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Simple question: how many parts is the SpaceX Merlin engine made of?

Individual pieces that can be disassembled and put on a table separately.

And how many of them are made using 3D printing?

Organic Marble
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Joe Jobs
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    The ones in space usually have all of them – uhoh Sep 26 '20 at 21:07
  • @uhoh I'm sorry, I didn't understand. Could you please elaborate? – OrangeDurito Sep 27 '20 at 06:53
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    Are you asking about individual pieces that can be disassembled and put on a table (seemingly large) separately? – OrangeDurito Sep 27 '20 at 06:55
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    @OrangeDurito it's simply light-hearted humor addressing the ambiguities that language leaves us. Obviously if a Merlin engine didn't have all of its parts it would not likely be in space. It deigns to answer without answering, but at my expense, not the OP's. – uhoh Sep 27 '20 at 08:11
  • @OrangeDurito - yes – Joe Jobs Sep 27 '20 at 10:27
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    @uhoh Ah got it! Thank you :) – OrangeDurito Sep 27 '20 at 14:14
  • What's a "part"? – SE - stop firing the good guys Sep 27 '20 at 14:36
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    OrangeDurito gave a good definition – Joe Jobs Sep 27 '20 at 16:42
  • For example a Toyota car is made of 30,000 parts. – Joe Jobs Sep 27 '20 at 19:01
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    You are unlikely to get an answer to this question, Joe. You could get an answer if SpaceX used patents to protect their intellectual property (IP). That is not how SpaceX works. It does not use patents on its key IP because it does not view patents as protective. It instead treats its key IP as trade secrets, vigorously protecting those trade secrets via nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and lawsuits. Those who could answer this question would face losing their jobs, and quite possibly their homes and their life savings in the inevitable lawsuit that would follow. – David Hammen Sep 28 '20 at 09:48

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