FoldSat

The FoldSat is a foldable version of the 1U CubeSat. The FoldSat is designed for additive manufacturing to minimize manufacturing time and support material waste. The FoldSat is composed by two parts, a base and a cover. Each part contains three faces of the 1U cube and can be manufactured as one piece because it is an assembly integrating the hinges to fold the lateral faces of the cube together with some snap fits allowing for the connection between the base and the cover. The manufacturing of the two parts should be carried out in their unfolded configuration, that is with all the three faces aligned on the same plane. After removal of support material, the lateral faces of the base and the ones of the cover should be folded. Thus the cube can be composed by rotating the cover top-down on the base. The lateral faces of the base should be connected to the snap fits on the cover top face, whereas the lateral faces of the cover should be connected to the snap fits on the base face. The snap fits ensure proper closure and locking against accidental opening of the cube. The lateral faces of the base contain some rails to mount the electronic boards and devices. One of the lateral faces of the cover can be used as access port by opening the cube and folding the face. The production time by FDM can be cut down to an estimated 40% by manufacturing the cube in its unfolded configuration together with a reduction of about 30% of support material if compared to the folded configuration (cube shape). In addition to this, the unfolded configuration allows for optimal 3D nesting and maximization of production volumes (thus reducing costs) on additive manufacturing technologies based on powder bed. In the case of FDM, the production of faces that are parallel to the building platform ensures better part resistance because the plastic filament is deposited along the faces. For the unfolded configuration to fit into the building area of certain machines, an alternative design cou