Blue Origin, LLC

Techniques and structures within heat exchangers designed to enhance heat transfer efficiency by controlling and optimizing fluid flow, including baffle arrangements, jet impingement, and condensate management.

Techniques for building three-dimensional metal objects layer-by-layer using metal powders, including powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and directed energy deposition. This theme encompasses process mechanics, equipment design, and operational control for AM systems.

Integration of additive manufacturing with subtractive manufacturing (e.g., machining, cutting) or other traditional processes within a single system or workflow to create parts with improved features, surface finish, or material properties, or to enable new manufacturing paradigms.

Systems and methods for real-time sensing, modeling, and closed-loop control of additive manufacturing parameters to ensure part quality, consistency, and process efficiency. This includes thermal management, atmospheric regulation, and precise material deposition.

Couplings and fittings designed for specific fluid properties (e.g., cryogenic, chemical, medical, high-pressure) or requiring aseptic conditions, low-spill characteristics, or antimicrobial features to ensure safety and integrity.

Mechanisms allowing rapid, secure, and often sealed attachment and detachment of pipes, tubes, or hoses, frequently featuring locking, sealing, and release components for efficient assembly and maintenance.

Design and features of welding and soldering tools, fixtures, and accessories that enhance user safety, ergonomics, operational efficiency, and precise workpiece manipulation, including protective equipment and clamping mechanisms.

Development of novel chemical compositions for fluxes, solders, and filler metals to improve material properties, enhance joint reliability, reduce defects, or meet specific application requirements like high-temperature reflow or specialized material joining.

Methods and systems for real-time monitoring and control of coating processes or chamber cleaning, utilizing sensor data (e.g., thermal, pressure, optical) and predictive models to ensure quality and optimize efficiency.

Novel designs and configurations for heat exchangers that improve heat transfer efficiency, compactness, or enable specific phase change or separation processes within refrigeration and heat pump cycles.

Methods and devices that determine the position, angle, or distance of an object by detecting changes in magnetic fields or inductive coupling.

Computational methods and design principles for generating optimized geometries, internal structures (e.g., lattices, minimal surfaces), or functional features that are specifically enabled or enhanced by the capabilities of additive manufacturing.

Techniques for designing and manufacturing compact, multi-functional magnetic components, such as inductors, transformers, and coils, often involving embedded structures, multilayer designs, or shared magnetic circuits to achieve higher power density or smaller form factors.

Techniques and systems utilizing laser beams for precise material modification, including cutting, cladding, ablation, and surface treatment, often for joining, shaping, or removing material.

Systems and methods for precisely controlling welding parameters such as power, speed, oscillation, and material feed to optimize weld quality, consistency, and efficiency, often involving automated or semi-automated processes.

Tubes, hoses, or ducts incorporating additional components or features beyond simple fluid conveyance, such as embedded electronics (sensors, heaters), structural reinforcement, or segregated compartments for cable routing.

Design and optimization of fin structures, baffles, and surface textures within heat exchangers to increase heat transfer area, promote turbulence, or manage fluid flow for improved thermal performance.

Design and engineering of specialized components within deposition systems, such as heaters, targets, susceptors, and chamber walls, to achieve precise control over process parameters like temperature, material flux, and plasma characteristics.

Methods and tooling for forming structural components from fibrous materials impregnated with resin, involving processes like prepreg handling, resin infusion, and co-bonding during curing.

Devices and structural elements within the vehicle cabin or attached to the vehicle body designed to organize, secure, or support various articles, equipment, or even pets, often featuring customizable compartments or robust attachment mechanisms.