Case Study - Spacecraft
Scalmalloy Cooling Pipes
These cooling pipes from Scalmalloy® (high strength aluminum alloy by APWORKS GmbH) were developed within a cooperation project between Airbus Defence and Space and APWORKS.
These pipes, which are installed on the backside of the radiators, are going to fly on MERLIN, a Franco-German collaborative minisatellite climate mission.
By using metal Additive Manufacturing (AM), we could significantly add value to this application:
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Fast and innovative design iterations reducing the lead time significantly (qualified in less than 3 months)
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Increased design freedom due to elimination of the typical bending radius limitation
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Part / functional integration resulting in reduced assembly, documentation and qualification cost / time
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Weight reduction due to reduced wall thicknesses compared to conventional designs