Description: Building on the Phase 1 results, the Phase II proposed work will produce an automated assembly technique that can build a 50m tower on the lunar surface. This will be demonstrated at a TRL level 5 or above. Additionally, advancements to RFSSW machine design for survivability in the lunar environment will be shown, and design improvements will be made that benefit both extraterrestrial and earth-based products. The relevance and significance of the proposed Phase 2 innovation to the original topic are directly aligned to the overall objective of contributing to the development of lunar infrastructure manufacturing processes. These efforts also apply to Mars habitat construction methods for infrastructure. RFSSW joining technology is inherently energy efficient, but an additional benefit is the possibility to manufacture truss elements using solid state processing such as friction extrusion (FE). Should friction extrusion be implemented, the geometry of the truss elements is well suited to the length and cross-sectional capabilities of a moon-based FE system.

Benefits: Beyond earth, RFSSW is a low energy flexible and high strength joining process that, with modifications to the machinery for off-earth operation, can be applied to various manufactured products. Considering plans for lunar habitation and preparation for the journey to Mars, the market for lunar RFSSW is not insignificant.

Applications like airplane manufacturing can use automated management of the RFSSW weld head on a robot end effector. Automotive use of aluminum is increasing, and body sheet metal is a good application for RFSSW. This project improves the suitability of RFSSW for aviation and automotive applications.