3D Printing a Pulsar

A pulsar is a very strange astronomical object that is the result of a collapsing star. The conservation of angular momentum means the small collapsed star spins very rapidly, causing it to "pulse" its radio signals on a very reliable frequency, hence the name "Pulsar". 

 

Peter Walters and Katie Davies of England's University of the West decided to 3D print a pulsar. Well, not actual size, of course. We don't have a 3D printer available of that size yet. 

 

The print represents the strength of the radio signals received from the Vela Pulsar (PSR B0833-45) as it rotates. The bizarre astronomical object emits radio, optical, X-ray and gamma rays. Very nasty stuff if you happen to be nearby. We'd rather just admire the beautiful 3D print of its signals. 

  

Via Wired

Generated Spaceships

Once you have a 3D printer, the eternal question is, "what should I print?" One can tediously look through online repositories for something interesting, or perhaps tediously design something new with your 3D modelling software if you have the skills, ability and time. 

 

But what if you could generate your own model? And specifically spaceships? 

 

That's just what you can do now, according to a report and tutorial on Ponoko's blog. The generator, Shipwright, is a Blender plugin that contains a variety of different "ship parts" that can be connected together to form some very cool ships. 

 

The plug-in, developed by macouno, is derived from another of his work: Entoform. Entoform similarly generates weird biological shapes, things with the wrong number of legs, etc. Entoforms also includes a "DNA" feature in which a text string (playing the role of DNA) is used to select body parts and generate a unique individual. Of course, the DNA feature is also present in Shipwright: you can type in a string and get your unique spaceship, too. 

 

Via Ponoko, BlendSwap and Entoforms

Made In Space: Update

Last week we mentioned Made In Space's achievement of testing two commercial 3D printers in a simulated weightless environment. But we wondered which 3D printers were used, as the material we saw did not specify the printer involved - only that one of the printers originated from 3D Systems.

 

Today we see a press release from 3D Systems that says: 

 

3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) announced today that its affordable BfB™ 3000 3D printer successfully completed two zero-gravity test flights in partnership with MADE IN SPACE, a start-up dedicated to providing solutions for manufacturing in outer space.

 

So, the mystery 3D printer was the very solid BFB 3000! 3D Systems' VP of marketing, Cathy Lewis said: 

 

We are pleased that our Bits From Bytes 3D Printer performed well in zero gravity conditions.

 

Apparently Made In Space will continue weightless testing and even plans "suborbital testing over the next few months". We think that means strapping the BFB the top of a rocket and boosting it up to orbital altitudes - but without the speed to achieve orbit. 

 

This would provide a much longer period of weightlessness for testing, since the zero-gravity flight method provides only a minute or so of weightless time. We're wondering whether this can provide comprehensive testing, because most 3D prints take quite a bit of time. Eventually we'll see these printers in orbit where they can print larger test objects. 

 

Via 3D Systems

Space-Based 3D Printers Pass Important Test

Space.com reports this morning on experiments undertaken by Made In Space to verify whether 3D printers can be used in orbit. Evidently two commercial 3D printers were tested during temporary zero-gravity environment simulation fights.

 

We've written about Made In Space before, as they were formed last year to address the problem of efficiently solving the problem of spare parts in orbit. The group was founded by students from the Singularity University and now their product has passed the zero-gravity test. 

 

Space 3D printing is an obvious application, since it would vastly simplify the need for spare parts. Instead of shipping a heavy inventory of parts ahead of time, most of which would probably never be needed, you need only send a 3D printer and some print material. Then parts are made only as required.  

 

The 3D printers tested by Made In Space were not specified in the report, but apparently one of the modified 3D printers came from industry giant 3D Systems. In the image (click the Made In Space team's pic above for larger detail), it's unclear which models are in play. However, there seems to be very significant modifications present. 

 

We suspect the modifications may involve a number of different areas:

 

• One of the most important areas will be fume capture. Unpleasant, if not toxic fumes are sometimes produced by 3D printers, depending on what you're using as raw material. You don't want to pollute the closed environment of a human-occupied spacecraft.
• Another area of interest would be waste capture, since many 3D printers issue dust, drips or fine bits that would no doubt disrupt or even damage a spacecraft as they float freely about the cabin in a micro-gravity environment. 
• Safety concerns will be high, as some types of 3D printers have components that operate at very high temperatures and even high voltages. Orbital 3D printers would have to protect against heat damage by including physical or electrical safety measures.
• Function of the 3D printers in zero-gravity would have to be ensured. The right materials should still adhere even though no gravity would push layers together. 
• Object finishing is often a dirty process, sometimes involving vacuum chambers or very sharp implements. Dangerous stuff for an orbital human environment. 

 

And there's no doubt many more concerns that Made In Space must address. Nevertheless, this is a huge development that will make future space journeys, especially long term journeys, a lot simpler. 

  

Via Space.com

3D Printed CubeSat

You may have seen a freight train pass by hauling endless standard-sized shipping containers. Those containers make freight economical because the entire transportation system can safely assume their characteristics and adapt appropriately. 

 

There's a similar standard for space satellites: CubeSat. It's a one-liter 10 x 10 x 10 cm cube that can weigh no more than 1.33Kg. CubeSats are typically used by academics to prepare scientific payloads for use in space. Launch vehicles are able to accommodate the CubeSats because they all have the same physical standards.

