British aerospace company Orbex has announced that its 3D printed rockets will be the first to launch from the UK’s new spaceport, which is currently under construction in Scotland. The first orbital spaceflight to launch from British soil has edged a step closer following the Scottish Highland Council’s decision to approve the construction of the […]
ArianeGroup successfully tests fully-3D printed combustion chamber for ESA rocket engine
Aerospace firm ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran, has announced that it has successfully tested its first combustion chamber produced entirely by 3D printing. The 3D printed combustion chamber, designed by the firm in Germany, was successfully fire tested 14 times between 26 May and 2 June 2020 on the P8 test bench […]
3D Printing Industry Review of the Year: October 2019
The month of October saw a number of AM developments within the aerospace sector including the fundraising for the Terran 1 rocket as well as partnerships accelerating the production of various 3D printed space components. Moreover, major business movements occurred from Lulzbot, EOS, Stratasys, and others. Aerospace developments Relativity Space, a Californian 3D printed rocket […]
SENER Aeroespacial and CATEC 3D print metal antenna for ESA’s PROBA-3 space mission
SENER Aeroespacial, the aerospace arm of Spanish engineering and technology group SENER, and the Centre for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (CATEC) in Seville, have collaborated to develop a 3D printed metal antenna for the European Space Agency (ESA)’s PROBA-3 space mission. The helical antenna was 3D printed using an aluminum alloy, and represents the first instance […]
ESA lays groundwork for 3D bioprinting bone in space
A European Space Agency (ESA) project undertaken at the University Hospital of Dresden Technical University (TUD) has proven the ability to 3D print biological matter in a space-like environment. Turing the process literally on its head, the team have succeeded in 3D bioprinting a specially formulated ink in minus 1g conditions. With the development, the team hopes that this […]
ESA initiates Design4AM with Siemens and Sonaca for metal 3D printing
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to Europe’s largest industrial automation specialist, Siemens, in order to develop an aerospace design and production software for metal 3D printing. Siemens will be part of a two-year long project called Design4AM, alongside Sonaca, a Belgian aerospace company. Pedro Romero Fernandez, Sonaca General Manager Space BU, […]
BEEVERYCREATIVE Continues Work with ESA: New ISS 3D Printer to be Developed
BEEVERYCREATIVE first established an outer space connection in 2016, when the Portuguese company was asked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a breadboard, or prototype, 3D printer for the International Space Station. Project Manufacturing of Experimental Layer Technology, or MELT, was successfully delivered to the ISS last May as a fully functional 3D printer prototype capable of 3D printing in microgravity conditions and utilizing engineering polymers with high end mechanical and thermal properties.
Now BEEVERYCREATIVE has been recruited by the ESA again. Project Imperial, like Project MELT, will be carried out by an international consortium of organizations. It will be led by OHB System AG, one of Europe’s three leading space companies. OHB System has been heavily involved in space manufacturing over the last three years, having participated in Project MELT as well as a study called URBAN, which involved the conception of a lunar base using 3D printing technologies.
The goal of Project Imperial is to design, develop and test a fully functioning 3D printer model that can perform under the requirements of the International Space Station. The printer will use engineering thermoplastics and alleviate build volume constraints. In order to demonstrate the 3D printer’s functionality, several parts will need to be 3D printed and tested. The printed parts, according to BEEVERYCREATIVE, will demonstrate the capability of in-space manufacturing to enable new maintenance and life support strategies for human space flight.
“This new project is a validation of our ability to develop technology in an area, aerospace, which will certainly have a great impact on our future lives,” said Mario Angelo, CTO of BEEVERYCREATIVE.
Also involved in the project will be German space company Sonaca Space GmbH and Ireland’s Athlone Institute of Technology.
Project Imperial is the latest endeavor to advance in-space 3D printing, a long-term project with many participants that began with the first 3D printer delivered to the ISS in 2014. A lot of the news surrounding 3D printing in space relates to that 3D printer and its follow-up, the Additive Manufacturing Facility, manufactured by Made In Space and sponsored by NASA. While NASA grabs many of the headlines, however, the ESA is plenty busy with the development of 3D printers capable of performing in zero gravity, as demonstrated by Project MELT and now Project Imperial.
Regardless of who is building the 3D printers, however, the fact is that in-space manufacturing is thriving, with 3D printing becoming the go-to technology for creating spare parts, medical supplies, and other needed items for astronauts on board the ISS. In-space 3D printing has come a long way since that first 3D printer was delivered, with ISS printers now capable of printing with engineering-grade materials and growing more advanced with every iteration.
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[Images: BEEVERYCREATIVE]
€500,000 available in Metalysis and ESA space exploration competition
The European Space Agency (ESA) and UK metallurgic company Metalysis have launched a €500,000-reward competition to devise systems that will aid space exploration. The competition is to design a process-monitoring system that works with Metalysis’s existing electrochemical cells. These cells convert refined oxides and ores into metal alloy powders, including those used in 3D printing […]
3D Printing Industry review of the year December 2018
News from the 3D printing world did not slow down in the last month of the calendar. December brought developments in materials, software, and European Space Agency’s ambitious plans for interplanetary missions. Marie the phantom A Louisiana State University student Meagan Moore, 3D printed a full-body phantom (and she named it Marie) which can be […]
3D Printing Industry Review of the Year May 2018
3D printing in May 2018 saw the launch of our second annual 3D Printing Industry Awards (2019 nominations now open) and marked the 10th Anniversary of the RepRap movement. In applications, some of the most popular articles included medical breakthroughs. We were also given the exclusive opportunity to see the latest machines coming to market. […]