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Brackets & mounts · Aerospace

A41 Satellite Mirror Bracket

This bracket was designed to hold a fast steering mirror for a NASA Low-Earth-Orbit satellite. It was designed in less than 8 hours using generative design, then CNC-machined from 6061-T6 aluminum.

Design time
< 8 hr
Material
6061-T6
Process
CNC
A41 bracket, front view
A41 bracket, rear view

Rear view

Organic load paths from the mirror interface down to the four mounting feet. Topology optimization removes everything that isn't carrying load.

A41 bracket instrumented on a test stand

Under test

Three different versions of the A41 bracket were made, each varying in mass. This test was to determine how mass changes of generatively designed parts affected their overall damping coefficients.

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