The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Design for additive manufacturing in the context of CubeSat primary structures

Design for additive manufacturing in the context of CubeSat primary structures
Design for additive manufacturing in the context of CubeSat primary structures
This paper investigates the effects of additive manufacturing (AM) on the design, structural performance, manufacturing process and cost of CubeSat primary structures. The motivation of the paper isto arrive at a structure that can outperform classic CubeSat designs, at a lower production cost thatrelies on a shorter manufacturing time. Small satellites are intended to be an affordable alternative to fullscale satellites for Universities to design and build, and more recently they have become a way to attractcommercial revenue as part of constellations. As a result, a more affordable and well performing structurecan lead to more Universities taking up small satellite projects and to more profit on the commercial side.The paper first analyzes the performance of a regular CubeSat structure produced through SubtractiveManufacturing (SM) at the University of Southampton. Having gathered the baseline data, the paperinvestigates various gridded structures which will replace the classic cutouts on the CubeSat sides. Gridded structures have the advantage of requiring far less effort and resources in the cleanup phase, after themetal 3D printing takes place, because their gaps can be small enough to not need support structures.They also offer the potential for an improved structural performance over the regular triangular cutouts.The gridded structures shall be put under various loading scenarios in ANSYS and then they shall beintegrated in the CubeSat structure for further dynamic analysis. The paper shall arrive at an optimaltype of gridded structure both from a performance and a manufacturing standpoint. The paper will thenanalyze various ways to split the structure, since 3D printing allows for the CubeSat to be manufacturedout of fewer parts instead of the usual six. This can lead to a more monolithic structure that can offerbetter performance and weight saving capabilities. This investigation will also be performed with anawareness of the importance of access for systems integration. Finally, the best combination between agrid type and a cube partition shall be further tested and optimized. The cell size of the grid can bevaried along with the wall thickness, all within the printing capabilities of the metal 3D printer at theUniversity of Southampton.
9491-9506
Curran Associates, Inc.
Walker, Scott
f28a342f-9755-48fd-94ea-09e44ac4dbf5
Dumitrescu, Adrian
16c85845-21c8-4483-a61b-a6aa8bddd882
Walker, Scott
f28a342f-9755-48fd-94ea-09e44ac4dbf5
Dumitrescu, Adrian
16c85845-21c8-4483-a61b-a6aa8bddd882

Walker, Scott and Dumitrescu, Adrian (2018) Design for additive manufacturing in the context of CubeSat primary structures. In 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC). Curran Associates, Inc. pp. 9491-9506 .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of additive manufacturing (AM) on the design, structural performance, manufacturing process and cost of CubeSat primary structures. The motivation of the paper isto arrive at a structure that can outperform classic CubeSat designs, at a lower production cost thatrelies on a shorter manufacturing time. Small satellites are intended to be an affordable alternative to fullscale satellites for Universities to design and build, and more recently they have become a way to attractcommercial revenue as part of constellations. As a result, a more affordable and well performing structurecan lead to more Universities taking up small satellite projects and to more profit on the commercial side.The paper first analyzes the performance of a regular CubeSat structure produced through SubtractiveManufacturing (SM) at the University of Southampton. Having gathered the baseline data, the paperinvestigates various gridded structures which will replace the classic cutouts on the CubeSat sides. Gridded structures have the advantage of requiring far less effort and resources in the cleanup phase, after themetal 3D printing takes place, because their gaps can be small enough to not need support structures.They also offer the potential for an improved structural performance over the regular triangular cutouts.The gridded structures shall be put under various loading scenarios in ANSYS and then they shall beintegrated in the CubeSat structure for further dynamic analysis. The paper shall arrive at an optimaltype of gridded structure both from a performance and a manufacturing standpoint. The paper will thenanalyze various ways to split the structure, since 3D printing allows for the CubeSat to be manufacturedout of fewer parts instead of the usual six. This can lead to a more monolithic structure that can offerbetter performance and weight saving capabilities. This investigation will also be performed with anawareness of the importance of access for systems integration. Finally, the best combination between agrid type and a cube partition shall be further tested and optimized. The cell size of the grid can bevaried along with the wall thickness, all within the printing capabilities of the metal 3D printer at theUniversity of Southampton.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 5 October 2018
Additional Information: Paper ID: 43916
Venue - Dates: 69th International Astronautical Congress: #InvolvingEveryone, IAC 2018, , Bremen, Germany, 2018-10-01 - 2018-10-05

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 471234
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/471234
PURE UUID: 867de48c-5685-4c21-86e0-70a10d2baa78
ORCID for Adrian Dumitrescu: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7595-9510

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Nov 2022 17:37
Last modified: 03 May 2024 01:57

Export record

Contributors

Author: Scott Walker
Author: Adrian Dumitrescu ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×