H2020 opticon project overview: Investigating the use of additive manufacturing for the design and build of multi-functional integrated astronomical components

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods and post processing techniques are promising methodologies considering that it is now possible to print in a wide variety of materials using processes much refined from those originally available twenty years ago. To date the uptake of AM in Astronomy is relatively low compared to other application areas, aviation being one such example. Due to the rapid progress made in additive manufacturing and the lack of its adoption in Astronomy, there are many opportunity to deploy new fabrication processes. In this paper, we outline the project and report the results of our investigation to make use of additive manufacturing and novel materials in the fabrication of multi-functional integrated components fit for use in astronomy instrumentation, which can operate in cryogenic environments and space application.