Stratsys, a provider of polymer-based 3D printing solutions, has joined forces with the aerospace company Lockheed Martin to approve and authorize the use of a new printing material – the Antero 840CN03 for use in the aerospace industry. The University of Denver (MSU) is also taking part in the project.
The Antero was developed and manufactured by Stratiss for the company’s FDM printers, with features and performance designed to use it in space. It is made up of a compound of several materials, resistant to damage from static electricity as well as fire, smoke and toxins, a feature required in various aviation applications. The end parts manufactured using it will be integrated in a variety of fields in the aerospace industry.
Stratsys and Lockheed Martin have previously worked together to approve materials, developed by Stratsys, specifically for use in the aerospace industries. According to Foster Ferguson, director of aerospace at Stratsys, the current collaboration between industry, manufacturers and academia will provide users with security in the printing materials the company uses and help adopt the use of 3D printing in the aerospace industry.
According to Chris Robertson, co-director of the advanced production division at Lockheed Martin, the company is always looking for ways to promote innovation of materials approved for use in space and 3D printing is an important part of the move.
The collaboration with Stratiss and MSU can authorize and approve the new material, Antero 840CN03, for use as a raw material for the production of final parts, and extend its use even beyond the current uses of the Orion spacecraft (a spacecraft developed by Lockheed Martin for NASA – American Space Agency).
In the first phase of certification, relevant information was collected following the execution of close to a thousand prints of end parts using Antero and the Stratasys F900 3D printers. The data clearly demonstrated the durability of the Antero and in the subsequent steps the experiments will be expanded in other directions.