Made In Space is
sending the first ceramic manufacturing facility in space to the ISS next
week
In-space manufacturing company Made
In Space is pushing the envelope on what can, well, be made
in space with its next mission -- which is set to launch aboard a Northrop
Grumman International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission set for next
Tuesday. Aboard that launch will be Made In Space's Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing
Module (aka CMM), a commercial ceramic turbine blisk manufacturing device
that uses 3D printing technology to produce detailed parts that require a
high degree of production accuracy.
A turbine blisk is a combo rotor disk/blade array that is used primarily in
engines used in the aerospace industry. Making them involves using additive
manufacturing to craft them as a single component, and the purpose of this
mission is to provide a proof-of-concept about the viability of doing that in
a microgravity environment. Gravity can actually introduce defects into
ceramic blisks manufactured on Earth, because of the way that material can
settle, leading to sedimentation, for instance. Producing them in
microgravity could mean lower error rates overall, and a higher possible
degree of precision for making finely detailed designs.
Made In Space, which was acquired earlier this year by new commercial space
supply parent company Redwire, has been at the forefront of creating and
deploying 3D printing technologies in space, particularly through its
partnership with the International Space Station. The goal of the company is
to demonstrate the commercial benefits of in-space manufacturing, and to
commercialize the technology in order to create tangible benefits for a number
of industries right here on Earth.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/made-space-sending-first-ceramic-130125361.html
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