When setting up a lunar station, technologies for the use of locally available materials are crucial. Such technologies drastically reduce the need for transportation from Earth. We aim to provide proof of a key technology, namely Mobile Selective Laser Melting (M-SLM) for terrain modelling i.e. for building large structures such as launch/landing pads, but also building infrastructures like shelters protecting astronauts or equipment against radiation and micrometeorites on the Moon. The M-SLM technology has the advantage that only electrical energy and a moving system are required. For M-SLM, a mobile high power laser beam is directed on lunar regolith leading to its melting. Subsequently, the melt cools down and solid structures are generated. The MOONRISE instrument should serve in a short-term mission as a proof-of-principle experiment for the M-SLM technology on the lunar surface. In a first step, an Engineering Model (EM) of our MOONRISE instrument with a volume of 10 cm x 10 cm x 15 cm and a mass of about 2.7 kg has been built and thoroughly tested on ground. It could be accommodated on a rover or a robotic arm to move the laser spot in order to create 1D, 2D and even 3D regolith structures on the Moon. Recently, three new projects have been initiated in order to (1) develop the MOONRISE payload towards a Flight Model (FM) with accommodation on a commercial lunar lander, in order to (2) apply 2D laser beam deflection techniques for process scaling on a potential follow-on payload and in order to (3) investigate the detailed process of regolith laser melting under lunar gravity conditions in the Einstein-Elevator.
The innovative use of integrative additive manufacturing with special materials opens up new possibilities through greater functionality as well as component integration. For this purpose, multifunctional optomechanical assemblies consisting of multiple materials are additively manufactured via laser metal deposition (DED-LB/M). A particular challenge in terms of process technology is the connection between incompatible metallic and ceramic materials as well as the connection with optical components. These connections are relevant in electro mobility and for the production of laser-optical systems. The successful generation of these 3D-structures made from an adapted molybdenum-copper-phosphor material system leads to the reduction of thermal expansion differences between the components in multimaterial combinations. This is the basis for reducing thermally induced mechanical stresses in the operation of laser-optical or high-power electronic systems. The evaluation reveals several significant process influences and mathematical prediction models are created. These models are used to determine suitable laser settings. The combination of the determined process settings and the adapted molybdenum-copper-phosphor material enables the additive manufacturing of property-adapted pseudoalloys. With the developed process strategy, it has been possible to bond test specimens to metal and thus additively create first multimaterial prototypes by means of laser metal deposition.
The joint project GROTESK investigates the application of additive manufacturing for the generation of optical, thermal and structural components using the example of a laser system. This includes multi-material connections of metallic and non-metallic materials with laser metal deposition, e.g. mountings for solid-state laser materials like neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), and the related material development for wire-based as well as powder-based processing. The contrary material groups require an exact consideration of the thermal and physical properties. In particular, the melting point of the alloy must be as low as possible, preventing thermal destruction of the Nd:YAG. Furthermore, this reduces the thermal gradient in the crystalline structure of the YAG and improves thermal shock resistance. Besides, a sufficient thermal conductivity is important to ensure a targeted heat dissipation. Another crucial aspect is the induced stress due to different thermal expansions of the connected materials leading to structural damage. Therefore, the thermal expansion coefficient of the alloy has to match the coefficient of the optical component. The recent approach is the application of copper-molybdenum pseudoalloys. The idea is to combine the low thermal expansion of molybdenum with the high thermal conductivity of copper. State-of-the-art are sintered molybdenum powders that are infiltrated with molten copper resulting in promising physical properties exceeding the requirements of the intended purpose and allowing the application in high-power laser systems. During first practical experiments with these powders, promising results have been achieved with a 680-Watt diode laser by solely melting the copper. The structure of the generated object contained unaffected molybdenum grains embedded into a copper matrix and therefore successfully forming a pseudoalloy. Effects of the adjusted powder composition, the laser parameters and the resulting thermomechanical properties are investigated. With the help of microsections, the additive manufactured pseudoalloys are evaluated and characterized.
The use of additive manufacturing methods in research and industry has led to the possibility of designing more compact, light and low-cost assemblies. In the field of laser development, new opportunities resulting from additive manufacturing have rarely been considered so far. We present a compact, lightweight solid-state amplifier system for low-power applications where the optomechanical components are manufactured completely additive via Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). The amplifier system is based on a Nd:YVO4-crystal pumped with an external, fiber-coupled diode at a wavelength of 808nm and a maximum output power of 3 W. The seed source is a Nd:YVO4-crystal based solid-state laser with an emission wavelength of 1064 nm. The commercial optical components, such as lenses and crystal, are firmly imprinted via FFF in the optomechanics and thus secured against misalignment. Additionally, sensor technology for temperature measurement is implemented into the devices. The use of FFF, in which the components are printed from polymers, results in a lightweight yet stable construction. We have shown, that optical components can be imprinted without adding mechanical stress. To increase the mechanical and thermal robustness of the system different types of polymers as well as post process treatments are tested and the use of Laser Metal Deposition for this application is investigated. The thermal stability of the printed structures is evaluated to determine the maximum power level of the system without damaging the polymer-optomechanics. Furthermore, output power, optical-to-optical efficiency, beam pointing, and beam shape are measured for several on- and off-switching processes as well as long-term operation.
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