The Keystone of Lunar Infrastructure: Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing

Aluminum has been identified as a major component of regolith, performs well for industrial applications that would require power transmission, and is likely to become the core component of our infrastructure on the lunar surface as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) capabilities are advanced. This project encompasses a year for the development of stable and effective processes, complex geometry, and vacuum welding environment evaluation for novel cold metal transfer (CMT) wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) with aluminum alloys as a pivotal step in developing it as a key manufacturing technology for lunar infrastructure. WAAM is a high value process for lunar advanced manufacturing as it does not require special containment to reduce explosion hazards such as powder-based additive processes and feedstock. CMT welding as an additive manufacturing process is still young with most published and available work concentrated in the last ten years within the laboratory setting—the bulk of existing literature investigates the various arc modes and effect on microstructure and porosity rather than the design-for-deposition and applications for CMT-WAAM. This project addresses the use case of CMT-WAAM as a particular method to additively generate a "bracket" demonstrator with complex geometry (overlaps, intersections, tapers) with applicability to the intended service environment through experimental welding in a vacuum.

The objective of this project to to develop a stable process for CMT-WAAM technology which is currently in the infancy stages of technology readiness but has potential to become a critical foundation to future lunar infrastructure. This includes development of process parameters, critical complex geometry, and AM in vacuum -- All data required for future scaling-up of the process. This is directly applicable to the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) identified gaps of Very Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (MANU-650, HEOMD 3084), Fabrication and repair of on-orbit and lunar surface hardware, components and structures using advanced manufacturing processes (MANU-642, HEOMD 3061), and Lunar surface manufacturing, recycling, reuse, repurposing, and repair capabilities (MANU-644, HEOMD 3061). The potential of CMT-WAAM as a lunar infrastructure manufacturing method is revolutionary way to disrupt current manufacturing technologies that require ample resources to achieve.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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