Quick-turn parts provider Protolabs collaborated with NASA engineers to rapidly manufacture a generatively designed sample-collection container.
MINNEAPOLIS—NASA engineers recently demonstrated the power of their AI-driven design tool at the PowerSource Global Summit, an annual conference that brings together technology leaders across disciplines. Crowdsourcing played a key role in the demonstration, as did the digital manufacturing capabilities of Protolabs, a multi-service source for prototype and on-demand production parts.
On the first day of the conference, NASA engineers challenged attendees to provide inputs for a generative design to create a prototype sample-collection container. The container would be used in NASA’s ongoing Artemis moon exploration missions, specifically to collect gas samples released by sunlight hitting the moon, according to a release from Protolabs.
Through crowdsourcing, the desired traits of the sample collection container were defined. Design parameters called for a modular and stackable container. They also included scalability, and how a person or robot would interact with the device. Simultaneously, the geometries and part qualities identified had to ensure the part was machinable while maintaining strict size requirements, Protolabs said in the release.
Based on those constraints, NASA’s generative design software then produced a CAD file that was ready for machining in Protolabs’ digital factory that evening. The goal was to deliver the part by the conference’s wrap-up two days later.
“For this demonstration to be successful, we knew that any manufacturer we went with [to make the part] needed to deliver the part we ordered on-time—there was no room for error or delay,” said Matthew Vaerewyck, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the release. As a digital manufacturer that combines the digital thread with speed, reliability, and quality, Protolabs said it was uniquely positioned to achieve this feat for NASA.
Vaerewyck uploaded the part’s CAD file to Protolabs’ digital quoting platform. The organic design went through 19 hours of toolpathing at Protolabs’ CNC machining facility. The part was then shipped from Minnesota to the conference in Florida, arriving before the final day’s activities began, less than 36 hours after the order was placed, the release said.
The demonstration proved successful, as NASA was able to demonstrate the power of generative design to cut down on iterations and significantly reduce development time, while also creating parts that meet stringent spaceflight constraints. Protolabs, enabled by its quick-turn digital manufacturing capabilities, served as a key partner, bringing the part to life for conference attendees to see.
“We couldn’t have been more excited to serve as the manufacturing partner in this novel exercise showcasing the impact of combining generative design with automated manufacturing,” said Greg Thompson, senior director of CNC machining at Protolabs, in the release. “As a company that has revolutionized manufacturing, Protolabs is proud to play a role in NASA’s mission to push the boundaries of innovation to enable space exploration.”