The OPTICON A2IM Cookbook: an introduction to additive manufacture for astronomy

Carolyn Atkins; L. G. T. (Bart) van de Vorst; Andrew Conley; Szigfrid Farkas; Emmanuel Hugot; György Mező; Katherine Morris; Mélanie Roulet; Robert M. Snell; Fabio Tenegi-Sanginés; Iain Todd; Afrodisio Vega-Moreno; Hermine Schnetler

doi:10.1117/12.2627244

29 August 2022 The OPTICON A2IM Cookbook: an introduction to additive manufacture for astronomy

Carolyn Atkins, L. G. T. (Bart) van de Vorst, Andrew Conley, Szigfrid Farkas, Emmanuel Hugot, György Mező, Katherine Morris, Mélanie Roulet, Robert M. Snell, Fabio Tenegi-Sanginés, Iain Todd, Afrodisio Vega-Moreno, Hermine Schnetler

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12188, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation V; 121880W (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627244
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

Additive manufacture (AM), also known as 3D printing, builds an object, layer-by-layer, from a digital design file. The primary advantage of the layer-by-layer approach is the increase in design-space, which enables engineers and scientists to create structures and geometries that would not be practical, or possible, via conventional subtractive machining (mill, drill and lathe). AM provides more than prototyping solutions: there are a broad range of materials available (polymers, metals and ceramics); software capable of creating lightweight structures optimised for the physical environment; and numerous bureaux offering AM as a service on a par with subtractive machining. In addition, AM is an ideal method for bespoke, low-count parts, which are often the foundation of astronomical instrumentation. However, AM offers many challenges as well as benefits and, therefore, the goal of the OPTICON A2IM Cookbook is to provide the reader with a resource that outlines the scope of AM and how to adopt it within astronomical hardware, with an emphasis on the fabrication of lightweight mirrors. The Cookbook was an open access deliverable of the EU H2020 funded OPTICON (Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy; grant agreement #730890) A2IM (Additive Astronomy Integrated-component Manufacturing; PI H. Schnetler) work package and it was completed in June 2021. This paper will introduce the Cookbook, its scope and methodology, and highlight the paradigm shift required to design and AM lightweight mirrors for astronomy and space-science.

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Carolyn Atkins, L. G. T. (Bart) van de Vorst, Andrew Conley, Szigfrid Farkas, Emmanuel Hugot, György Mező, Katherine Morris, Mélanie Roulet, Robert M. Snell, Fabio Tenegi-Sanginés, Iain Todd, Afrodisio Vega-Moreno, and Hermine Schnetler "The OPTICON A2IM Cookbook: an introduction to additive manufacture for astronomy", Proc. SPIE 12188, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation V, 121880W (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627244

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