Nebula Public Library

The knowledge bank of ESA’s R&D programmes

Format: 2023
Format: 2023
Format: 2023

223 results found
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Within the domain of smart manufacturing, the acquisition of data is of fundamental importance. There is clearly a need to extract as much information from the manufacturing process as possible (big data) through the use of sensor technology and in line process monitoring. There are a wide range of sensors which are commercially available which are used in a number of manufacturing sectors (automotive, aerospace, etc). Types of sensors include temperature, pressure, strain, and acoustics.
 

Luxembourg

GSTP

GT1A-319MS

MAANA ELECTRIC SA

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Space thermal engineering relies heavily on numerical models and test data for the
design and verification of products and vehicles. However, the numerical models can
require too much computing resources to be effective for certain activities, such as
design optimisation or worst-case assessment. The use of surrogate models to

United Kingdom

TDE

T721-B17MT

THINKTANK MATHS LIMITED

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In the previous activity GSTP de-risk activity the use of Additive Manufacturing technology for the manufacturing of antennas for high temperature applications was proven feasible, allowing mass and cost reduction in the final part. Additionally the RF performance showed promising results, despite of the inherent the geometrical deviations and a rough surface finish.
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Germany

GSTP

GT1A-009MS

HPS GMBH

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Achievements and status: 

  • Both cylinders have been manufactured up to spec and shipped to the end-user. 
  • Both cylinders have been accepted by the end-user

 

Benefits: 

  • Tailored lattice design parameters to optimise the design for the defined load cases. 
  • Mass savings in comparison to traditional monolithic designs of around 50% (of the composite part, without mounted equipment)

Netherlands

GSTP

GT27-172MS

ATG EUROPE B.V.

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The project included the design, fabrication, and characterization of key components such as transmission lines, resonators, and third-order filters in GGW technology. These components were manufactured using 3D screen printing and then subjected to rigorous testing to validate their electrical and geometric properties. A key technical challenge was to maintain dimensional tolerances within ±15 µm and surface roughness (Ra) below 3 µm to ensure optimal performance at high frequencies.

Germany

GSTP

G617-241TAjf

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

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4D printing is an emerging technology where a ?smart material? can respond in a pre-programmed way to an external stimuli. Significant advances in computer aided design, additive manufacturing and materials science have opened up the possibilities of self-assembly systems, self-healing and material property alterations. 3D printing layer by layer allows complex geometries to be built, with multi-functional properties. The current materials capable of ?4D printing?

Austria

TDE

T724-603QE

RHP-TECHNOLOGY GMBH

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Satellites have an outer skin of multilayer insulation blankets layer that is needed to control the thermal balance of the spacecraft (S/C).
These blankets need to be fixed to the S/C structure to withstand launch loads and provide the required thermal performance taking into account field-of-views of instruments and other payloads as well as access constraints.
 

Austria

GSTP

GT17-017MT

RUAG SPACE GMBH

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The PhaNi-Neutron project, conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS,
focused on the phase and strain monitoring during the laser based direct energy deposition (DED-LB/M) of
Ni-superalloys using in-situ neutron and synchrotron diffraction techniques. The project aimed to enhance
the understanding of the solidification processes and phase evolution in additive manufacturing, specifically for the nickel superalloys IN718 and IN625.

Germany

GSTP

G617-241TAht

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

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Several AM parts have now been flown in-space and system level studies point to many other interesting possible applications, not yet realized using this manufacturing technology. So far, AM has not reached a maturity level allowing an industrially-satisfactory reduction of tests and verifications to be performed when going toward the qualification of a part. This activity will gear changes in this direction. The approach is to perform the design, manufacturing and test of at least three different parts with increasing complexity (and increasing functionality):
 

Germany

GSTP

GT1A-001MS

OHB System AG

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One current research in industrial robots is the development of mechanisms based on parallel kinematics, with flexible elements instead of rigid bars. This allows fast robots to operate close to humans or other robots, with reduced risk of damage in case of collision.Future robotic exploration will benefit from the advantages of parallel kinematics and flexibility of its elements, such advantages being notably:- For parallel kinematics: actuators can be placed inside the robot, hence protected from the environment.

Germany

TDE

T315-701MS

Airbus Defence and Space GmbH

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