Processing of mineral materials in space conditions
The aim of subproject D "Processing mineral materials in space conditions" is the development of an additive layer manufacturing process for lunar regolith simulants using no additives and only electrical energy. For this purpose, the so-called "Powder Feed-Fused Deposition Modeling" (PF-FDM) process is investigated. It is based on the Fused Deposition Modeling method but uses powder instead of filaments. Several printing head prototypes are built to perform various handling and parameter tests for an optimal printing process. A printing head prototype will be used with the robotic demonstrator MIRA3D as part of TP G for a technology demonstration.