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The
European Space Agency has unveiled plans to "take 3D printing into the
metal age" by building parts for jets, spacecraft and fusion projects.
The Amaze
project brings together 28 institutions to develop new metal components which
are lighter, stronger and cheaper than conventional parts.
Additive
manufacturing (or "3D printing") has already revolutionised the
design of plastic products.
Printing
metal parts for rockets and planes would cut waste and save money.
The layered
method of assembly also allows intricate designs - geometries which are impossible
to achieve with conventional metal casting.
Parts for
cars and satellites can be optimised to be lighter and - simultaneously -
incredibly robust.
Tungsten
alloy components that can withstand temperatures of 3,000C were unveiled at
Amaze's launch on Tuesday at London Science Museum.
At such
extreme temperatures they can survive inside nuclear fusion reactors and on the
nozzles of rockets.
"We
want to build the best quality metal products ever made. Objects you can't
possibly manufacture any other way," said David Jarvis, Esa's head of new
materials and energy research.
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| Hinges for the Airbus A320 - conventional (background) and 3D printed (foreground) |
"To
build a [fusion reactor], like Iter, you somehow have to take the heat of the
Sun and put it in a metal box.
"3,000C
is as hot as you can imagine for engineering.
"If we
can get 3D metal printing to work, we are well on the way to commercial nuclear
fusion."
Amaze is a
loose acronym for Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and
Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products.
The
20m-euro project brings together 28 partners from European industry and
academia - including Airbus, Astrium, Norsk Titanium, Cranfield University,
EADS, and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
Factory
sites are being set up in France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK to develop
the industrial supply chain.
Amaze
researchers have already begun printing metal jet engine parts and aeroplane
wing sections up to 2m in size.
These
high-strength components are typically built from expensive, exotic metals such
as titanium, tantalum and vanadium.
Using
traditional casting techniques often wastes precious source material.
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| Iter - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor |
Additive
manufacturing - building parts up layer-on-layer from 3D digital data -
produces almost "zero waste".
"To
produce one kilo of metal, you use one kilo of metal - not 20 kilos," says
Esa's Franco Ongaro.
"We
need to clean up our act - the space industry needs to be more green. And this
technique will help us."
Printing
objects as a single piece - without welding or bolting - can make them both
stronger and lighter.
A weight
reduction of even 1kg for a long range aircraft will save hundred of thousands
of dollars over its lifespan.
"Our
ultimate aim is to print a satellite in a single piece. One chunk of metal,
that doesn't need to be welded or bolted," said Jarvis.
"To do
that would save 50% of the costs - millions of euros."
But Jarvis
is candid about the problems and inefficiencies that still need to be overcome
- what he calls the "dirty secrets" of 3D printing.
"One
common problem is porosity - small air bubbles in the product. Rough surface
finishing is an issue too," he said.
"We
need to understand these defects and eliminate them - if we want to achieve
industrial quality.
"And
we need to make the process repeatable - scale it up.
"We
can't do all this unless we collaborate between industries - space, fusion,
aeronautics.
"We
need all these teams working together and sharing."
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