Dutch robotic metal 3D printing firmMX3Dhas constructed a novel material-efficient ‘skeletal floor’ for a prototype欧洲航天局(ESA) lunar settlement.
By combining delineating stress map analysis with 3D printing, the company has been able to construct an ultra-lightweight steel structure with a smooth web-like design, at a reduced mass of 395 kilograms. According to ESA engineer Advenit Makaya, the project has shown the efficiency and lunar manufacturing potential of MX3D’s technology, which could be used to build regolith-based structures in future.
Makaya说：“这是MX3D的非凡成就，它进一步凸显了这种添加剂制造技术对于越来越多的空间应用的潜力。”“设计灵活性以及将印刷结构与嵌入式监控系统相结合的可能性值得研究用于空间结构中的应用。”
“This technique could also be considered for the in-situ construction of infrastructure during sustainable exploration missions, by using metallic feedstock derived from the locally-available regolith.”
出色的“骨骼”设计
为建筑公司开发的四层原型ESA月亮栖息地而建Skidmore, Owings and Merrill（SOM）,MX3D’s floor has been topologically-optimized to be as material-efficient as possible. In practise, this means that the structure was 3D printed using the firm’s proprietary WAAM technology into six vertical segments, before being welded into a cohesive substructure.
Upheld by three columns, the floor features a series of panels that form a ‘mesh’ capable of acting as a supporting structure without needing to be ‘filled-in,’ while its overall design cantilevers towards its perimeter and center, allowing these areas to be 3D printed at a reduced thickness, but not at the cost of cohesion or integrity.
“我们研究了制造的限制，并利用我们的分析插入了遵循3D打印机角度限制的网络模式，”该项目的高级设计师Daniel Inocente解释说。“还分析并分化了横截面和厚度以减少整体质量 - 外部/内部边界的厚度降低。”
现在花费大约246小时的时间，现在已经完成了308LSI不锈钢地板，一旦拼凑而成，它的尺寸约为4.5米。最终，该结构无法成为SOM“超越地球生命”的一部分威尼斯双年展展览的预期，但根据MX3D首席执行官Gijs van der Velden的说法，该项目仍证明了其技术的轻巧潜力。
Van der Velden总结说：“这是MX3D的理想项目，以利用其在打印拓扑优化的金属结构方面的经验。”“实现材料的最佳使用是MX3D的公司目标，因为 - 就像在设计空间应用时一样，MX3D设计中的每一千千座都可以直接赢得项目的可行性。”
MX3D’s construction expertise
基于金属XL，一个软件MX3D描述为“最初专用于机器人WAAM”，以及打印机安装的ABB机械，该公司的方法可以构建自定义的大型架构。最近，该公司还开始使用M1 3D printer，最近获得了现金注入225万欧元资助其进一步的研发和发行。
自2015年推出以来，该公司从第一款开始稳步扩展其技术的应用3D打印的“弧”自行车in 2016, up to a钢桥连接器据说这会在2019年引起重大的“建筑公司兴趣”。
使用其独特的WAAM方法，该公司还采用了建造桥梁，并公布了其第一个此类12米长的结构2021年6月，在阿姆斯特丹的Oudezijds Achterburgwal运河上。CSIC,伦敦帝国学院和艾伦·图灵学院（Alan Turing Institute）, MX3D has been able to incorporate sensors into the build, enabling the gathering of data for the creation of a digital twin of the structure.
At the time, van der Velden claimed that the bridge was “only the beginning” for the firm’s technologies, and following the success of its recent aerospace project, the ESA’s Head of the Materials and Processes Thomas Rohr, has now spoken out about the space-faring potential of MX3D’s robotic-led technologies moving forwards.
Rohr总结道：“ MX3D的能力表明了工程和艺术的鼓舞人心的同意，这是AM已经进入我们社会的另一个很好的例子。”“对于空间应用，此类技术不仅提供了性能的改进，而且可以导致前所未有的设计解决方案。”
3D printing in outer space
While no doubt demonstrating increasing scalability, MX3D’s 3D printing technologies aren’t the first to have been enlisted for constructing homes on other worlds. Texas-basedICON例如，已经由NASA与开发off-world construction system这只能仅使用月球岩石建造永久的月亮基础。
More recently, ICON has also been contracted to3D印刷火星习惯这可以准确地重现宇航员访问火星表面时会经历的条件。从明年开始，该结构将安排为期三年的NASA现场测试，试验其营养系统的功效，以及长期暴露于红色星球上的生命的物理和行为和行为影响。
同时，在美国以外，科学家Technical University of Braunschweig和Laser Zentrum Hannover(LZH) have managed to零重力的3D打印月球岩石首次。该团队的漫游者安装的激光将Moondust融化为月球结构，从而使飞行操作员免于将重型货物从地球运送到月球表面。
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Featured image shows MX3D’s stainless steel 3D printed lunar floor. Photo via the ESA.
