3D Printer uses Space Related

[kch]

{snip}
"Two powerful neodymium magnets are mounted inside of the shoe and move back and forth on tracks hidden inside of the hollow sneaker. The magnets pull the ferrofluid up from the pool and cause some pretty eye popping geometric shapes to form. "

Ah. That is how TARDISes change shape.

It would explain the pipe organ ...

[Prober]

First-of-its-Kind Coffee 3D Printing Filament

"Their latest is called “Wound Up” and, to put the third ‘r’ in “reduce, reuse, and recycle”, the material is made from recycled coffee grounds."

[ArbitraryConstant]

Given SuperDraco and Rutherford engines being 3D printed, that's a significant fraction of the new engines to be designed in the last 10 years, especially at the small size.

This is making me think it's going to be the go-to technology at that size even for advanced cycles.

Some examples that got me thinking along these lines are S5.98M, a Russian staged combustion engine used on upper stages. It uses hypergolics and gets a very good ISP for that combination. A new engine could use hypergolics like SuperDraco, or could use cryogenics with methane.

For expander, copper or aluminum alloys are compatible with 3D printing. jongoff wrote this in regards to using aluminum, though copper alloys are also printable, and with a 3D printed engine the needed cooling channels would be easy to embed. Here again methane would be the obvious choice. The engine could be further simplified by using an open expander cycle.

The companies that might go after this could be Rocket Lab/Firefly looking to build a block 2 with increased performance, and something in that thrust range would be great for some sort of COTS to the moon program.

An engine like this wouldn't require 3D printing to work, but could very easily reduce the cost and complexity of building it to the point where it becomes viable.

[Stormbringer]

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-3d-printing-microscopic-fish-team-method.html

microfiche? no it's micro-fish: little robots with various applications.

Hmmmm. I gotta make this space related.... OK.

How about millions of these little swimmers exploring the oceans of the gas giant moons?

[Prober]

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-3d-printing-microscopic-fish-team-method.html

microfiche? no it's micro-fish: little robots with various applications.

Hmmmm. I gotta make this space related.... OK.

How about millions of these little swimmers exploring the oceans of the gas giant moons?

you could have pulled in the key lines in the article

"various locomotion mechanisms, such as microjet engines, microdrillers and microrockets."

[Stormbringer]

I understand but that really isn't the key either. this thing is powered by peroxide. those things  you mentioned were prior art in the field. (I think)

[Scylla]

Successful NASA Rocket Fuel Pump Tests Pave Way for 3-D Printed Demonstrator Engine

One of the most complex, 3-D printed rocket engine parts ever made, a turbopump, got its “heartbeat” racing at more than 90,000 revolutions per minute (rpms) during a successful series of tests with liquid hydrogen propellant at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. These tests along with manufacturing and testing of injectors and other rocket engine parts are paving the way for advancements in 3-D printing of complex rocket engines and more efficient production of future spacecraft.

Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, is a key technology for enhancing space vehicle designs and enabling affordable missions to Mars. The turbopump is a critical rocket engine component with a turbine that spins and generates more than 2,000 horsepower--twice the horsepower of a NASCAR engine. Over the course of 15 tests, the turbopump reached full power, delivering 1,200 gallons of cryogenic liquid hydrogen per minute--enough to power an upper stage rocket engine capable of generating 35,000 pounds of thrust.

“Designing, building, and testing a 3-D printed rocket part as complex as the fuel pump was crucial to Marshall’s upcoming tests of an additively manufactured demonstrator engine made almost entirely with 3-D printed parts,” said Mary Beth Koelbl, deputy manager of Marshall’s Propulsion Systems Department. “By testing this fuel pump and other rocket parts made with additive manufacturing, NASA aims to drive down the risks and costs associated with using an entirely new process to build rocket engines.”

The 3-D printed turbopump has 45 percent fewer parts than similar pumps made with traditional welding and assembly techniques. Marshall engineers designed the fuel pump and its components and leveraged the expertise of four suppliers to build the parts using 3-D printing processes. To make each part, a design is entered into a 3-D printer's computer. The printer then builds each part by layering metal powder and fusing it together with a laser -- a process known as selective laser melting.

“NASA is making big advances in the additive manufacturing arena with this work," said Marty Calvert, Marshall’s design lead for the turbopump. “Several companies have indicated that the parts for this fuel pump were the most complex they have ever made with 3-D printing.”

