NASA HUNCH selects Elementum 3D as material supplier for lunar Additive Manufacturing project
Elementum 3D, based in Erie, Colorado, USA, reports it has been selected as the official Additive Manufacturing material supplier for NASA’s HUNCH programme. HUNCH (High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware) has been established to challenge US high school students to design and fabricate real-world valued products for NASA.
One of the projects is to design, additively manufacture, and test a stake that will be used to anchor tarps to the surface of the moon. The tarps will act as a pathway, helping to reduce the amount of dust astronauts generate when walking on the moon’s surface.
Under the Lunar Additive Manufacturing project, the stake designs are judged on the amount of material used to additively manufacture a high-strength, lightweight aluminium part, using the least amount of support material to successfully manufacture the design. The stake will be tested on its ability to be drilled into a lunar regolith simulant, measuring how much force is needed to pull the 15 cm-long stakes out of the mortar mix used to simulate the moon’s surface.
The project is now in its final stage, with the judges narrowing the designs to six high schools. Elementum 3D additively manufactured the designs using its A6061-RAM2 aluminium powder. A6061-RAM2 is a general-purpose AM aluminium alloy said to feature a good combination of ductility, strength, and thermal conductivity.
The Lunar Additive Manufacturing project is just one of many that fall under the HUNCH programme mission, which aims to empower and inspire students through project-based learning programmes.
nasahunch.com/
www.elementum3d.com
