Following the successful demonstration of its enclosed-chamber 3D printer across parabolic flights in April 2026, 3D printer manufacturer Photocentric now makes the new 3D printer the heart of a new standalone business.
The team tested the concept across three flights between April 22 and 24, 2026. These took place aboard Novespace’s Airbus A310 Zero G out of Bordeaux. Three identical machines flew and printed throughout, operating across the full 2g-to-0g range.
Photocentric was formed in 2002 and commercialized the first LCD driven 3D printer in 2014. In 2020 they patented a 3D printing process for use in space using LCD screens in an enclosed chamber. Photocentric has received strong support from the UK Space Agency via ESA’s BSGN program. It was awarded three grants to manufacture and validate the CosmicMaker 3D printer.
What the parabolic flights demonstrated
The 3D printer processed 4 materials (silicon carbide, alumina, and two thermoset plastics) and delivered dimensionally accurate parts. The particle-rich ceramic slurries performed better in the 22 seconds of microgravity than in the 2g phases. Without gravity, the denser particles no longer segregated.
Because the enclosed chamber works with very low forces and keeps the solidifying part supported by surrounding liquid, microgravity printing needs no support structures, making it, in Photocentric’s words, a machine that works better in orbit than on the ground.
From the test campaign to a standalone business
Photocentric is going into territory we’ve never seen them approach with LCD. After reflection, that makes perfect sense: the limitations of its LCD 3D printer for in-space manufacturing led to CosmicMaker.
CosmicMaker runs the same LCD process that has produced tens of millions of parts on Earth, positioned as a multi-functional platform for plastics, ceramics, metals, and composites in a low-mass, low-energy package.
In the long run, the new system would become the go-to solution for manufacturing parts on the Moon, with centrifugal resin recovery and robotic handling.
Images: Photocentric. *We curate insights that matter to help you grow in your AM journey. Receive them once a week, straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
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