The application of 3D printing to the space industry will receive a boost with the opening of a new ‘one stop shop’ based at the UK’s Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) in Coventry.
The Additive Manufacturing Benchmarking Center (AMBC) will be established by the European Space Agency (ESA) and managed by the MTC.When3D Printing Industry visited the MTC earlier this yearfor the UK Intelligent Engineering forum we saw first hand some of the advanced work conducted.
The objective with the AMBC is to draw on the world-leading resources and pool of knowledge available at the MTC to assess the use of 3D printing for ESA high-tech projects. Using the state-of-the-art 3D printing capabilities at the MTC, prototypes for a range of ESA projects will be produced, assessed and the subsequent results disseminated to a wider audience.
Torben Henriksen, Head of ESA’s Mechanical Department, said, “The ESA’s Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality has called for the creation of a detailed roadmap for the harnessing of 3D printing to the space sector. We’ve been guided to set up this centre, with customers and industrial partners questioning us about the best way to try out 3D printing for the first time and test out the maturity of the results.”
The project is also intended to further extend what ESAdescribesas, “European leadership in 3D printing.”
State-of-the-art 3D printing facility
Tommaso Ghidini, head of ESA’s Materials and Processes Section, explains that “We don’t want to compete with industry; instead, the idea is that ESA projects and interested companies can investigate this new engineering world to the point where they will take a decision to proceed further.”
Welcoming the announcement, Dr Dave Brackett, technology manager for additive manufacturing at the MTC said, “这是一个绝妙的机会，可以在最多的测试和动态应用领域之一中进一步发展技术。作为英国国家添加剂制造中心，我们处于与ESA作为其增材制造基雷电竞充值准测试中心合作的独特地位，并为空间行业提供了获得最先进的能力和理解以支持工业开发的能力.”
One the of first space projects to benefit will be the Vega small launcher. Giorgio Tumino, Vega’s development programme for ESA, said, “By evolving Vega over time, we aim to hone its competitiveness, increase its flexibility and reduce recurring costs.” Tumino added,
We’re cooperating with AMBC to investigate the use of 3D printing for rocket engine thrust chambers for Vega’s upper stage, potentially allowing for a significant simplification in production and reduced costs. For such high–pressure/high-efficiency liquid rocket thrust chambers, a good surface finish is essential, with the absence of critical defects and the equivalent strength properties of its parent material – produced to a size at the limit of the current capabilities for powder-based additive manufacturing machines, using non-standard alloys.
AMBC将证明在基于铜的推力室上使用3D打印的能力并设置了适当的过程参数，从而产生三分之一的比例推力室，然后可以将其用于射击测试。如果一切顺利，那么下一步将是将其扩展到全尺度，并开始正式的飞行过程资格。
金属、陶瓷和聚合物3 d打印
The MTC has an additive manufacturing portfolio that includes metal, polymer and ceramic 3D printers. This equipment will be used to conduct testing and offer detailed reports on the strengths and weaknesses of the selected 3D printing method.
geographica申请者已经有很强的联系lly and professionally, with the ESA–Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at ESA’s Harwell facility. The ESA–Rutherford Appleton Lab has a focus on advancing scientific knowledge of 3D printing and is less than 100 miles from the MTC site.
3D打印行业参加了MTC首席技术专家David Wimpenny的演讲earlier this year, where the objectives and the更详细地解释了该中心的综合方法。
You can also read more abouthow NASA are experimenting with 3D printed radiation shields in this article.
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The MTC in Coventry, UK. Photo by Beau Jackson
