N° 31–2013: Call for Media: Taking 3D printing into the metal age

ESA and the EU, together with industrial and educational partners, are developing the first large-scale production methods to 3D-print with metal. 3D printers are expected to revolutionise the way we live but until recently they could work with only plastic, which is not very useful for many industrial applications.

 

This novel technology offers many advantages. 3D printing, formally known as additive manufacturing, can create complex shapes that are impossible to manufacture with traditional casting and machining techniques. Little to no material is wasted and cutting the number of steps in a manufacturing chain offers enormous cost benefits.

 

The AMAZE project – Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste & Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products – began in January and factory sites are being set up in France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK to develop the industrial supply chain.

Programme (UK times):

 

09:30               Doors open

10:00–10:05    Welcome by Dr Nick Cox, Head of Technology, UK Space Agency

10:05–10:10    ESA and AMAZE, Franco Ongaro, Director of Technical and Quality Management, ESA

10:10–10:25    Project AMAZE, David Jarvis, Head of New Materials and Energy Research, ESA

10:25–10:40    Steven Cowley, Director of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy

10:40–10:50    Jonathan Meyer, Additive Layer Manufacturing Research Team Leader, EADS Innovation Works

10:50–10:55    David Wimpenny, The Manufacturing Technology Centre and De Montfort University, UK

10:55–11:00    Hilde Løken Larsen, Head of Research and Development Activities, Norsk Titanium AS, Norway

11:00–11:05    Stewart Williams, Director of Welding Engineering and Laser Processing Centre, Cranfield University, UK

11:05–11:30    Questions

11:30               End of programme

 

The panelists will be available for questions and individual interviews.

Location:

Director’s Entrance
Science Museum London
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2DD
United Kingdom

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. It is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU.

ESA has Cooperation Agreements with eight other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

ESA is also working actively with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country.

ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.

Today, it launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space.

Learn more at www.esa.int

For further information:

Rosita Suenson, Communication Programme Officer for Human Spaceflight

Email: rosita.suenson@esa.int

Tel: +31 71 565 3009

ESA Media Relations Office

Email: media@esa.int

Tel: +33 1 53 69 72 99