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• UK-based 3D printing company Photocentric has spun out its space manufacturing activities into a separate business called CosmicMaker, after the successful demonstration of its 3D printing technology aboard a series...
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UK-based 3D printing company Photocentric has spun out its space manufacturing activities into a separate business called CosmicMaker, after the successful demonstration of its 3D printing technology aboard a series of parabolic flights designed to simulate microgravity.
The spinout follows a series of test flights in April aboard Novespace’s Airbus A310 Zero G aircraft, during which three CosmicMaker 3D printers produced parts while the aircraft cycled between roughly 22-second periods of microgravity and higher-gravity periods ranging from 0g to 2g.
According to the company, all three printers functioned throughout the flights and successfully produced parts using four different materials, including silicon carbide, alumina, and two thermoset polymers. The resulting components were rep