Using lunar waste to print parts, Incus and the European Space Agency cooperate to unlock new capabilities in the light-curing LMM process

October 10, 2021, Austrian engineering companies and OEM start-upsIncusAlready with EuropeaerospaceThe bureau has established a cooperative relationship to explore how to process scrap metal on the surface of the moon into a lunar station3D printingspare parts.ceramics3D printingexpertLithozAnd OHB System, a subsidiary of German space and technology group OHB SE, will also participate in this 18-month project. During this period, the partners will jointly develop and test Incus’s lithography-based metal manufacturing (LMM) in a microgravity environment3D printingTechnology, and evaluate the feasibility of processing scrap metal available on the surface of the moon to produce high-quality terminal spare parts.

Dr. Gerald Mitteramskogler, Chief Executive Officer of Incus, said: “Incus is very pleased to be a part of this project. This will be an excellent opportunity for us to test the practical performance of LMM technology in space. Our solution can be very satisfying here. The challenging requirements of producing parts in this environment”.

△ Produced by LMM3D printingpart. Photo courtesy of Incus.

Incus’ LMM technology

Incus was established in 2019 from Lithoz’s R&D laboratory as AM VenturesinvestThe members of the combination are3D printingAward-winning investor in technology.The company’s LMM technology is based on vat polymerization technologies such as stereolithography (SLA) and digital light processing (DLP), but unlike these processes, the cured material contains metal particles. The printed parts are then degummed and sintered to form solid metal parts. Incus’ technology can handle non-weldable metals, and can handle metal particles as small as 20 micronsResin material.existFormnext In 2019, Incus launched its flagship metal3D printingMachine Hammer Lab35, which uses the LMM process.This machine is designed to meet the3D printingThe growing demand for craftsmanship can provide complex geometries for functional prototypes and pre-series manufacturing.

After announcing the first release in March 2020, Incus entered mass production of the machine at the beginning of this year and continues to expand its customer base.

△HammerLab35 3D printingmachine. Image courtesy of Incus.

Use lunar scrap3D printingParts

On earth, Incus’s LMM process produces3D printingThe parts have excellent surface finish and have similar material properties to parts made by metal injection molding. Now, thanks to the latest additions from ESA, Lithoz and OHB, the capabilities of this process will be explored in a microgravity environment.

The maintenance of lunar base stations requires continuous supply of goods, research materials and equipment. In addition, spare parts are needed to prevent individual components from failing during the mission.
The need for self-sufficiency in this task has prompted ESA to seek the feasibility of using existing lunar surface materials such as production waste and scrap parts. Being able to use this resource to manufacture on-board and on-demand spare parts for lunar spacecraft and space stations will help greatly reduce the cost and quantity of cargo missions departing from the earth, while minimizing production waste.

Dr. Martina Meisnar, materials and process engineer at the European Space Agency, said: “Extra-terrestrial manufacturing is a very interesting topic, and the European Space Agency is exploring vigorously. Their goal is to perfect these manufacturing concepts so that they can be displayed on Earth and eventually in space. Get implemented.”

△The project workflow that the partners hope to carry out in the next 18 months. Picture from Incus.

Incus’ LMM technology was selected for this project because of its ability to produce spare parts from recycled metal scrap.The partners hope that this ability may be applied to the moon.
mineral powder
Of recycling.
At the same time, the LMM process uses pastes or suspensions as raw materials and does not rely on the use of highly spherical gas atomized powders or supporting structures. On the contrary, the parts printed by this method are separated by a demolding process, no time-consuming manual rework is required, and it is also very safe for the operator.
Dr. Martin Schwentenwein, Director of Material Development at Lithoz, said: “The lithography technology developed by Incus and Lithoz allows high-precision3D printingCombined with high-performance metals and ceramics, while still maintaining extremely high resource efficiency. Although these concepts have been successfully demonstrated on the earth, the activities of such projects are essential to fill the technological gap and realize additive manufacturing in the space environment.”

The ultimate goal of the cooperative project is to evaluate how the scrap metal available on the surface of the moon can be processed by LMM, and plan to produce high-quality parts with zero waste. In 18 months, the partners will explore the limitations of the space environment, such as the potential contamination of metal powder by moon dust, and how it will affect the printing process.The collaborative project will also evaluate the impact of impurities on sintering and the results of the final microstructure of the printed parts to determine the best amount and type of binder for the LMM process under microgravity conditions. Through this, the partners will seek to develop a sustainable manufacturing chain in space for component production.

Antonella Sgambati of OHB Systems Human Aerospace Systems said: “By using existing lunar surface materials and recycling scrap metals from the lunar base, we can reduce the possibility of our dependence on the earth. This concept also represents the only way to ensure the sustainable settlement of the moon. Solution. This project and this novel LMM process will be an important step for moon settlement to become a reality, because this technology has the opportunity to successfully operate in space.”

△ Produced by LMM process3D printingpart. Photo courtesy of Incus.

Using space materials3D printing

In recent years, aerospace agencies of many countries have become more interested in additive manufacturing because they want to establish a permanent residence on the moon. Therefore, research work on how to use on-site materials (such as recycled stone) to produce lunar structures is also escalating.For example, as part of the MOONRISE project, scientists from the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Hannover Laser Center have explored the use of lunar gravel in zero gravity conditions.3D printingFeasibility.And headquartered in TexasarchitectureThe company ICON recently won a NASA contract to seek to develop an unconventional space structure that can be printed with gravel.3D printingMachine prototype.

In other places, the Russian Space Agency has also tested the use of on-site lunar materials.3D printingstructure.Recently, NASA launched a study from mission-critical space systems expert Redwire to the International Space Station. The purpose of this study is to determine3D printingThe feasibility of Thunderstone’s on-demand construction of the moon structure.

(Editor in charge: admin)

Using lunar waste to print parts, Incus and the European Space Agency cooperate to unlock new capabilities in the light-curing LMM process

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