位于密歇根州的增材制造服务提供商合格3Dand German additive manufacturing service providerMetShapehave assisted students from国际空间站(ISS) Lab at San Jose-based山谷基督教高中with a microgravity experiment.
团队要求uired millimeter-scale lattices for capillary action trials in microgravity. Consequently, they contacted Qualified3D to obtain components manufactured using micro-stereolithography. Emeka Okekeocha, ISS Program Manager at Valley Christian School said, “Some of our students discovered that the miniature lattice design was printable using the LMM technology and proactively reached out to them.”
“我们非常感谢Qualified3D如何always quickly responded to our requests and questions. Even with the many changes we requested, the parts were still delivered on time, which helped us to transition smoothly between planning and building our microgravity experiment,” said David Kou, an 11th-grade member of the team at Valley Christian School.
How were the students able to find the solution for this microgravity experiment?
The San Jose-based team’s lattices consisted of struts as thin as 0.5mm in diameter, and micro-SLA appeared to be the only process capable of producing parts with adequate precision. Although dimensionally precise, photopolymer resin components were not a suitable match for space flight needs because they lacked vibration resistance, heat, and low temperatures. Metal offered a superior set of characteristics for the ISS experiment. However, the lattice design was not printable utilizing standard metal powder-bed fusion and binder-jetting 3D printing technologies.
As a result, the group decided to useMETSHAPE的基于光刻的金属制造(LMM), a novel 3D printing technique that employs the photopolymerization principle, wherein the metal powder is distributed in a photosensitive resin and carefully polymerized by a DLP projector. In a wide range of metals, which include titanium and stainless steel, the technology can create components with smooth surfaces (2-5µm surface roughness before polishing) and ultra-thin walls (125µm). Okekeocha further stated, After a technical review, we accepted the proposed change from acrylate resin to stainless steel.”
ISS研究实验室的学生在几周内获得了他们的组件，并很高兴将它们雇用在其微重力实验中。预计该实验包将于2023年2月中旬交付给国际空间站，并在2023年3月启动返回数据。
此外，METSHAPE以其3D打印和烧结LMM微部件的专业知识而闻名。它还通过合格的3D向美国客户零售。
Additive manufacturing playing a vital role in microgravity advancements
之前，AddUp法国工业3D打印机制造商宣布，它有助于设计的新型机器将被启动到轨道上，以便在ISS上进行评估。添加构建了专门设计用于空间中3D印刷金属零件的机器的内部结构和机制，作为该机构的一部分European Space Agency'S（ESA）'Metal3D'项目。该原型与传统的粉末床系统不同，据称可以处理附着在其框架上的电线原料，从而防止其漂浮并使设备能够在微重力条件。
Furthermore, Swedish 3D bioprinter manufacturerCELLINK宣布与制作太空, amicrogravity manufacturingspecialist. The collaboration’s objective was to determine 3D bioprinting development opportunities for the ISS and future off-world platforms. Such initiatives are expected to have a real-world impact on drug screening and cancer research on Earth, claims the company.
Cellink的联合创始人兼首席执行官Erik Gatenholm说：“ Cellink以我们对最先进的创新，广泛的技术组合以及世界一流的科学家和工程师团队的深刻承诺为美国的太空计划提供支持。”
按照此链接进行所有链接3D Printing Trends 2023。
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特征图显示了由METSHAPE制造的3D打印金属晶格。通过METSHAPE图像。
