Big Aerospace Boost, ISRO Succeeds In 3D Printed Rocket Engine Tests; Why Wipro Stock Will Be In Focus On Mon?

Big boost for India's aerospace sector as the Indian Space Research Organisation has achieved a major milestone with the successful hot testing of liquid rocket engines manufactured through Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. Surprisingly, this huge development is not only good news for aerospace but is also a big development for top IT player Wipro.

According to ISRO, the that testing of liquid rocket engines manufactured through Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology was for a duration of 665 s on May 9, 2024. The engine used is the PS4 engine of PSLV upper stage.

ISRO revealed that the PS4 engine manufactured in the conventional machining and welding route has been in use for the fourth stage of PSLV which has a thrust of 7.33 kN in vacuum condition.

Also, the same engine is used in the Reaction Control System (RCS) of the first stage (PS1) of PSLV. The engine uses the earth-storable bipropellant combinations of Nitrogen Tetroxide as oxidizer and Mono Methyl Hydrazine as fuel in pressure-fed mode and was developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC).

Further, ISRO pointed out that LPSC redesigned the engine making it amenable to the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) concept thereby gaining considerable advantages. The Laser Powder Bed Fusion technique employed has brought down the number of parts from 14 to a single-piece, and eliminated 19 weld joints, saving significantly on the raw material usage per engine (13.7 kg of metal powder compared to the 565 kg of forgings and sheets for conventional manufacturing process) and reduced 60% in the overall production time.

And this is where Wipro comes into the picture. As per ISRO, the manufacturing of the engine was done in the Indian industry (WIPRO 3D), and the engine was hot tested at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.

Yes, Wipro-backed subsidiary Wipro 3D is the manufacturer of the engine for ISRO. And hence, Wipro stock will be in focus on Monday.

Wipro 3D works with clients from discovery to design, development to deployment of metal additive manufacturing/3D printing solutions including setting up of captive AM centers. Its Metal Additive Manufacturing experts work closely with customers' strategy, technology, innovation, engineering, R&D manufacturing, quality, and supply chain functions to deliver Additive Manufacturing solutions and services that are focused on business outcomes.

Wipro 3D is a business division of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering which is a diversified business with expertise spanning over 4 decades of engineering and manufacturing excellence in the fields of Hydraulics, Aerospace, Water treatment and Additive Manufacturing.

Lastly, ISRO said that as part of the development programme, the injector head of the engine was realised and successfully hot tested earlier. Detailed flow and thermal modelling, structural simulation, and cold flow characterisation of the proto hardware were carried out to gain confidence for the hot test.

Consequently, ISRO added four successful developmental hot tests of integrated engines that were conducted for a cumulative duration of 74 s which validated the engine performance parameters. Furthermore, the engine was successfully tested for the full qualification duration of 665 s and observed that all the performance parameters were as expected.

Further, ISRO said that it is planned to induct this AM PS4 engine into the regular PSLV program.