Behind the Machine 3D Printing Rocket Engines

American space technology company, Launcher, has acquired the M 4K AM system from AMCM, an EOS Group company, to advance its high-performance orbital launch vehicle strategy. The AMCM M 4K system enables Launcher to produce the world’s largest single-part 3D printed copper alloy combustor at Launcher’s headquarters and production facility in Hawthorne, California. Launcher will additively manufacture the entire 10 ton-force E-2 rocket engine to deliver small satellites to low Earth orbit. Launcher has been an AMCM partner since 2017, and the collaboration has resulted in the development of the AMCM M 4K, which has an unprecedented part construction volume (45 x 45 x 100 cm) and supports copper alloy, the most advanced material for liquid rocket engine combustion chamber production.