What makes your shop successful? For those making rocket engine components, sometimes you must rely on years of skill and experience.
Last November, I gave a presentation on advanced metal forming at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Germany. The title was Artful Engineering, and I talked about how metal spinning has evolved over the centuries from a manual process performed by skilled artisans to one that today is done almost entirely on CNC machinery.
I called it, “The intersection of metals and mechanics, of art and engineering science.” Because I was standing before a room filled with rocket enthusiasts, I also explained how spin forming and flow forming, together with their sister technology, rotary forging, are now the preferred methods for producing nose cones and injector rings, nozzle liners and extensions, chamber liners, diaphragms, fuel tanks, and other rocket components.
These mature processes have become the de facto standard for several reasons, chief among them being the ability to make seamless, single-piece, axially symmetric parts with a controlled flow, fine-grain metallurgical structure. We make many such components at AST, and if you want to learn the details, visit our blog.
