Roscosmos wants to quickly launch additive technologies amid restrictions on the supply of production equipment

Roscosmos In developed a project for the development of application additive technologies in production, under which they would like to receive grant support. This follows from a speech at the site of city laboratories ВЭБ.РФ on Cosmonautics Day, April 12, 2023, Andrei Potapov, director of the department for digitalization of Roscosmos.

The development of this class of technologies is already being carried out at a number of enterprises of the state corporation.

This is a completely new design that is developing very quickly. There is a huge invaluable amount of data that is now accumulating when developing technologies. And now, together with RFRIT, we are trying to launch a very interesting project that would combine the entire experience of these people, allow it to consolidate and launch a little faster those additive technologies that we are just starting at the present time, "said Andrei Potapov.

Production is the part that is probably the most difficult to modernize, added the director of the department for digitalization of Roscosmos. And, among other things, additive technologies would allow building a modern production model.

An application for a grant from RFRIT has already been formed for the project, Andrei Potapov clarified, answering a question from TAdviser. It has already passed the internal ICC, now it is waiting for the BCC "and everything else that follows." The application comes from TsNIImash, one of the enterprises of Roscosmos. The total cost of the project is estimated at just over a billion rubles.

The development of additive technologies is already engaged in a number of enterprises of Roscosmos "(photo - Evgeny Razumny/Vedomosti)"

So far, they prefer not to spread about the project in detail at Roskosmos. But in general terms, Andrei Potapov clarified that the project is aimed at creating a basic industry system that will serve as a single consolidator of all data on the development of additive technologies that are new to Roscosmos. In terms of IT functions, this is an attempt to preserve the intellectual knowledge that accumulates in the process of developing additive technologies at a whole group of enterprises of the state corporation.

Our task is to collect all the data, to preserve the intellectual potential that has been accumulated now, especially at the start, - said Andrei Potapov.

At the same time, we are talking about "real additive technologies" - about the creation of products in metal.

This is not a small printer that printed some beautiful plastic plugs. No. We have returned to pottery technology: modern additive production is a 3x3 meter vacuum cube in which the pottery rotates, where metal is instead of clay. It is melted and blanks are obtained from it for subsequent processing. This allows you to increase the coefficient of use of materials at times.

How much more efficient the consumption of material can be when using additive technologies, in early April, the general director of the Keldysh Center Vladimir Koshlakov clearly demonstrated at a meeting with the press^[1] on the territory of the enterprise. It showed a 3D-printed attachment element that is used in a rocket engine, and the same, but designed and manufactured in the usual way. The first, due to the absence of everything superfluous in it, significantly wins in mass, while withstanding the same loads as the "ordinary."

Also, for example, Roskosmos is already trying to create tanks for missiles using additive technologies.

Now these processes are underway at different enterprises. Our science is still involved in them, which will later test these samples. And we would very much like not only for ourselves, but also for other industries to preserve those mistakes, those wrong ways so that the people who follow us along this road understand which way to go, "says Andrei Potapov.

Roscosmos has been showing interest in the development of additive technologies in production for several years. For example, in 2018, the intentions of NPO Energomash were announced to use additive technologies in the production of engines for the Angara, Soyuz-2 and Soyuz-5 launch vehicles, calling this one of the methods for reducing the time it takes to create and reduce labor intensity in the production of rocket engines^[2].

And in May 2022, Roscosmos reported that the IIS named after Academician M.F. Reshetnev creates a center for additive technologies. In 2023, according to the plan, a complex of selective laser fusion of metal powders should appear there^[3]

Speaking about the relevance of the use of additive technologies, Roscosmos has previously referred to various benefits from their use, and now this topic has become even more relevant "due to restrictions on the supply of production equipment." This factor in the development of additive production at the enterprises of Roscosmos was mentioned in his speech by Andrei Potapov.

See also

Roscosmos rocket engine developers need computing resources and Russian software. Project price - 400 million rubles

Roscosmos rocket engine developer arms itself with Russian simulation software, getting rid of imported

The manufacturer of the launch vehicles "JSC «Proton»" and "Angara" started the transition from Siemens to Russian engineering software

Industrial Competence Centers (ICC)

Grants for development and implementation of IT solutions in Russia

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