Something new to me. Sounds like a ton of new applications enabled for both metal and carbon fiber
Made In Space ISS printer could be used to make metal parts, just need an oven to bake to part.
Printing bricks from moondust using the Sun's heat3 May 2017Bricks have been 3D printed out of simulated moondust using concentrated sunlight – proving in principle that future lunar colonists could one day use the same approach to build settlements on the Moon.http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Engineering_Technology/Printing_bricks_from_moondust_using_the_Sun_s_heat
"Backgrounder: the printed Aerospike Rocket EngineQuick facts* A joint Monash University/Amaero team of engineers successfully designed, built, and tested a rocket engine in just four months* The engine is a complex multi-chamber aerospike design* Additively manufactured with selective laser melting on an EOS M280* Built from Hasteloy X; a high strength nickel based superalloy* Fuel: compressed natural gas (methane); oxidiser: compressed oxygen* Design thrust of 4kN (about 1,000 pounds), enough to hover the equivalent of five people (about 400 kg)"
I don't want to start a new thread but I'd like to mention a technique which seems complementary to 3D printing. Femtosecond laser processing.Femtosecond lasers are pulse lasers that emit pulses of in the 1x10^-12 to 1x10^-15secs range at PRF's in the 200KHz-1MHz range with an intensity of 2x10^15 W cm^-2The very short pulse length is below the time for electron/phonon interactions. That means there is substantial changes to the material but not due to heating, as the duty cycle per pulse is very low (1/1000 000 of an on/off cycle). Originally this was used to write waveguides into transparent materials by creating a local change to the refractive index. However this also makes the exposed areas a lot easier to etch, with a differential etch rate of 300:1. The etched area can also be a volume, and it can be below the surface, creating 3D ducts which can be etched by 8M KOH, as well as the usual (and highly dangerous) HF. Materials tested include soda lime glass (window glass), Silica and Lithium Niobium Titante LiNbTiO4It can also lower the pulse energy needed in the case of Aluminum by about a factor of 15Immersing an object in water, and focusing the beam at a spot above the surface creates micro explosions of intense heat and shock waves that can eat through 3mm metal in precise patterns. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjK14Ocz8LVAhXOZlAKHdg3DHoQFggrMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2072-666X%2F6%2F12%2F1471%2Fpdf&usg=AFQjCNF5tqiZWu2avAd_Fvu-kPutocxzJwThis technology already exists as a COTS machine. https://www.femtoprint.ch/IOW it's broad spectrum, works with both conductors and non conductors, does not need a resist and can enable etching with relatively safe etches of transparent materials and machining of metals.
Can the femtosecond laser explosive etching be used to make a very fine channeled plate, similar to printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHE)?
This is very impressive in terms of 3d printing. Any data on T/W or Isp?
Quote from: john smith 19 on 09/13/2017 09:37 amThis is very impressive in terms of 3d printing. Any data on T/W or Isp?The T/W is low since the engine was not designed for flight. I couldn't find any other technical information.