Amiga Engineering partners with Australian SME for AM space components
December 21, 2021
Over the past eighteen months, Amiga Engineering Pty Ltd, Tullamarine, Australia, has been working with Gilmour Space Technologies, Helensvale, Australia, to develop additively manufactured metal components for its launch vehicle.
Amiga was selected so the launch services company could leverage its Design for AM (DfAM) experience and make use of its suite of AM machines and in-house CNC machining shop. The company offers know-how and expertise in finding solutions to technical issues around the Additive Manufacturing and final machining of complex designs.
The growth of Gilmour Space in Australia, with their development of and sovereign manufacturing capability in hybrid rockets and other space technologies, is said to have been instrumental in helping Australian SMEs enter the global space sector.
Amiga Engineering is reputed to have the largest service bureau for AM in Australia, with a full suite of metal and polymer AM machines, including Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machines from 3D Systems, Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA. These were chosen by Amiga due to the low ppm (parts per million) of oxygen content compared to other brands of metal AM machines. Low oxygen content is said to provide denser parts with the least porous finish and amount of post-processing involved.
