Enabling the 3D Printing of Metal Components in µ‐Gravity

Abstract: As humanity contemplates manned missions to Mars, strategies need to be developed for the design and operation of hospitable environments to safely work in space for years. The supply of spare parts for repair and replacement of lost equipment will be one key need, but in‐space manufacturing remains the only option for a timely supply. With high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready‐to‐use components directly from a computer‐aided model, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies appear extremely attractive. For the manufacturing of metal parts, laser‐beam melting is the most widely used AM process. However, the handling of metal powders in the absence of gravity is one prerequisite for its successful application in space. A gas flow throughout the powder bed is successfully applied to compensate for missing gravitational forces in microgravity experiments. This so‐called gas‐flow‐assisted powder deposition is based on a porous building platform acting as a filter for the fixation of metal particles in a gas flow driven by a pressure difference maintained by a vacuum pump.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Enabling the 3D Printing of Metal Components in µ‐Gravity ; volume:4 ; number:10 ; year:2019 ; extent:11 ; Advanced Materials Technologies ; 4, Heft 10 (2019) (gesamt 11)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Zocca, Andrea ; Lüchtenborg, Jörg ; Mühler, Thomas ; Wilbig, Janka ; Mohr, Gunther ; Villatte, Thomas ; Léonard, Fabien ; Nolze, Gert ; Sparenberg, Marc ; Melcher, Jörg ; Hilgenberg, Kai ; Günster, Jens

Further information

• DOI: 10.1002/admt.201900506
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022071307441240479995
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:23 AM CEST