Use Case Depowdering of Rocket Parts: Rocket Factory Augsburg trusts in Automated Powder Removal by Solukon

Repeatable and reliable postprocessing plays a key role in New Space. This is why RFA relies on Solukon’s depowdering systems.

Rocket Factory Augsburg is a German New Space company. Its mission is to revolutionize the market for commercial satellite launches into space. The demand for satellites in space is on the rise – modern forms of communication, navigation or smart farming are just a few examples of applications for which more and more satellites will have to be launched into space.  

RFA is committed to producing launch vehicles at low cost. Central rocket components, such as the Helix engine or the combustion chamber, are manufactured using additive manufacturing. This makes it possible to produce individual and complex parts quickly and easily. “Rocket parts need to be free of any powder to guarantee the functionality of the additively manufactured parts”, says Vasyl Kashevko, Team Lead AM at Rocket Factory. To achieve this, RFA trusts in automated depowdering by Solukon.

Solukon makes depowdering of rocket parts reliable and repeatable

The depowdering of rocket parts is quite challenging as parts often have complex inner structures, such as cooling channels. Before acquiring a Solukon system RFA did the depowdering manually or half-automated. “Here, however, we had no guarantee that the parts were fully cleaned”, says Vasyl Kashevko. “In contrast, depowdering with the Solukon SFM-AT800-S enables repeatable and reliable cleaning results.”

Learn more about the use case Rocket Factory Augsburg in this video:

A closer look at the SFM-AT800-S

The Solukon SFM-AT800-S is an automatic powder removal system to clean complex metal parts. It is based on the Solukon Smart Powder Recuperation Technology SPR®. Using adjustable vibration and automated two-axis part rotation the powder flows out of even the smallest inner cavities. The SFM-AT800-S can handle parts with a maximum height of 600 mm weighing up to 300 kg. Learn more about the SFM-AT800-S here.

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