French 3D printing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and service provider 3DCeram has been selected as the official supplier of French space propulsion manufacturer ThrustMe to supply 3D printed ceramic parts for its space propulsion system.
ThrustMe will now seek to leverage 3DCeram's expertise in ceramic additive manufacturing and tap into the potential of ceramic materials for aerospace applications. ThrustMe's approach to 3D printing ceramics aims to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing materials and techniques. The company claims that ceramic additive manufacturing offers a more compact, efficient and reliable solution than traditional manufacturing.
3DCeram Sales Representative Arnaud Roux commented: "For 3DCeram, we are proud of our partnership with ThrustMe, as the successful launch of a 3D printed ceramic component into space marks a major milestone in the application of additive manufacturing. It also marks a A new era in which complex and custom parts can be efficiently produced goes beyond traditional manufacturing constraints. This major advance not only validates the viability of 3D printing as a production tool, but inspires us to go further and unlock the vast possibilities of the future."
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△3DCeram 3D printer. Photo via 3DCeram.
ThrustMe turns to additive manufacturing
Founded in 2017, ThrustMe has become one of the key players in the new space space, specializing in the miniaturization of electric propulsion systems.
The "new space" era refers to the latest developments and advancements in the space industry driven by private companies. According to Elena Zorzolli Rossi, Product Manager at ThrustMe, the commercialization of space is being driven by rapid technological progress. Zorzolli Rossi claims that companies need to take more risks, iterate quickly and try new ideas to further develop the space industry. Zorzolli Rossi added: "The entire production chain needs to be ready to meet new space costs or delivery times."
In 2020, ThrustMe successfully demonstrated the world's first iodine-fueled electric propulsion system in space. ThrustMe now supplies primarily to major satellite launchers and has opened a new production facility capable of producing 365 products per year.
According to Zorzolli Rossi, after a long research and exploration, ThrustMe chose to use 3D printing to manufacture specific parts in the thruster. This decision took into account many factors that make additive manufacturing superior to traditional manufacturing methods.
Zorzolli Rossi explains: "First of all, the aerospace industry often needs to produce complex shapes that cannot be easily obtained by traditional machining methods. At ThrustMe, we not only talk about complexity, but also about miniaturization, which is the key to our product development requirements. In this case, 3D printing offers a transformative solution to create specific designs with the precision we need.”
Additionally, the versatility of 3D printing is cited as a key advantage, allowing companies to iterate and refine designs quickly without incurring significant costs or lead times.
Zorzolli Rossi said: "Traditional manufacturing processes often involve the creation of molds or tooling, which can be time-consuming and expensive. With 3D printing, we can rapidly produce prototypes and iterate designs with minimal setup time, facilitating a more flexible development process and speed up our time to market.”
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△ThrustMe aerospace components. Photo via ThrustMe.
Why use ceramics?
Zorzolli Rossi said: "We thoroughly evaluated several factors before choosing a ceramic material. The use of ceramics takes into account several key factors related to the harsh space environment such as vacuum and extreme temperature ranges, as well as iodine plasma Specific features of bulk propulsion systems (e.g. high energy flux of elementary particles, secondary emission, intense sputtering and reactive ion etching)."
Ultimately, a key consideration influencing this decision has to do with the environment in which the target component will run. Zorzolli Ross explains: “Some of our components are exposed to high temperatures in chemically active plasma environments and require materials with excellent thermal and chemical resistance. the most appropriate choice.”
The broad thermal conductivity of ceramics also makes them an attractive option. In fact, efficient heat transfer and thermal isolation are critical to ThrustMe's components. This helps direct heat flux efficiently and prevents overheating or cooling. Ceramics have a wide range of conductive properties, allowing selective heat transfer and ensuring optimum performance of these products.
The electrical properties of ceramics also played an important role in ThrustMe's material selection process. Zorzolli Ross said: "Our components needed a material that could effectively isolate and prevent high voltage electrical breakdown. Ceramics have excellent electrical isolation properties, making them ideal for meeting our stringent requirements in this regard."
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△ThrustMe aerospace parts. Photo via ThrustMe.
Space Ceramics 3D Printing
Last year, the French Space Agency announced that it was researching the application of ceramic 3D printing in the optimization of space subsystems. Specifically, the researchers evaluated how 3D printing oxide ceramic materials could improve the design of key subsystems for space propulsion.
This study highlights that optimized yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) xerogels provide desirable strength and creep resistance properties when 3D printed into complex shapes. Thus, 3D printed YAG ceramics could be used to form the basis of metal alloys used in future turbine blades for deep space exploration.
Additionally, the International Space Station (ISS) is equipped with MadeIn Space's ceramic additive manufacturing facility, the Turbo Ceramic Manufacturing Module (CMM). This module includes an SLA 3D printer to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a one-piece ceramic turbine component in a microgravity environment. It is said to be the first SLA 3D printer to operate in orbit.
