News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Aerospace startup Relativity Space has been granted a new patent for its autonomous 3D printing technology. The patent covers the company’s innovative machine-learning metal additive manufacturing platform which it leverages to produce rockets and launch vehicles for space.
Airbus will stop production of its giant Airbus A380 models due to low demand for the huge and hugely expensive aircraft. This is not something directly related to 3D printing but it does affect the AM industry indirectly as Airbus is Europe’s largest user of AM technologies and the A380 did feature a number of 3D printed parts.
Typically, when one thinks of additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry, it is of cutting edge metal AM technologies, used to fabricate complex parts. However, the vast number of applications within the aerospace field also calls for other AM processes, including FDM polymer capabilities. To fulfill this need, leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus has partnered with desktop 3D printing company Ultimaker.
British aerospace company Orbex has flown slightly under the radar when it comes to additive manufacturing. Until now, that is. The company has revealed that it manufactured the world’s largest metal rocket engine 3D printed in a single piece. The Orbex launcher was 3D printed using the SLM800 metal 3D printer from German AM company SLM Solutions.
NASA astronauts have reportedly installed the first combination 3D printer and plastic recycling system aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The device, called the Refabricator, was developed by Tethers Unlimited and will enable astronauts to not only 3D print in space but also recycle and reuse plastic materials.
Airbus and Dassault Systèmes have signed a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to cooperate on the implementation of collaborative 3D design, engineering, manufacturing, simulation and intelligence applications. This will enable Airbus to take a major step forward in its digital transformation and lay the foundation for a new European industrial ecosystem in aviation.
Thermwood has produced what could very well be the largest 3D printed autoclave tool for a helicopter ever made. The project, realized through a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Bell, utilized Thermwood’s LSAM 60 mm melt core technology and reinforces AM’s applications in mold production.
NASA Nebraska Space Grant office provided funding to examine the development, validation, and mechanically characterization of antimicrobial 3D printed medical devices for astronauts. The objective is to test the antimicrobial properties of Copper3D’s PLACTIVE filament material on the International Space Station.
At this point, we all know that additive manufacturing is a go-to technology for prototyping. Still, that doesn’t mean we don’t like hearing about case studies, especially when they’re as interesting as this one. CRP Technology, an Italian developer of 3D printing materials, and Leonardo Helicopter Division 3D printed a model of the LEONARDO tiltrotor AW609 aircraft for wind tunnel testing. The impressive test model was 3D printed using CRP’s high-performance Windform composites and selective laser sintering (SLS).
OHB System AG, a leading European space company and a subsidiary of tech group OHB SE, signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a large-format 3D printer destined for the International Space Station (ISS). The 3D printer, to be used with high performance thermoplastics, will be developed through a OHB System-led consortium consisting of German space company Sonaca Space GmbH, Portuguese 3D printing company BEEVERYCREATIVE and Ireland’s Athlone Institute of Technology.