Fabricating mirrors using additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing) is a promising yet under-researched production route. There are several issues that need to be better understood before AM can be fully adopted to fabricate mirror substrates. A significant obstacle to AM adoption is the presence of porosity and the influence that has on the resultant optical proprieties. Several batches of high-silicon aluminium (AlSi10Mg) samples were created to investigate the relationships laser parameters, laser paths and build orientations have with the porosity. The results showed that eliminating defects relies on a complex interaction of the process parameters and material properties, with the residual heating from the laser proving to be a significant factor. In addition, the use of a hot isostatic press is investigated and some full prototypes of the Cassegrain CubeSat were produced.
Additive Manufacturing (AM; 3D printing) for mirror fabrication allows for intricate designs that can combine lightweight structures and integrated mounting. Conventional lightweight structures utilise cubic or prismatic unit cells, which do not provide uniform support at the edge of curved mirrors. We present a new circular lattice based upon cylindrical coordinates and how this lattice has been incorporated within an 80 mm diameter mirror intended for use in a 3U CubeSat telescope. Several design iterations are explored, which include prototype mirrors produced in a titanium alloy and a finite element analysis of the one of the design iterations.
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