3D Printed Titanium Fuel Tanks Coming From Lockheed Martin

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Rick Ambrose, the executive vice president for space systems at Lockheed Martin, says it's become critical to reduce the lead times for building satellites, and he says 3D printing holds the keys to reaching the goal. His company recently purchased a $4 million 3D printing machine from Sciaky Inc. which is capable of turning out titanium fuel tanks of nearly 150 centimeters in diameter. Lockheed Martin says the electron beam melting method can cut the cost of manufacturing propellent tanks by as much as half. You can read the entire story here: http://3dprint.com/62099/lockheed-3d-print-fuel-tanks/


Below is a look at the production process:

[raysspl]

Damn, well done Lockheed Martin.