US 12,269,617 B2
3D printed spacecraft structures
Thomas Kilborn Church, Menlo Park, CA (US)
Assigned to Maxar Space LLC, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed by Maxar Space LLC, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed on Apr. 6, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/714,939.
Prior Publication US 2023/0321903 A1, Oct. 12, 2023
Int. Cl. B29C 64/209 (2017.01); B29C 64/236 (2017.01); B29C 64/241 (2017.01); B29C 64/393 (2017.01); B29L 31/30 (2006.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01); B33Y 80/00 (2015.01); B64G 1/22 (2006.01); B64G 1/66 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/222 (2013.01) [B29C 64/209 (2017.08); B29C 64/236 (2017.08); B29C 64/241 (2017.08); B29C 64/393 (2017.08); B64G 1/66 (2013.01); B29L 2031/3097 (2013.01); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 50/02 (2014.12); B33Y 80/00 (2014.12)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
15. A method, comprising:
adding material around a hub by a first 3D printer head to form a spiral structure around the hub;
adding material linearly to a boom by a second 3D printer head, the boom rotatably connected to the hub such that the hub rotates with respect to the boom about an axis of rotation that extends along a first direction while material is added by the first 3D printer head to increase the radius of the spiral structure at a controlled rate and by the second 3D printer head to increase the length of the boom along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction at the controlled rate; and
controlling distance between the first 3D printer head and the second 3D printer head while material is added by the first and second 3D printer heads and while the hub rotates with respect to the boom such that added material forms the spiral structure around the hub with a concave surface.
 
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:
controlling an angle of the first 3D printer head with respect to the boom while adding the material around the hub.
 
18. An apparatus, comprising:
a boom;
a hub that is connected to the boom and is rotatable about an axis of rotation with respect to the boom and the boom extends perpendicular to the axis of rotation;
a first 3D printer head configured to add material around the hub to form a spiral structure around the hub that increases in radius;
a second 3D printer head configured to add material linearly from the boom to extend the boom in a straight line perpendicular to the axis of rotation between the second 3D printer head and the hub;
a plurality of actuators coupled to the first 3D printer head and the second 3D printer head to control a distance between the first 3D printer head and the second 3D printer head and an angle of the first 3D printer head with respect to the boom such that the distance and the angle increase with boom length; and
a control circuit configured to control the rates at which the spiral structure radius and boom length increase such that the boom length and spiral structure radius increase at the same rate.