Check out this article from Additive Manufacturing Media for an inside look into how Beehive is redefining American jet propulsion for unmanned aerial defense applications. Thanks so much to Stephanie Hendrixson and Peter Zelinski for visiting us at our Englewood, Colorado HQ and doing a terrific job with the story. https://lnkd.in/epywH_se
What does it take to build a jet engine? Probably less time, equipment, people and parts than you may think, if Beehive Industries has anything to say about it. 🐝The company's 500-lb-thrust demonstrator engine (designed for use in large drones and other unpiloted craft) was developed in just 13 months and contains only about 140 parts. 14 of the most critical parts are 3D printed while the rest are off-the-shelf, readily available items. That's a part count reduction of more than 90% over a legacy engine! Beehive's smaller 200-lb-thrust demonstrator is even fewer components, the bulk of it being 5 laser powder bed fusion parts. The company is building toward being able to produce 40 of these smaller engines within a week--using modular manufacturing cells that place printing, machining and inspection together in a footprint the size of a small room. Much more about this company its journey toward vertically integrated, rapid engine production in the story on Additive Manufacturing Media today (link in comments 👇).