3D printer for space

[Rocket Science]

A variety of 3D printers are likely to be needed in aerospace.

a. A very high precision 3D printer.
b. A very large 3D printer.
c. A 3D that is both large and has a very high precision.  (derived from both a and b.)
d. A 3D printer that uses regolith.

e. A 3D printer for food -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/nasa-asks-could-3-d-printed-food-fuel-a-mission-to-mars/2013/05/21/76fc3668-c224-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html

Neat study doc, who needs takeout anymore...

[Prober]

another type of 3D type Printer
#

[A_M_Swallow]

another type of 3D type Printer
{snip image}

That looks like the sort of thing to build the skeleton of a container.
It may also produce a wiring harness by replacing the liquid with a roll of electrical wire.

[cordwainer]

If its laying down one substrate after another like building a wall or a shroud of fabric I don't see gravity being an issue. You might use 3D printers to make inflatable TransHabs, mylar reflectors/solar sails, insulation foam or materials for a radiator panel.

[jabe]

curious...shouldn't a 3-d printer theoritcally be able to print a workable electric motor and have it work without modification?
jb

[Prober]

curious...shouldn't a 3-d printer theoritcally be able to print a workable electric motor and have it work without modification?
jb

theoretically, yes   The reprap (www.reprap.com) concept started out around 2007 or so to reproduce or printout 100% of the parts of another 3d printer.   This would include stepper motors, electronics etc.

[Prober]

just bumped into this video while researching something else.
 
This is a test of PLA in Liquid Nitrogen contained within 3D printed mini-Dewar.
 
Not bad for a start.
 

 

[sanman]

another type of 3D type Printer
{snip image}

That looks like the sort of thing to build the skeleton of a container.
It may also produce a wiring harness by replacing the liquid with a roll of electrical wire.

That's what I was thinking too.

Could such tensile structures perhaps become the skeletal framework to which flexible envelopes could be attached, to create pressure vessels?
Or could such envelopes be inflated first to give them the right shape, and then these solid ribs could later be printed onto them?
What would be the best approach?

Alternatively, what about printing large lattice, scaffold, or truss structures? Could it be possible to print a radio tower or boom?

Seems to me that the curvilinear segments would only be advantageous for pressure vessel containers, whereas for other load-bearing structures like trusses or latticework it should stick to just printing basic linear segments.

[Prober]

 
a new 3D printer design, with new features..
 
 
 
designer video 

[manboy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jwxn6EzW84#at=77

[grondilu]

NASA Tests Limits of 3-D Printing with Powerful Rocket Engine Check

The largest 3-D printed rocket engine component NASA ever has tested blazed to life Thursday, Aug. 22 during an engine firing that generated a record 20,000 pounds of thrust.
[...]
This successful test of a 3-D printed rocket injector brings NASA significantly closer to proving this innovative technology can be used to reduce the cost of flight hardware," said Chris Singer, the director of the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Ala.

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/3d-printed-rocket-injector.html#.UhzlQyF4V0s

[Robotbeat]

China using 3D printers for titanium aerospace parts, namely J-15 fighter and Comac C919 passenger jet.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130304-j-15-chief-architect-3d-printing-used-in-developing-new-fighter-jet.html

So that is the chill one gets when other guy leap frogs you.

Hardly. Parts have been 3d printed for aerospace applications in the States for quite a while, now.

[Asteroza]

China using 3D printers for titanium aerospace parts, namely J-15 fighter and Comac C919 passenger jet.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130304-j-15-chief-architect-3d-printing-used-in-developing-new-fighter-jet.html

So that is the chill one gets when other guy leap frogs you.

Hardly. Parts have been 3d printed for aerospace applications in the States for quite a while, now.

The major difference is the J-15 titanium components are used in structurally critical areas, a commitment US makers have largely not committed to yet.

[Robotbeat]

China using 3D printers for titanium aerospace parts, namely J-15 fighter and Comac C919 passenger jet.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130304-j-15-chief-architect-3d-printing-used-in-developing-new-fighter-jet.html

So that is the chill one gets when other guy leap frogs you.

Hardly. Parts have been 3d printed for aerospace applications in the States for quite a while, now.

The major difference is the J-15 titanium components are used in structurally critical areas, a commitment US makers have largely not committed to yet.

Isn't a major difference. This is nothing like leap-frog, but it's fun to use those kind of statements.

[baldusi]

China using 3D printers for titanium aerospace parts, namely J-15 fighter and Comac C919 passenger jet.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130304-j-15-chief-architect-3d-printing-used-in-developing-new-fighter-jet.html

So that is the chill one gets when other guy leap frogs you.

Hardly. Parts have been 3d printed for aerospace applications in the States for quite a while, now.

The major difference is the J-15 titanium components are used in structurally critical areas, a commitment US makers have largely not committed to yet.

The F-35 uses 3D printed structural element on the "vertical" stabilizers.

[A_M_Swallow]

A 3D printer able to make the walls of an entire building.

[Tywin]

Somebody know, which 3D printing companies are the best in the actuality for aerospace structures?

Any big improvement in this years in this machines?

[JulesVerneATV]

NASA's 3D-printable metal could make air travel cheaper and faster for everyone
https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-created-3d-printable-metal-grx-810-that-can-withstand-extreme-temperatures/

[JulesVerneATV]

New nuclear era: 3D printing cuts build times as NASA preps Moon reactor
https://www.techspot.com/news/108956-new-nuclear-era-3d-printing-cuts-build-times.html

A new era for nuclear technology is emerging at the intersection of advanced manufacturing and space exploration. The US is leveraging 3D printing to build nuclear reactor components on Earth, while also accelerating plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030.

One clear example of this progress is the work underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, where researchers and industry partners have made significant strides in using large-scale 3D printing to produce high-precision molds for casting complex concrete structures in nuclear reactors.

The technique, tested in collaboration with Kairos Power and Barnard Construction for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, has dramatically shortened construction timelines – reducing tasks that once took weeks to just a few days. According to the Department of Energy, these 3D-printed composite forms have been especially valuable for fabricating radiation shielding and other critical components with intricate geometries.

[Eric Hedman]

Somebody know, which 3D printing companies are the best in the actuality for aerospace structures?

Any big improvement in this years in this machines?

I get the University of Wisconsin Madison Engineering Newsletter.  The have developed a new nano-scale 3D printer that can precisely place a droplet of material much smaller than the nozzle accurately.  It didn't say what kind of material it can print.  But they did say it works in micro-gravity if I remember correctly.  You are looking at sub micron accuracy in building a 3D model.  IF it can take a wide range of material, it opens up some interesting possibilities.