Carbon fiber printerStory: http://www.popularmechanics.com/_mobile/technology/gadgets/news/new-3d-printer-by-markforged-can-print-with-carbon-fiber-16428727Site: http://markforged.com
I was wondering. ESA has been experimenting with 3D printers to print out a moon base. But why would you want to 'glue' the regolith together? That means you have to bring a lot of aluminum with you. Even if you just canibalize the spacecraft that brought the printer there, it still requires a considerable effort to turn aluminum parts into 'ink'.http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Building_a_lunar_base_with_3D_printing]http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Building_a_lunar_base_with_3D_printing]http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Building_a_lunar_base_with_3D_printinghttp://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/foster-+-partners-works-with-european-space-agency-to-3d-print-structures-on-the-moonWouldn't it be more logical to just smelt the regolith and print with that? It requires a lot of power, but that's readily available at the lunar poles. Like a large scale version of this one, but with lasers powered by a (huge?) solar panel, instead of concentrated sunlight. And plagioclase instead of sand.http://www.markuskayser.com/work/solarsinter/usg=AFQjCNHZvW35uan8jeSGJtw5mffxvuf81w&bvm=bv.60157871,d.d2k&cad=rjaI don't think the building material lacks structural strength, considering the enormous caves we have on earth. If the high temperatures and slow cool rate associated with working in a vacuum are the problem, a thermal cycle that 'preheats' the material a bit while seriously bringing down the temperatures in the new wall, would be an obvious (though complex) solution.Any thoughts?
Quote from: docmordrid on 01/28/2014 05:00 pmCarbon fiber printerStory: http://www.popularmechanics.com/_mobile/technology/gadgets/news/new-3d-printer-by-markforged-can-print-with-carbon-fiber-16428727Site: http://markforged.comLooks like it can only lay down the fiber in the horizontal plane:Google search says rival products are on the way too, so hopefully there'll be some competition and consumer choice.
NASA Goddard's 'Cutting Edge' flyer has an intetesting article "NASA Jumps Aboard the 3D-Manufacturing Train"http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/newsletter/Current.pdf
Simulated Melted Moon Rocks Used For 3D Printinghttp://tinyurl.com/mvzj3c3"What some US researchers have done is use a 3D printer to construct objects out of laser-melted simulated lunar rocks – simulated because the actual moon rocks are considered a national treasure with no possibility to stock up with additional space stones in the foreseeable future."
And you could have robots build a castle on the moon. The 3D-printer would make the bricks and the robots would assemble them.
Quote from: grondilu on 02/13/2014 10:04 pmAnd you could have robots build a castle on the moon. The 3D-printer would make the bricks and the robots would assemble them.This is really far into the future. "3D printer on the Moon" right now is like saying "abracadabra!" There's a puff of smoke and suddenly a Moonbase appears. It's not like that at all.
Well, notice that I wrote "castle" and not "moonbase". I was thinking of something that would be more of an art project than any kind of life-support-capable habitat.
If unicorns provide the labor, I'm 100% in favor of it.
Quote from: Blackstar on 02/13/2014 11:25 pmIf unicorns provide the labor, I'm 100% in favor of it.Have you even looked at the link I gave, or do you just knee-jerk react whenever you read something about robots in space?