How can additive manufacturing be introduced in compliance with Industry Standards?

Meeting industry standards is a significant challenge in industrial production. Additive Manufacturing (AM) can accelerate, simplify, or even uniquely enable compliance. However, successful implementation of additive technologies requires consideration of standard requirements throughout the entire production process.

The project, AM Maturation, was initiated and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the General Support Technology Programme (ESA GSTP contract No. 4000125275/18/NL/AR/zk.). The objective was to mature the design, manufacturing, and validation rules and processes for additively manufactured structural parts that could be used on satellite platforms and instruments. 

Fraunhofer IAPT and OHB, a global player in the international space industry, have developed a a robust AM process chain. Three parts of increasing complexity demonstrate the viability of the process chain. These parts illustrate the specific advantages of Powder Bed Fusion with Laser Beam Melting (PBF-LB/M) as a mature and reliable production technology.

Main Achievements:

• Development of design and AM workflow to produce AM parts for space
• Shorter lead times
• Lightweight parts with functional integration