During the tests, the 3-D printed turbopump was exposed to extreme environments experienced inside a rocket engine where fuel is burned at greater than 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,315 degrees Celsius) to produce thrust.  The turbopump delivers the fuel in the form of liquid hydrogen cooled below 400 degrees Fahrenheit (-240 degrees Celsius). Testing helps ensure 3-D printed parts operate successfully under these harsh conditions. Test data are available to American companies working to drive down the cost of using this new manufacturing process to build parts that meet aerospace standards. All data on materials characterization and performance are compiled in NASA’s Materials and Processes Technical Information System, called MAPTIS, which is available to approved users.

“Our team designed and tested the fuel pump and other parts, such as injectors and valves, for the additive manufactured demonstrator engine in just two years,” said Nick Case, a propulsion engineer and systems lead for the turbopump work. “If we used traditional manufacturing processes, it would have taken us double that time. Using a completely new manufacturing technique allowed NASA to design components for an additively manufactured demonstration engine in a whole new way.”

In addition to sharing test data with industry, the innovative engine designs can be provided to American companies developing future spaceflight engines. The engine thrust class and propellants were designed within the performance parameters applicable to an advanced configuration of NASA's Space Launch System, referred to as Block II. It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever built and provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system to places like Mars.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2015/successful-nasa-rocket-fuel-pump-tests-pave-way-for-3-d-printed-demonstrator-engine.html

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sVEPP0uHiJ8

Credits: NASA/MSFC/David Olive

[Prober]

Reprap related ie you can print on a $300 US printer.
"This new form of graphite called graphene, was isolated for the first time just 11 years ago at the University of Manchester."

"In March (2015), Graphene 3D Lab released the first 3D printing filament containing graphene, a nanocomposite PLA with graphene nanofibers."

What Can We 3D Print with Graphene Filament?
http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/08/26/what-can-we-3d-print-with-graphene-filament/

Conductive paths
Stronger parts
Electromagnetic shields
Sensors
=================================
Husband And Wife Team Unveil The World's First 3D-Printed Graphene Battery
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasperhamill/2014/10/23/husband-and-wife-team-unveil-the-worlds-first-3d-printed-graphene-battery/

==============================================================
Innovations in Material Science Brings Functional Filaments to Market
http://printing.cioreview.com/cxoinsight/innovations-in-material-science-bring-functional-filaments-to-market-nid-6345-cid-7.html

===========================================================
more info:  http://www.graphene3dlab.com/s/home.asp

Edit: add more Graphene Filament articles

[Prober]

Using Shapeways to 3D Print a Tiny, Fuel Free Microwave EMDrive Thruster?

http://3dprint.com/91880/3d-print-emdrive-thruster/

"So making one is the subject of no little interest, so Paul Kocyla, a professional hardware developer, coder and space enthusiast, has used 3D printing to take on the task of studying the effect."

"The megaphone-shaped cavity in Kocyla’s example was 3D printed in silver, which he says is “a very suitable material for waveguides due to its conductivity.” The cavity was created in polished silver by Shapeways, and then isolated in a set of 3D printed plastic mounts."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfZoJ8cs7Sc&feature=youtu.be

More linkage to the project can be found ...
https://hackaday.io/project/5596/gallery#3958eb217ce44334768e8df65a1e7e6e

[Prober]

Manufacturing on Mars: RedWorks’ Plan to 3D Print Settlements in Outer Space

http://tinyurl.com/nj8ptva

"The internal build of RedWorks’ space habitat, which is laid out like a spiraling staircase, is built with multiple levels that are individually designed to serve specific needs. The layout contains four main sections, which from top to bottom of the structure, includes one for habitat maintenance and surface exploration, another for living quarters, the third for laboratory facilities, and the last for storage and life support purposes. RedWorks have also refined initial designs to deal with the challenge of wind erosion and radiation that may become an issue once the settlements make it onto Mars. These designs (which are laid out in the picture below) seem structurally sound and innovative in nature, but the most exciting part of the concept isn’t what RedWorks is planning to build, it’s how they’re planning on building it."

"Ultimately, RedWorks’ vision is to combine traditionally natural building methods from Earth (such as the pueblo) with the process of 3D printing with Martian resources."

 

[TrevorMonty]

NASA 3D printed turbopump for 35,000 pound upper stage engine. This to power their 3D printed engine.


http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/08/29/nasa-tech-rocket-fuel-pump-tests-pave-3d-printed-engine/

The technology is available to approved domestic companies and even better still so is the complete engine design.

[Stormbringer]

nuts and bolts and  nuts and bolts...