 

Now we see a team has developed a CubeSat using 3D printing. A team including people from Project Starshine, Planetary Systems Corporation, The University of Arkansas, Colorado Satellite Services, Morehead State University, Montana State University, Air Force Research Laboratory/Space Vehicles Directorate, CRP USA, LLC;, Analytical Graphics, Inc., United States Air Force, Universal Space Network and Space Dynamics Laboratory CRP built a 2U (two units) CubeSat to investigate the inner Van Allen radiation belt. Their satellite, called "RAMPART" (RApid prototyped Mems Propulsion And Radiation Test CUBEflow SATellite) measures particle flux and other dangerous stuff high in the sky. 

 

Needless to say, in such an endeavor equipment will face significant thermal, chemical and mechanical stress. They also needed to design a CubeSat with as low mass as possible. To meet these challenges, one of the key technologies used was a special material developed by CRP called Windform XT, a polyamide-based material. 3D printing was done using powder-based laser sintering. The final CubeSat was plated with High Phosphorus Electroless Nickel, apparently to provide a target for radar tracking. 

 

This shows the potential for 3D printing when different materials are specifically designed for a unique purpose. One can imagine this and other powerful materials available for use by 3D printers, enabling a much wider set of possible printable objects. 

 

Via Additive3D and WindForm

Printing Rockets

You may be under the impression that 3D printers produce flimsy models, suitable for show - but not for action. This is generally true, but it's changing as 3D printing ventures into metal or concrete printing. One project we're watching is taking place at ZCorp, manufacturers of high-end commercial 3D printers. Mark Cook, ZCorp's VP of R&D, recently reported that some of their engineers have begun work on printing custom designed rockets. From Cook: 

 

... a few that you would think had no business launching off a pad at a thrust of 10 – 30 Newton. This activity pushed limits of rocket design as well as 3DP capabilities. Simple cylindrical rockets were produced with average wall thicknesses of .025” in order to keep the weight down. More creative designs placed the rocket motor closer to the top instead of at the bottom. Another can be most easily described as a skeletal design having no skin or shell whatsoever. 

 

We're looking forward to seeing video or at least more pictures of their space exploration experiments. 

 

Via 3D Printing and Prototyping

Lunar Spin-Offs for 3D Printing?

We've been reading a discussion on OpenManufacturing about the discovery of various elements on the lunar surface by NASA's LCROSS project. LCROSS was a pretty daring expedition to determine if water is present in ice form within permanently shaded polar craters: 

 

• Place a spacecraft into Lunar orbit
• Separate into two spacecraft, orbiting on similar paths
• Adjust one spacecraft's orbit to plunge into the surface at a designated point
• Observe and sample the resulting explosion plume from the second spacecraft
• Analyze the data to determine whether water was ejected

 

The astonishing news was that it turns out there are massive quantities of water (up to 5%) embedded in the lunar surface, which can only be the best news possible for future lunar exploration. Water is not only drinkable, but can be broken down into fuel and breathable oxygen. 

 

But here's the interesting part: there were other things discovered in the plume, including Silver, Gold, Mercury and a wide range of other elements. Further speculation involves magnesium, tellurium, indium, and selenium. In other words, it sounds like there's a surface rich in all kinds of interesting stuff. Stuff you might be able to build with.

 

We suspect this richness may spur the development of onsite refiners that would be able to sift through the lunar soil to produce concentrated quantities of raw material. Raw material suitable for building things with fabrication equipment. That's right - put a space-rated 3D Printer onsite to produce whatever is needed, using local materials. 

 

If such a development occurred, we think a natural spin-off might be methods useful for designing inexpensive material recyclers that could augment 3D printers here on Earth. We'd imagine a device capable of accepting impure raw material and producing pure feed material for making operations. That and a lot of leftover waste, too. 

 

Via New Scientist

3D Printing Made In Space

We wrote about NASA's interest in 3D space printing here and here, but now there is interest from an independent space printing company: Made In Space, recently founded by students from The Singularity University. 

 

At last week's SSI Space Manufacturing Conference, several folks from Made in Space presented "3D Metal Printing in Space: Enabling New Markets and Accelerating the Growth of Orbital Infrastructure". The idea is straightforward, and brilliant: don't spend money sending completed items on expensive rockets into space; instead send a 3D printer and make what you need onsite. 

 

Of course, the premise assumes you have the right raw materials present to feed the printer, which obviously must be rocketed upwards. You might save weight by avoiding sending up unused spare parts on spec, but on the other hand you might send raw print material up that never gets used. 

 

This is a trade off that must be examined carefully, but we think there's likely a large number of spare parts on the space station that could be manufactured as required, assuming you had a sufficiently capable 3D printer onboard. According to Made In Space's co-founder, Jason Dunn, launch weight might be lowered by as much as 30% by printing fragile items in orbit, rather than overbuilding them just to survive violent rocket launches. 

 

Made In Space intends to actually test their idea by performing 3D printing in weightless and airless environments, perhaps initially by less-expensive suborbital flight paths. Eventually, if things work out, they hope to send a printer into orbit for further testing. 

 

If they can figure out how to make this work, it could significantly change space exploration. Imagine a 3D printer-equipped lander on Mars, building structures, expanding itself and constructing test equipment all from native materials. Imagine further the improvements to 3D printing technology that would result from NASA and others heading down this path. Talk about useful spin-offs! 

 

Via SPACE.com