{
  "patent_number": "US 11794927",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Boeing 3D Prints Strong Lightweight Spacecraft Panels",
  "original_title": "Additively manufactured spacecraft panel",
  "summary": "A method for printing a single-piece, high-strength spacecraft panel using 3D printing to create complex internal trusses that eliminate the need for bolts or welds.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to 3D print a spacecraft panel as one single, solid piece. Instead of building a panel from separate sheets and beams, the printer creates two outer skins with stiffening grids and connects them with a complex internal truss structure. Because it is printed as a monolithic unit, the panel has no joints, seams, welds, or fasteners. This design allows for variable density in the internal core, meaning engineers can make parts of the panel stronger or lighter depending on where they are located on the spacecraft.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover panels built by traditional assembly methods like riveting, welding, or bolting parts together.",
    "Does not cover panels that are not produced via additive manufacturing (3D printing).",
    "Does not cover structures where the truss members intersect each other, as the claim specifically requires non-intersecting members.",
    "Does not cover panels that are not formed as a single monolithic unit."
  ],
  "filed": "2019-08-28",
  "granted": "2023-10-24",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Boeing Co",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/boeing-co",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Christopher David Joe",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/christopher-david-joe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nicole Diane Schoenborn",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/nicole-diane-schoenborn"
    },
    {
      "name": "Richard W. Aston",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/richard-w-aston"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nicole Marie Hastings",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/nicole-marie-hastings"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "aerospace",
    "mechanical",
    "materials"
  ],
  "abstract": "A method of additively manufacturing a spacecraft panel includes printing a first skin and a second skin, spaced apart from the first skin. The method further includes printing a first truss structure connecting the first skin to the second skin.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11794927/starship-life-support-system",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11794927/starship-life-support-system/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11794927",
  "relatedPatents": []
}