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The European Space Agency has launched a €500,000 project to develop a 3D printing device for space missions that will be led by engineers from Trinity College Dublin.
The five year project will develop “cold spray” additive manufacturing technology to be more efficient and effective.
Unlike most additive manufacturing technologies, which use heat to meld layers of material into shapes, cold spray (CS) uses high pressure nitrogen or helium gas to spray powdered material at supersonic speeds into layers to produce shapes. Melting temperatures are never crossed, so components can be made without the risk of distortion or damage from heat. The process is also up to 1,000 times faster than other additive manufacturing techniques.
Although the technology has been used for coatings and is used by the US military to repair helicopter components, its high cost and lack of precision has stopped its widespread use.
Dr Rocco Lupoi, assistant professor in mechanical and manufacturing engineering at the Trinity Dublin and project lead, said: “Not only will we bring down its cost, through the development of innovative solutions, we will also enhance its technical capabilities for use in additive manufacturing.”
The technology is suitable for numerous applications in space, he added, and with the right level of automation and robotic stage design could also be used to lower the manufacturing cost of 3D components. The concepts being developed will therefore target these “technological bottlenecks”.
Head of strategic and emerging technologies at the European Space Agency, Professor David Jarivs, said: “Once developed, the new form of cold spray manufacturing could unlock new capabilities in coated materials, as well as multi-material combinations not currently possible.
The research follows an announcement by Nasa November 2014 that it is to demonstrate melt deposition additive manufacturing on the International Space Station, which it sees as “the first step to realising a machine shop in space”.
It was also reported by Chinese state media in December that the China Aerosapce Science and Technology Corporation had produced a 3D printing machine that can be used in microgravity. Reports said that it uses carbon dioxide lasers to produce small components out of stainless steel, titanium alloy and nickel-based superalloy.