Speaker
Description
While additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) is a very attractive method for fabricating mechanical structures, so far it is finding very limited application in the field of astronomical instrumentation. Today, even structures in high yield strength metallic alloys can be manufactured and the method doesallow for arbitrarily complex 3D geometries. The mode of fabrication is most suitable for one-of-a-kind type of designs. Both, complex geometries, and single prototypic implementations, are prevalent in astronomical instruments. Further, the design process naturally aims at lightweight structures because, as opposed to classical milling, the cost is in material that is added rather than in what is being removed. This also is a great advantage, as weight is commonly a limitation for instruments attached to a moving telescope structures or a space probe. Ultimately, we see the reason for the relatively limited use in the still very conservative system engineering approach in astronomy. We approached the company APWORKS in the south of Munich and initiated a project to redesign a mirror mount to be 3D printed in two different alloys. We will test the mount thoroughly for opto-mechanical stability under temperature variations down to the 77K and compare with its classically machined counterpart. Ultimately, we plan to deploy the mount at the Wendelstein 2m telescope. The mechanical redesign, using bionic algorithms for light-weighting, has now been completed by APWORKS, andthe parts are currently being manufactured. We will give a status update, show the design evolution and present the plans for the future testing.
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