"Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print rockets and build the largest metal 3D printers in the world, has announced the latest iteration of its first-of-its-kind proprietary manufacturing platform, Stargate 4th Generation metal 3D printers," said a company spokesperson. These printers will underpin both the development and rate production of Terran R, Relativity's fully reusable, 3D printed rocket that will be capable of launching 20,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO).
The newest Stargate printer technology moves horizontally as it feeds multiple wires into a single print head to print orbital rockets. Relativity is developing customized software and machine learning techniques to allow these printers to print more complex and significantly larger metal products with improved print speed and reliability. Stargate 4th Generation printers also simplify manufacturing supply chains, as they are capable of printing a rocket with 100x fewer parts in a matter of months, the company reported.
With faster iteration cycles, Stargate printers are capable of accelerating progress and innovation within the aerospace industry. Most immediately, Stargate 4th Generation printers will serve as the primary manufacturing infrastructure for Terran R production. Longer term, Stargate 4th Generation printers offer value-generating potential for other end-product use cases within the $1T+ aerospace, aviation, energy and defense industries as the core of a new tech stack for aerospace products.
Key features and benefits of Stargate 4th Generation printer technology:
- Improvements in print speed: 4th Generation Stargate printers improve on their predecessors and offer 7x faster than earlier generation Stargate printers.
- Stargate 4th generation printers remove ceiling height constraints. Through horizontal printing, these printers are capable of printing objects up to 120' long and 24' wide, resulting in an increased volume capacity of 55x its 3rd generation predecessor.
- Improved print quality and work center efficiency are achieved through enhanced perception technology for in-process monitoring, which fuses together computer vision, advanced sensors and real-time telemetry.
- Part count reduction as well as rapid design iterations since Stargate printers are not beholden to long-lead, high capital expenditure fixed tooling.
- Lighter, more cost-effective aerospace product production through rapid iteration is generated by leveraging Stargate printers and material science advancements developed in Relativity's in-house metallurgical laboratory. Relativity has proprietary, high-performance next generation materials that will be used for products printed with Stargate 4th Generation printers.
"Large-scale products that are designed to fly will inevitably be 3D printed," said Tim Ellis, cofounder and CEO of Relativity Space. "The lighter a product is, the better it performs, and when 3D printing that product, it is also faster and more cost-effective to produce with each successive improvement. The compounding rate of progress is high, and we are still in the early days of what printing can achieve. We see 3D printing as an automation technology that has the power to change the pace of innovation in manufacturing, which is why we have invested in building our own proprietary tech stack from day one. Stargate printers are designed to unlock rapid iteration, which opens up opportunities for innovation in large-scale manufacturing products. What would take traditional aerospace and space manufacturers years to develop and build, will be reduced down to months due to a highly adaptable, scalable and automated process, made possible through software-driven manufacturing."
For more information contact:
Relativity Space
www.relativityspace.com