Prior research has shown that powder-bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) can be used to make functional, end-use components from powdered metallic alloys, such as Inconel® 718 superalloy. However, these end-use components and products are often based on designs developed for more traditional subtractive manufacturing processes and do not take advantage of the unique design freedoms afforded by AM. In this paper, we present a case study involving the redesign of NASA’s existing “pencil” thruster used for spacecraft attitude control. The initial pencil thruster was designed for and manufactured using traditional subtractive methods. The main focus in this paper is to (a) identify the need for and use of both opportunistic and restrictive design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) concepts and considerations in redesigning the thruster for fabrication with PBF AM and (b) compare the resulting DfAM thruster with a parallel development effort redesigning the original thruster to be manufactured more effectively using subtractive manufacturing processes. The results from this case study show how developing end-use AM components using specific DfAM guidelines can significantly reduce manufacturing time and costs while enabling new and novel design geometries.
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October 2017
Research-Article
Redesigning a Reaction Control Thruster for Metal-Based Additive Manufacturing: A Case Study in Design for Additive Manufacturing
Nicholas A. Meisel,
Nicholas A. Meisel
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology, and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213J Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: nam20@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology, and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213J Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: nam20@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Timothy W. Simpson,
Timothy W. Simpson
Fellow ASME
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
209 Leonard Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: tws8@psu.edu
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
209 Leonard Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: tws8@psu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Corey J. Dickman
Corey J. Dickman
Search for other works by this author on:
Nicholas A. Meisel
Mem. ASME
School of Engineering Design, Technology, and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213J Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: nam20@psu.edu
School of Engineering Design, Technology, and
Professional Programs,
The Pennsylvania State University,
213J Hammond Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: nam20@psu.edu
Matthew R. Woods
Timothy W. Simpson
Fellow ASME
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
209 Leonard Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: tws8@psu.edu
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University,
209 Leonard Building,
University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: tws8@psu.edu
Corey J. Dickman
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Design for Manufacturing Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received January 30, 2017; final manuscript received May 25, 2017; published online August 30, 2017. Assoc. Editor: Paul Witherell.
J. Mech. Des. Oct 2017, 139(10): 100903 (8 pages)
Published Online: August 30, 2017
Article history
Received:
January 30, 2017
Revised:
May 25, 2017
Citation
Meisel, N. A., Woods, M. R., Simpson, T. W., and Dickman, C. J. (August 30, 2017). "Redesigning a Reaction Control Thruster for Metal-Based Additive Manufacturing: A Case Study in Design for Additive Manufacturing." ASME. J. Mech. Des. October 2017; 139(10): 100903. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4037250
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