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=4595

[Prober]

we've had jet engine articles before....but another that you just can't help be impressed with.  Falls under "what's possible".  Printed in a Prusa i3 3D printer with ABS Plastic, 0.3mm nozzle 0.1mm layer height.

This 3D-Printed Working Model of a 787's Jet Engine Has Impressive Thrust
http://toyland.gizmodo.com/this-3d-printed-working-model-of-a-787s-jet-engine-has-1727684811

"Harcoreta’s scale replica, which includes over 60 3D-printed blades and vanes on the inside, isn’t just a model destined to collect dust on a shelf. It actually produces more than enough thrust to power a remote-controlled airplane, and that’s exactly what its creator intends to use it for.

To make the design and build of the replica even more challenging, but also more accurate to the real thing, Harcoreta has even incorporated a functional thrust reverser into his engine. So when he’s eventually bringing an RC airplane in for a landing, he’ll be able to stop his creation in time before it runs off the end of a runway"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=138&v=9LkgHB5bgmc
=================================
Designer 3D Prints Working Scale Model of Boeing 787 Jet Engine at Desktop, Includes 60 Blades 
http://3dprint.com/93014/3d-print-boeing-engine/

Specs for the design are as follows:
◾18 blades for the main fan at 100mm diameter
◾24 outlet guide vanes
◾18 blades for the internal turbine at 34mm diameter
◾Thrust reverser, complete system with translating cowl, blocker doors and cascades
◾NTM 1400kv 35mm motor
◾Thrust target > 0.5Kg with 3S or 4S maximum
◾Simplified engine pylon
◾Minor reduction on the exhaust area, about 95% fsa

Edit: add 2nd article
Click the first gif

[Prober]

Can You 3D Print a Laser? In Fact, You Can! Sort of.

http://3dprint.com/92997/3d-print-a-laser-sort-of/

"Mysterious YouTuber KreAture is a maker and dabbler in electronics who decided to see if he could use 3D printed parts to help build a CO2 laser. While 3D printing a device capable of creating a gas laser sounds pretty implausible, KreAture was more than happy to make it plausible. The CO2 laser is one of the earliest gas lasers to be invented and despite being created way back in 1964, remains one of the most used today."

[Prober]

ArtiVasc 3D: Hybrid Inkjet & Laser 3D Printing Process Bio-Fabricates Artificial Blood Vessels

http://3dprint.com/93885/artivasc-3d-blood-vessels/

"ArtiVasc 3D is set to unveil a micro- and nano-scale manufacturing technology which promises the generation of entirely “vascularised bioartificial tissue.” What it means is tissue which can use nutrition and metabolism and the “bioartificial vascularised skin” engineered using ArtiVasc 3D may well be the first system capable of creating replacement tissue for human use."

===================================================
Lots in the Bio area:
BioBot 1 Desktop 3D Bioprinter Set to Officially Launch at 2015 TERMIS Next Week

http://3dprint.com/93992/biobot-1-desktop-3d-bioprinter/

[Prober]

New 3D Printed Whiskey Space Glass Allows Astronauts to Catch a Buzz
http://3dprint.com/94360/3d-printed-space-glass/

[Prober]

SMU Unveils Video of Unique LBDMD Metal 3D Printing Process Using 6-axis Robot
http://3dprint.com/94375/smu-lbdmd-multifab-3d-print/

"Laser-based Direct Metal Deposition (LBDMD), and when combined with the Universitiy’s MultiFab System, provides for several benefits over other more common methods of additive manufacturing."

“MultiFab combines depositions by welding and laser cladding, multi-axis machining, and in-situ inspection into one highly integrated system based on a 6-axis robot and a 5-axis high speed CNC machining center, providing the next generation technology for rapid and precise net-shape manufacturing using metals and ceramics,” Radovan Kovacevic explained.

[Prober]

Colonizing Mars With 3D Printed Sfero Habitats Made from Local Materials
http://3dprint.com/95170/mars-3d-printed-sfero-habitats/

"Their idea is for a robot capable of burrowing itself into the surface of Mars in order to extract the high concentrations of iron in the soil. The iron will be used to 3D print metal domes that will be insulated with a layer of water, also extracted directly from Martian soil. The habitat called Sfero is a contraction for “Sphere,” “Iron” and “Water,” for obvious reasons. "

[Scylla]

NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge
Design Competition Finalists
http://3dpchallenge.tumblr.com/

[Prober]

A Look into Powder Materials for Metal 3D Printing
http://tinyurl.com/qx32as4

Metals powders: How are they produced?