China3D printingNet July 7th, ceramic expert CeramTec has successfully produced a new generation of ceramic sample containers for the space experiment facility of the International Space Station (ISS), as part of a project alliance with Airbus Defense and Space Corporation and European Space Agency and other institutions .
These containers began their journey to the International Space Station on SpaceX-22 in June and will be used to facilitate the accurate measurement of certain thermophysical properties of metals, alloys and semiconductors, which is impossible on Earth.
The goal of this research is to expand our understanding of the early stages of how material structures are formed in order to improve production and casting processes on Earth.
Sample room with sample rack. The photo is from Airbus.
CeramTec’s technical capabilities
CeramTec has developed, manufactured and supplied technical ceramics for more than a century and is a global leader in this field. The number of products exceeds 10,000. The company’s products are widely used in industries ranging from medical engineering and automobiles to electronics, energy and environmental engineering.
Although most of CeramTec’s product portfolio is not directly related to 3D printing, the company recently emphasized the importance of product diversification when it released its fiscal year 2020 financial report, partly due to several upcoming international 3D printing activities. project.
The company has entered the field of 3D printing this year, launching ROCAR 3D printing powders that are said to have similar properties to silicon carbide, and released its CeramCreator tool to help customers simplify the process chain and shorten the quotation process.
Last month, CeramTec successfully tested the cooling capacity of a new electric vehicle power semiconductor module developed in cooperation with Fraunhofer IISB. The company’s latest ceramic products are designed to thermally regulate the drive inverters of electric vehicles.
CeramTec’s ISS sample container. Picture from CeramTec.
Develop sample containers for space
CeramTec has been working with Airbus and other partners in the project alliance to produce experimental sample containers as complex components and manufacture them at its plant in Plochingen, Germany.
Installed on the International Space Station for the first time in 2017, the tank-type sample holder and the cage-type sample holder are made of silicon nitride and are used in the electromagnetic levitation device (EML) of the space station, which is a multi-functional research facility for natural science experiments .
In EML, the sample container is placed in a coil, and the metal alloy sample is fixed in the coil in a non-contact manner through an electromagnetic field while being suspended in zero gravity.
Now, the consortium has produced a new generation of sample containers made of silicon nitride. Ceramic material is particularly suitable for this purpose, because it has no electrical conductivity and prevents external influences on the measurement. The material also has the required high heat resistance and can withstand the temperature of a measurement cycle between 500 and 2,100 degrees Celsius.
The sample melts, cools, and then solidifies again in a liquid state, enabling accurate measurement of certain thermophysical properties of metals, alloys, and semiconductors that cannot be achieved on earth. This allows the ISS team to analyze the early formation of material structures to expand our understanding of transition processes, atomic structure, and material properties.
Ultimately, it is hoped that the material properties measured in space will allow us to improve production and casting processes on Earth. The knowledge gained in the experiment will be used to improve the quality of these processes while reducing the cost of high-tech castings, thereby improving manufacturing methods, improving and redeveloping materials and products.
The company stated that CeramTec’s latest generation of sample containers began taking SpaceX-22 to the International Space Station in June and will support further research activities in space.
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