Twin robotic arms work together as part of a project to construct what will be the largest, most complex object ever 3D printed in titanium: a test version of the 3-m diameter ‘optic bench’ at the heart of ESA’s Athena X-ray observatory.
第一个多轴机器人臂使用激光融化钛粉末来建立每一层金属。然后，第二个机器人臂立即使用低温冷却的铣削工具切除了所有缺陷。板凳本身被放置在缓慢移动的3.4米直径转盘上。
“ESA has teamed up with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology for this exploratory activity,” explains ESA materials and processes engineer Johannes Gumpinger. “The final design of Athena’s optic bench is still to be decided, but if it will be built in titanium then its size and complexity is such that it could not be built in any other way.”
由于在2031年推出，ESA的雅典娜任务将比以前的X射线任务深10到100倍，以观察最热，高能量的天体物体。
The mission requires entirely new X-ray optics technology, with stacks of ‘mirror modules’ arranged carefully to capture and focus high-energy X-rays.
The optic bench aligns and secures around 750 mirror modules in a complex structure with many deep pockets that tapers out to a maximum height of 30 cm. Its overall shape needs to be precise down to a scale of a few tens of micrometres – or thousandths of a centimetre.
安德烈·塞德尔（AndréSeidel）在Fraunhofer材料和梁技术研究所（Fraunhofer Institute for Fraunhofer Institute）监督该项目时说：“光学台的复杂性需要在打印后立即进行铣削。”“任何随后的修改都可能有可能引入污染，从而削弱空间质量的钛。
“Similarly, the entire process has been designed to minimise any risk of contamination. The titanium powder is swept into the laser using the noble gas argon that also prevents any contamination with air. And the milling tool is kept cool using liquid carbon dioxide that evaporates as it warms up, preventing any harmful deposition on the freshly-laid metal surface.”
精密传感器立即检测到铣削或更广泛维修的任何耐受性元素 - 包括铣削以重印。
Smaller segments have been manufactured so far, with a 1.5-m diameter demonstrator optic bench set to follow. The full scale 3-m bench is expected to take about a year to produce.
“It will be a huge task, taking a lot of time and energy,” adds Johannes. “But if we manage it, it will be the largest titanium object ever 3D printed – and the process will be available to manufacture other large parts, potentially in other metals.”
作为该机构高级制造计划的一部分，通过ESA的技术开发元素来支持该项目，利用了空间行业的新颖材料和流程。
Last month more than 150 experts from all across Europe met at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands to share the latest results from ESA Advanced Manufacturing projects covering topics including 3D printing and the latest composite materials as well as friction stir-welding.
Filed Under:3D printing • additive manufacturing • stereolithography,Rapid prototyping
