CITATION INFORMATION

Title: Laser Remelting for Reduced Porosity on Additively Manufactured Aluminium Mirrors

Lead researcher: Joshua West[1]
Co-Investigators: Brecht Van Hooreweder[2], Wenjuan Sun[2] and Samuel Tammas-Williams[3]
Contributing researchers: Valentina Oyarzun[1], Marcell Westsik[1], Younes Chahid[1], Magdalena Kraus[1], Scott McPhee[1], Bill Brzozowski[1], Nicola Cayzer[3], Fraser Laidlaw[3], Sameer Dayanand Meshram[2], Daniel Ordnung[2], Berk Baris Celik[3], Michel Smet[3], Mirko Sinico[3,4], Michael Harris[5] and Stephen James[5]        
Principal Investigator: Carolyn Atkins[1]

[1] - STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
[2] - Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
[3] - The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK
[4] - Flanders Make@KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
[5] - Central Laser Facility Engineering and Technology Centre, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, OX11 0QX, UK

Year: 2026

Funder:	- UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship ‘Printing the future of space telescopes’ under grants # MR/T042230/1 and MR/Z000238/1

One line summary: Data supporting the characterisation (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and surface roughness) of 3D-printed cubes and lightweight mirrors using the remelting process.  

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LICENCE

CC-BY-NC

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DATA AND FILE OVERVIEW - File tree

## Overview

Data includes:
- Design files
- Optical microscopy
- Scanning electron microscopy
- Surface roughness measurements

## File tree structure

2026_Remelting_AlSi10Mg_DATASET ->
	01_ProofOfConcept_Cubes ->
		01_Microscopy ->
			Folder R2_9
				R2_9_black.png
				R2_9_white.png

			Folder RSA_3	
				RSA_3_black.png
				RSA_3_white.png
		02_SEM_EDX_FIB ->
			EDX ->	
				R2-9_Loc1-1.docx
				R2-9_Loc7-2.docx
				R2-9_Loc11-2.docx
			SEM ->
				x25 tif files
		03_SurfaceRoughness ->
				x18 png files
	
	02_Mirror_CAD
		As-Machined.stl
		As-machined_SolidBlueLattice.stp
		As-Printed.stl
		As-Printed_SolidBlueLattice.stp

	03_Mirror_Metrology
		01_Microscopy ->
			Control Black.png
			Control White.png
			Not remelted Black.png
			Not remelted White.png
			Remelted Black.png
			Remelted White.png
		02_SEM ->
			Remelted ->	
				x5 file Remelted_021.tif -> Remelted_025.tif
		03_SurfaceRoughness ->
				x25 files NR1 -> NR25.png 
				x28 files R1 -> R25.png + three extra images
				x25 files RSA1 -> RSA25.png 

DATA AND FILE OVERVIEW - File types

.stp - universal CAD format
.stl - universal file format for 3D printing 
.pdf - portable document format
.png - portable network graphics
.tif - tagged image file 
.docx - Microsoft word document format

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METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION - Sample design and manufacture

Proof of concept cubes
	- Year of manufacture: 2025
	- Location: STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
		    Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
		    Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, OX11 0QX, UK		
	- Materials:	
		- RSA 6061
		- AlSi10Mg
	- Sample dimensions: 10 mm cubes
	- Number of samples:
		- x3 RSA
		- x9 3D printed
		
Lightweight mirrors
	- Year of manufacture: 2025
	- Location: STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
		    Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
		    Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, OX11 0QX, UK
	- Materials and suppliers:	
		- RSA 6061
		- AlSi10Mg
	- Design software: Autodesk Inventor (Autodesk Inc., USA)
			   nTopology (nTopology, USA)
	- Sample dimensions: 52 mm diameter, 10 mm thick, 
	- Lightweight structure: TPMS diamond lattice
	- Number of samples:
		- x1 RSA 6061 - conventional lightweight design
		- x2 Remelted - TPMS Diamond lattice
		- x1 Non-remelted
	- Optical prescription: flat


METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION - Evaluation

Proof of concept cubes
	- Year of evaluation: 2026
	- Location [Metrology]: STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
			      : The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK
	- Optical microscopy: 
		- DSX2000 Digital Microscope (Evident, Japan)
	- Scanning electron microscopy: 
		- Crossbeam 550 FIB-SEM (Zeiss, Germany)
	- Surface roughness: 
		- Contour-X 200 (Bruker Corporation, USA) 

Lightweight samples
	- Year of evaluation: 2026
	- Location [Metrology]: STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
			      : The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK
	- Optical microscopy: 
		- DSX2000 Digital Microscope (Evident, Japan)
	- Scanning electron microscopy: 
		- Crossbeam 550 FIB-SEM (Zeiss, Germany)
	- Surface roughness: 
		- Contour-X 200 (Bruker Corporation, USA) 
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