Use Case · Astronomy
Custom-fit rain protection for the ASA AZ1000 telescope
After water damage, Christof Reinhart’s telescope needed protection that simply couldn’t be bought off the shelf. Replique’s engineers designed a custom-fit cover and produced it using 3D printing.
Background: captured with the AZ1000 telescope
The telescope
Christof Reinhart photographs galaxies and nebulae with his own ASA AZ1000 telescope at an observatory on La Palma. The telescope is operated remotely and precisely tracks the Earth’s rotation through long nights of exposures. In future, he also wants to make his images available to research.
For that to work, the drive, encoders and electronics in the mount have to run reliably. But it’s exactly this technology that is sensitive to water.
Captured with the AZ1000
From water damage to a custom-fit solution
Without cover
The challenge
At the top of the mount there is a gap running all the way around. As long as the telescope is under cover, that’s not a problem. But when the observatory roof was opened when it shouldn’t have been, a sudden change in the weather let rainwater in. The electronics, drive and encoders were damaged, resulting in a five-figure loss.
There was no off-the-shelf part to cover exactly this spot, and protection was needed fast.
With cover
The solution
Additive manufacturing made a quick fix possible. Based on the dimensions of the mount, Replique’s engineers designed a cover that was printed in two halves because of its size. The half-shells are fitted from the left and right, so nothing on the telescope itself has to be taken apart.
The parts were produced using the FDM process in PET, which copes well with moisture and temperature changes.
“Ignacio Rodriguez, one of the engineers at Replique, designed a solution incredibly quickly, and it fit right away. Now the telescope is finally protected from rain, and I don’t have to worry anymore.
— Christof Reinhart
The result
By the way, there was no invoice: the value of materials and working time was donated to the Sterntaler children’s hospice in Mannheim, and Christof Reinhart doubled the amount. Thank you, Christof Reinhart, for this joint project!
Your benefits with Replique
Engineering included
No CAD model? Our team designs parts based on dimensions, photos or samples.
Cost-effective from one piece
No tooling costs and no minimum order quantity – ideal for one-offs and custom parts.
Global network
More than 450 manufacturing partners worldwide for the right process and material every time.
Need a part you can’t buy anywhere?
We design and manufacture it for you – from one-offs to series production.