Elementum 3D’s A6061-RAM2 makes Space flight history with NASA JPL’s Jupiter ice moon exploration
Congratulations to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on a successful Europa Clipper launch. This is a monumental milestone for humankind, additive manufacturing, and Elementum 3D. As The Europa Clipper travels towards Jupiter’s moon Europa, a topology-optimized bracket made from A6061-RAM2 will be on board ready to support NASA’s mission. The bracket was 3D printed at JPL on their EOS M290 printer.
The Europa Clipper will arrive in 2030, study the frozen moon’s hidden ocean, which is locked beneath an icy shell, and look for key signs of habitable conditions. These signs include water, organics (essential chemical building blocks), chemical energy sources under the surface, and evidence of stable conditions, according to NASA. In addition, the orbiter will determine how habitable the ocean is and whether it could potentially support life.
The Europa Clipper is the biggest-ever interplanetary spacecraft in history. Once it spreads its solar arrays, the orbiter will measure around 100 feet (30 meters) wide — bigger than a basketball court. It is about 16 feet (5 m) high, according to NASA. The giant arrays are needed to collect solar energy to power the craft when it arrives at Europa, which is about 470 million miles (760 million kilometers) from the sun.
The spacecraft flight plan consists of swinging close to Mars for a “gravity assist” in February 2025, before heading back to Earth to slingshot around our planet in December 2025 to make its way to Jupiter. It will reach the colossal planet and its moons in June 2030.
The Europa Clipper findings could give scientists clues about where to spot potential life across the universe and Elementum 3D is proud to support this historical mission.
Vistage recognizes Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein with a 2024 Impact Award
Elementum 3D’s founder and president, Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein, was recently named the recipient of a 2024 Impact Award by Vistage, the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. The Impact Award recognizes the remarkable development and achievement of trailblazing leaders. From business growth to leadership development, dedicated leaders reach significant heights within their first years as Vistage members, with lasting impact on their company, peers and community.
As a supplier and developer of leading-edge additive manufacturing (AM) materials since 2014, Jacob has vigilantly preserved the company’s mission of expanding access to previously impossible AM materials. “I have always been attracted to finding ways to directly impact lives, it’s the driving force behind the success of a company that is revolutionizing the future of manufacturing through additive manufacturing (3D printing). My involvement with Vistage has further widened Elementum 3D’s capabilities. The knowledge and support I have gained every month has been invaluable,” said Jacob Nuechterlein
With Jacob’s leadership, the company introduced the first AM metal material to be qualified by NASA/JPL, which are printing components for the Europa mission. Elementum 3D also supplies aluminum alloys to Formula 1 used in engine components that win races and for advanced federal and commercial rocketry technology. Furthermore, their technology is used in antennas for GPS satellites that help people navigate around the world.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to work with Jacob as his Executive Coach and Vistage Chair. Through his leadership, Jacob and his amazing Elementum3D team have changed the landscape of metal 3D printing. In a short time, they’ve literally changed the speed of technology in areas ranging from battlefields to rocket boosters to formula race cars, and many things in between. Yet more important is the impact he’s made on his family, employees, and his community. Congratulations on this outstanding and well-deserved award, Jacob!”
-Lori Halverson, Vistage Chair
About Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. For more than 65 years, we’ve been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their greatest challenges through confidential peer groups and one-to-one executive coaching sessions. Today, more than 45,000 members in 35 countries rely on Vistage to help make better decisions for their companies, families and communities. The results prove it: Vistage CEO members grew their annual revenue on average by 4.6% in 2020, while nonmembers with comparable small and midsize businesses saw revenue decrease by 4.7%, according to a study of Dun & Bradstreet data. Learn more at vistage.com.
- Formnext Chicago postponed indefinitely
- Ursa Major secures $5M contract to develop copper Additive Manufacturing for hypersonic flight
- Ensuring flawless metal 3D printing: New research tackles high-fidelity, high-resolution process monitoring
- What Benefits Can 3D Printing Bring Your Business?
- AM Investment Strategies 2024: A Strategic Look into the Future of 3D Printing
- New Ferrari F80 to integrate metal 3D printed parts
- New market data shows ‘Explosive growth’ in entry-level 3D printers and forecasts industrial recovery date
- Qualifying and testing additively manufactured parts for aircraft
- How 3D Printing Fits into Manufacturing, For Real
- Additive Manufacturing in the throes of technological change
- What is simulation for additive manufacturing?
- Equal parts: Assessing the viability of large format additive manufacturing
- Researchers study 3D printing tungsten parts for extreme conditions in nuclear reactors
- Bringing Standards to Aerospace AM
- Engineers 3D print advanced materials for small nuclear reactors
- How Additive Manufacturing Is Reshaping U.S. Industries and Supply Chains
- Former SpaceX Engineers to Scale AI 3D Printing with New Nvidia and Boeing funding
- America Makes and ANSI Publish Standardization Road Map for Additive Manufacturing
- Conflux Technology raises $11 million in Series B funding
- 3D printed pressure vessel qualified in new additive manufacturing standard
- AM Ventures Firms Headmade and DyeMansion Extend Post-processing for 3D Printing Tech
- Velo3D to make more job cuts before end of 2024
- MIT team takes a major step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
- Unlocking Performance: Elementum 3D’s Innovative Metal Powders Transform 3D Printing
- 3D Printing Materials Supplier Fortius Metals Brings in Another $2M
