NASA has Now Printed 25 Different Parts in Space

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Once all the initial chatter quieted down regarding the 3D printer being sent to the ISS, many individuals may not be aware that astronauts have been busy putting their Made in Space Zero-G 3D printer to use, having completed multiple calibration and stress tests, as well as the 3D printing of a storage container and a fully-functioning ratchet. The ratchet was of particular significance because NASA emailed the design to the ISS after Commander “Butch” Willmore made a comment regarding the need for a wrench. The astronauts were able to upload the design and 3D print it — and use it — in a direct example of why NASA foresees 3D printing to have such great potential use and impact in space travel and future colonization concepts. Read more about it in the full article: http://3dprint.com/40026/3d-printing-in-space/


Below is a graphic looking at the various 3D printing tests run on the ISS:

[curious aardvark]

Does anyone know what settings and material they used for the wrench ?

It's white - could be nylon, pla, pet, abs.

I'd also like to know what settings they used. They say it took 4 hours to print.

I printed the same model at 10% infill in 1 hour and a bit.
Works fine.
But it'd be interesting to make an exact duplicate to see just how tough it is.

[RobH2]

Yea, just call JPL and ask them for their Cura profile...

It's interesting to look at the chart. Of course they are approaching the parts like only NASA would. They are doing test parts to compare to parts printed on earth to see if any variations exist in the strength, flexibility, dimensional stability, etc. Go NASA. Always testing and "making sure." I'm curious how their long bridges will turn out in zero gravity. Will they be able to print bridges as long as they want to that are perfect? I'm curious.

[Feign]

Personally, I'm curious to see what happens to an ABS part in full sunlight in the vacuum of space... Considering the sun-side surface on one side would be several hundred degrees and the other would be well below freezing, all while any water in the plastic both freezes and vaporizes. I imagine it would either pop from the escaping steam, or it would be wholly anticlimactic until someone grabs the part and it just squishes and crumbles.

Oh and then there's the constant ionizing radiation and it's tendency to knock hydrogen off of hydrocarbons, directly breaking them down into smaller chains. Basically turning plastics back into oils.

Space is scary.

[RobH2]

Ok, so there might be 3d houses in China but it doesn't look like anyone will be 3d printing rockets and shuttles anytime soon then.

Yes, space is scary. I still want to go there. Although, I read recently that space really isn't cold as we know it. Heat is measured by thermal dissipation and absorption, I guess that's technically how BTUs work. So, in space it's a vacuum so there is nothing for heat to travel to or from or through. The article wasn't as complete as I wanted it to be but it left me thinking that we can't use ground based physics when we think about how heat and cold work in space. The article actually said that space was not cold but warm. It's possible the article, again, not as complete as it wanted it to be, meant to get across that "vacuum" in space is warm. If there is no matter, then there can't be hot or cold. If that's the case, when we add matter (ABS, metal, people) we will get super heating and super cooling depending if the sun is direct or shaded. Makes for some "light" daydreaming...

Maybe ABS could withstand free space, I doubt it but who knows, but then there's the ionizing radiation thing. You can't protect from that by wearing a sweater. I hope NASA sticks some outside to see and then tells us about it.

[Feign]

Not only is space not cold, but the average temperature of space is exactly the same as the average temperature of everything in that space. Basically, if you take the average of the hot and cold sides of a thing that is in sunlight in orbit around the earth, you find that it is almost identical to the average temperature of the Earth itself (discounting constants like geothermal temperature, of course).
Before anyone goes thinking I'm slaying a sacred cow here, the distribution of temperature can certainly be affected by things on the ground, but not the total average temperature.

Now there's a big caveat to the idea that space is warm or cold... As long as you have pressure, you sure to get great insulation from space. But as pressure drops, heat escapes with it fast. Put simply, vacuum is warm, but decompression is cold, so you might be insulated if you are in space in the dark, but you don't get to that insulated state through any other means than dropping to well below freezing (and very far below the 'temperature' of the space around you). Of course, then there's things like water freezing at around 60^oc and other crazy effects of vacuum.

Space is strange. (and yes, I still want to go there too.)

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Since Made In Space sent their Zero-Gravity 3D printer to the International Space Station, 25 items have been 3D printed in space. When the company released the files for the famous ratchet wrench -- the first tool to be emailed up to space for printing -- enthusiasts around the world (in addition to those orbiting it) downloaded the files to print their own. Until recently, that was the only such tool they could replicate at home. But now, Made In Space has released more files. Via their Sketchfab page, Made In Space has released 12 new models free for download. Find out more about the files, their dimensions, and estimated print times in the full article: http://3dprint.com/49876/made-in-space-3d-print-files/ ‎


Below is a look at some of the files: