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First experiences of 3D-printing in geophysical instrumentation at Sodankylä Space Campus |
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Raita, T. (1), Mäenpää, K. (2) |
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(1) Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu, Sodankylä, Finland, (2) Arctic Space Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Sodankylä, Finland |
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Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO), the host of geomagnetic observatory SOD, has been a partner in the 3D printing project at the Sodankylä Space Campus, where the Finnish Meteorological Institute established 3D-printing facility during the years 2016-2017. The aim of the 3D-printing project was to improve the knowledge about 3D printing for the local companies and gather experiences of 3D-printing possibilities to the space campus. Multiple type of 3D-printers, 3D-scanning methods and 3D-designing software packages were tested. Special tools, holders and housing solutions for the observatory instrumentation have been designed and 3D-printed using different materials. Each project partner designed their own printable product together with FMI staff. SGO’s products were part to the miniature model of cube satellite and sensor holder prototype for the flux-gate sensor of the DI-instrument. Experiences of 3D-printing at Sodankylä Space Campus will be presented in this poster.
3D-printing opens complete new possibilities in instrumentation solutions with reasonable low costs after the basic knowledge about printing materials and printers has been studied. Designing and printing of small products are rather easy and fast without a big technical laboratory and experienced technical staff, which are not always available. The 3D-printing project was funded by European Union Regional Development Funds. |
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Instrumentation |
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poster |
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