3D Programs, an industry-leading 3D printing firm, is collaborating with researchers from Penn State College and Arizona State College on two NASA-sponsored initiatives aimed toward redefining thermal administration in house. These initiatives sort out the excessive temperature fluctuations that may compromise delicate spacecraft parts, a number one explanation for mission failure.
Leveraging its Direct Metallic Printing (DMP) know-how, tailor-made supplies, and Oqton’s 3DXpert software program, 3D Programs helps engineer next-generation warmth rejection techniques for satellites and exploratory spacecraft.
One undertaking—spearheaded by Penn State, Arizona State, and NASA Glenn Analysis Middle in collaboration with 3D Programs’ Software Innovation Group—focuses on titanium-based warmth pipe radiators. Additively manufactured with embedded high-temperature passive warmth pipes, these parts are 50% lighter and function at greater temperatures than present options, bettering warmth radiation in high-power techniques.
The second initiative, led by Penn State and NASA Glenn, pushes even additional by producing one of many first purposeful components in nickel-titanium (nitinol) form reminiscence alloy (SMA). These radiators deploy passively when heated, eliminating the necessity for motors or actuators in house. The SMA radiator’s deployed-to-stowed space ratio is 6× larger than typical options, a leap ahead for CubeSats and small-scale missions.
Historically, warmth pipes require complicated manufacturing to create inner wick constructions. Right here, the analysis group embedded a porous community straight into the pipe partitions utilizing 3DXpert software program and printed them monolithically in titanium and nitinol utilizing DMP. The titanium-water warmth pipes functioned reliably at 230°C and weighed simply 3 kg/m²—half the load of normal fashions—assembly NASA’s efficiency and cost-to-launch benchmarks.
The SMA radiators provide equally transformative features: 70% lighter (<6 kg/m² vs. 19 kg/m²) and a 12× deployed-to-stowed space ratio. Their shape-memory habits permits them to activate with inner fluid warmth, enabling actuation-free deployment.
“Our long-standing R&D partnership with 3D Programs has enabled pioneering analysis for using 3D printing for aerospace functions,” mentioned Alex Rattner, affiliate professor at Penn State.
3D Programs has already delivered over 2,000 structural parts and 200 passive RF components at present in flight, with {hardware} built-in into greater than 15 lively satellites.