By Melissa Donovan
Long-term partnerships between vendors and their customers are beneficial for a number of reasons on both sides of the table. Especially in the ever-changing three-dimensional (3D) printing industry, a customer willing to test out new ideas in the interest of advancing technology is always a good opportunity for a vendor to leverage.
Communicating through Satellite
Thales Alenia Space, based in Toulouse, France, is an aerospace supplier with 7,500 employees in eight countries. It specializes in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration, and orbital infrastructures.
Back in 2016, it turned to 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing team in Belgium for direct metal printing (DMP) of antenna brackets for a geostationary telecommunications satellite. 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing team is a 3D design-to-manufacturing service. It offers companies like Thales Alenia Space instant online quoting, expertise in 3D design and printing, and proven post-machining support in order to deliver validated flight parts.
Together, the two companies applied topological optimization to the 3D printing process. This enabled them to determine the most efficient material layout while meeting the exact performance specifications of the part. Topological optimization takes into consideration important factors such as the given space allowed, loads that need to be handled, boundary conditions, and other critical engineering factors.
The final layout was four-fold, as each of the four brackets for the satellite required an individual design. All four were printed on a 3D Systems ProX DMP 320 machine using LaserForm Ti Gr5 (A) filament.
The ProX DMP 320 is designed for high precision, high throughput DMP and optimized for critical applications requiring complex, chemically-pure titanium, stainless steel, or nickel super alloy parts. With exchangeable manufacturing modules, the ProX DMP 320 supports rapid material change or replenishment, allowing manufacturers to keep pace with demanding production cycles and enabling efficient powder recycling. The printer also features preset build parameters developed from the outcome of nearly half-a-million builds, providing predictable and repeatable print quality for virtually any geometry.
The ProX DMP 320 offers a large 275x275x420 millimeter (mm) build volume. Designed to enable critical industrial applications, including those in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare, the ProX DMP 320 comes in two configurations—one optimized for titanium and one for stainless steel and nickel super alloy. With centralized maintenance management, reduced argon gas consumption, and serial manufacturing workflow support, the ProX DMP 320 also offers competitive operating cost advantages.
Using the ProX DMP 320, Thales Alenia Space cut the manufacturing time of the brackets in half compared to conventional practices. In addition, producing the 190x230x290 mm bracket with DMP and titanium meant the final product was 25 percent lighter than those manufactured via traditional means.
Additionally, production costs and total time from order to shipping was reduced. This includes file preparation, 3D printing, heat treatment, finishing, CNC milling, quality control analysis, cleaning, and data traceability. In all the process took four to five weeks, compared to the typical ten weeks.
Aerospace Today
With the help of 3D Systems’ On Demand Manufacturing team in Belgium, Thales Alenia Space proves that DMP is qualified and fully available for titanium-based aerospace applications. Today, 80 percent of the metal parts used in satellites are produced using 3D printing practices.
Apr2020, Industrial Print Magazine