ORNL collaborated with NASA to 3D-print a lunar rover wheel based on a NASA design.

The project demonstrated the potential of additive manufacturing for creating highly specialized parts needed for space exploration.

NASA plans to test the printed wheel’s performance to compare with a traditionally manufactured wheel that will be used on the moon next year

The additively manufactured wheel was modeled on the existing, light-weight wheels of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, a mobile robot NASA plans to send in 2024 to map ice and other potential resources at the south pole of the moon. The mission is intended to help determine the origin and distribution of the moon’s water and whether enough could be harvested from the moon’s surface to support people living there.

Although the machine is unique, a key to the success of the project was researchers’ expertise in process automation and machine control. They used software developed at ORNL to “slice” the wheel design into vertical layers, then balance the workload between the two lasers to print evenly, achieving a high production rate, leveraging a computational technique recently submitted for patent protection.

Made of a nickel-based alloy, the prototype wheel is about 8 inches wide and 20 inches in diameter — much larger than typical parts printed with metal powder bed systems. Making it required the ability to print small geometric features spread over a large work area. Additive manufacturing enabled greater complexity in the rim design without added cost or manufacturing difficulty, Gibson said

If NASA testing proves the 3D-printedprototype to be as robust as conventionally built wheels, future rovers could instead use a single printed wheel rim, which took ORNL 40 hours to manufacture. Through the project, ORNL and NASA engineers also explored printing precise design features, such as angled sidewalls, a domed shape and wavy tread to increase the wheel’s stiffness.

The great Indian festival sale on Amazon

google.com, pub-2127763679786814 ,DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Borosil sandwich maker on Amazon