processes and products including: metallic joining, additive manufacturing, composites, and digital manufacturing. The project also supports the validation and certification of physical properties and performance of materials and manufacturing techniques (previous Materials Genome Initiative). The AMT Project supports Manufacturing USA (formally known as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, NNMI) focused on establishing a national network of advanced manufacturing capabilities. The network is a public private collaboration involving other government agencies that include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce (NIST), NASA, the National Science Foundation, Department of Education, and Department of Agriculture.
AMT is part of a NASA-wide drive to develop new space technologies like composite tanks for cryogenic propellants, processes that would allow assembly of small satellites on orbit, and additive manufacturing processes for space flight hardware, in-space manufacturing applications and planetary applications. It aims to target technologies with short term infusion and technologies that push the envelope on current processes and products to support the needs of many NASA missions.
Now and in the future, NASA will continue to support manufacturing initiatives and technologies that will be of benefit to NASA missions and to Manufacturing USA.
Current technologies advancing under AMT are:
Low Cost Upper Stage-Class Propulsion Development (LCUSP) – The LCUSP project is using additive manufacturing to develop high pressure/high temperature combustion chambers and nozzles with copper and nickel alloys.
Additive Construction for Mobile Emplacement (ACME) – ACME is developing technology to build structures on planetary surfaces using in situ resources. The project focuses on the construction of both 2D (landing pads, roads, and structure foundations) and 3D (habitats, garages, radiation shelters, and other structures) infrastructure needs for planetary surface missions.
| Principal Technologist | Project Manager |
|---|---|
| John Vickers (john.h.vickers@nasa.gov) | John Fikes (john.fikes@nasa.gov) |
NASA Advances Additive Manufacturing For Rocket Propulsion
World’s First 3D Printer in Space Will Launch This Month
Astronaut Ready to Take 3D Printing Into the Final Frontier
NASA Successfully Hot-Fire Tested a 3-D Printed Copper Combustion Chamber Liner
NASA successfully hot-fire tested a 3-D printed copper combustion chamber liner with an E-Beam Free Form Fabrication manufactured nickel-alloy jacket. The hardware must withstand extreme hot and cold temperatures inside the engine as extremely cold propellants are heated up and burned for propulsion.
Credits: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
NASA EDGE: Additive Manufacturing in Space – 3D Printing
3D Printed Rocket Engine
NASA engineers put 3-D printed rocket engine parts to the test.
