3D Activation produces 3D printed comet model for Fraunhofer EMI
He was able to make a spectacular contribution to the exploration of our solar system 3D Printing Service Provider 3D Activation afford in autumn 2014. On behalf of Freiburg Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst Mach Institute, EMI the team from Wiesbaden and Thun/Switzerland was able to create a 3D printed model of the Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko which was flown to between March 2004 and November 2014 as part of the Rosetta mission by the European Space Agency (ESA).
As a basis for this special SLS 3D printing served measurement data, which from the Rosetta probe between August and October 2014, with the aim of a successful landing of Philae (Rosetta’s landing vehicle), which was finally won on November 12, 2014 with lively public participation. Using the stereo images from the orbiter’s Osiris camera system and an analysis of the angle-dependent reflection of sunlight on the comet’s surface (so-called photoclinometry), ESA scientists created a digital terrain model of the comet’s nucleus (DTM) for this purpose.
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Rosetta mission took a good 10 years to comet
The had been started Rosetta Mission already on March 2, 2004, at 7.17 a.m. UTC (= 8.17 a.m. German time). This was when the Ariane 5 G+ launch vehicle lifted off from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana to send Rosetta on its journey to Churyumov-Gerasimenko. After several flybys (the so-called swing-bys) on Earth (March 4, 2005, November 13, 2007, November 13, 2009) and on Mars (February 25, 2007), Rosetta finally passed the 100-kilometre planet on July 10, 2010 Asteroid Lutetia (Latin for Paris) after the probe flew past Steins, a 4.6 kilometer wide asteroid on the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, at a distance of 800 kilometers on September 5, 2008. After a first look at the mission target from Rosetta’s solar modules, the probe was sent (in March 2011) into a nearly 3-year “hibernation”, which had become necessary because of the large distance between Rosetta and the probe that had been reached during this phase.
On August 6, 2014, Rosetta finally entered the orbit of Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Now the search for a landing area for Philae could begin. In this context, possible landing areas were mapped in high resolution in September and October 2014, whereby – almost incidentally – most of the data for the 3D printing of the comet model was also generated.
3D printed model was used for illustration
The purpose of Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s 3D-printed model was to present this comet in a large format, especially in view of the rapidly increasing public interest in Philae’s successful landing on November 12, 2014. Such a model offers the unbeatable advantage of illustrating such a cosmic object, especially for TV audiences who are not trained in science.
Stereolithography as the basis for the comet model
The 3D printed comet model created by 3D Activation on behalf of Fraunhofer EMI measures 423.92 x 522.01 x 449.27 mm and was produced using SLA 3D printing, also known as stereolithography known from epoxy, created from a synthetic resin. This is the oldest known 3D printing process, developed in 1983/84 by the American Chuck Hull, which is based on a liquid photopolymer, in this case the epoxy, being applied layer by layer to a moving printing bed where the individual layers solidify in the desired form after a certain exposure time. The 3D print model, which was produced in triplicate, was not optically post-treated; the Fraunhofer Institute carried out the painting itself, with the 3D Activation team providing advice.
While you probably won’t necessarily consider a comet 3D print model require. However, if you want to use the fascinating possibilities of 3D printing technology in a similar way, with 3D Activation you will find a cooperative contact person at all times, with whose help you can easily develop the model that suits your needs.
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