Wide Format news 1-2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Space recyclers The MakerBot 3D printing company, in partnership with NASA, had a contest in 2014 called the MakerBot Mars Base Challenge, seeing designs for Mars 3D-printed habitat for astronauts. This design by Noah Hornberger won first prize September. Structures are also contemplated for earth habitat. The UN estimates that approximately three billion people will need housing by 2030. Italian engineering company WASP has constructed a 40 by 20 foot (approximately 6 by 12 metre) 3D printer that layers clay and builds houses. The project, consisting of a metal frame suspending a nozzle, is expected to help solve the global housing crisis with sustainable materials. For now, actual printers capable of 3D printing in zero-gravity are smaller. The first zero-gravity printer from NASA/JPL partner Made in Space was launched on 21 September 2014 as part of a pack of experiments. The device, tested on a specially-made aircraft to simulate zero-gravity flight and sent to the International Space Station, built an ABS-plastic ratchet wrench later tested on the ground, but proved its value in building tools and parts as second-generation zero-gravity 3D printers are being devised. “We are actively researching traditional methods and novel techniques that use extraterrestrial regolith simulants as feedstock for additive manufacturing,” said Brad Kohlenberg, Business Development Engineer for Made In Space, based in Mountain View, California. “We expect these efforts to help in the overall goal of making humanity a multi-planetary species. Ultimately, our participation towards that end could take many forms.” The Additive Manufacturing Facility by Made in Space was installed at the International Space Station in April 2016, and this 3D printer will print with a wide range of polymers, is designed to last the entire lifetime of the space station, and is commercially available for any customers on Earth who wish to get hardware into space. Now that Made in Space has demonstrated technical ability and built relationships with partners, Kohlenberg said “we are looking to finally do the things we dreamed about when we started the company - building the necessary infrastructure for human spaceflight, in space. That infrastructure could entail everything from on-demand satellites and habitats to space elevators and kilometre-scale colony ships. “As these manufacturing technologies become more sophisticated and as we reach further away from Earth, Made In Space imagines a future in which advanced in-situ resource utilisation and additive manufacturing techniques allow us to use the resources we find out in space, rather than having to bring everything we need with us, allowing us to live sustainably and permanently off-world”. Pat Carey, Vice President of Go-to-market Strategy and Programmes for Stratasys, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, says any technology goes through goes through a curve of early adopters, then mass adoption, which becomes more affordable because of the volume. All technology follows the same curve, he said, and with 3D printing, “we’ll follow that same curve and there will be innovations we can’t imagine that will come out”. A recycling project called R3DO is a material reclaimer by Made In Space to reuse material for printing a 3D-printed object when the original objects breaks or is obsolete. JPL’s Soderstrom saw similar projects at an electronics show about three years ago: “In order for us to be able to print in space, we have to be able to recycle the material…that’s going to be a key to the future, especially in space.” Reprinting parts The recent movie, The Martian, starring Matt Damon, showed the need for parts in space. “When things go wrong and all of a sudden, you need something, how do you get it in space?” Soderstrom said. “It’s not an easy thing. You’ve got to have a launch vehicle; you have to know what you need, and by that time, days and days have gone by. What if you could just reprint that part? We’ve demonstrated that with NASA using Made In Space. It’s usually made out of ABS plastic, but it shows that it’s possible to do that.” It will mean better handling emergencies with speed, he said, adding: “It’s extremely important for logistics.” Kohlenberg said ongoing developments that will make 3D printing more practical on earth are the same things that will make An artist’s conception of a Mars base (NASA/JPL public domain) ©<strong>2017</strong> The Recycler www.therecycler.com Page 2
it more practical in space. “Namely, faster speeds, increasing the range of materials, improving the integrity of printed parts, and making it easier to use. However, some things like ease of use are actually less important in space because the zero-G 3D printer is almost entirely remotely operated by experts. All the astronaut need do is say, ‘I need such and such’ and the ground teams will use the printer to make it so.” materials.” NASA/JPL is seeking partnerships with companies and universities to make new materials for 3D printing, which is a commercial development, Soderstrom added. There is quality assurance with materials to validate that the material will work. “One of the most interesting things is that when we send something into space, it’s extremely risky, so we demonstrate that it’s going to work as much as we can. So there is a lot of QA. We will x-ray the materials to assure there’s no problem with it.” Borgonia said that polymers are a good “show and tell” toy, but can 3D-printed titanium parts behave similar to the wrought version of the material? It’s something JPL is working with the America Makes Consortium to determine (so far, titanium does behave similarly). Dramatic innovation LavaHive, designed by the LavaHive team in the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge Design Competition, won third place in the NASA-awarded competition, using a ‘lava-casting’ construction Changing methods An engineer designing a component of part with subtractive manufacturing is classically trained to understand how to do it, said John Paul Borgonia, Technologist at JPL Materials Developments and Manufacturing Technology Group. “There are some limitations to that type of manufacturing,” Borgonia said. “With additive, it completely changes their way of thinking as engineers, because there are features that would not have been possible to add to the hardware without additive manufacturing. Take, for example, I want a particular structure. Now, I want the actual inside of that structure to be cellular. With additive manufacturing, those features can be added.” In space, materials become important as it is super-hot and super-cold and airless, so they have to handle all that, Soderstrom noted. Now robots that fly, swim and climb are being made with more speed, in contrast to the delay in sending out plans and would take a week to come back. “This cycle that used to take weeks, now that we have the multi-material printer in house, that cycle that used to take six weeks is now a day and a half.” Soderstrom says innovative things are being done with 3D printing of food. One of his favourite devices is the “Star Trek” replicator. “How far away is that? It may not be that far. It all comes down to material, and I think being able to experiment with new materials is something that’s extremely important Jason Dunn, CTO of Made In Space (foreground) and Mike Snyder, Director of Research and Development (background) work on the 3D printer sent to operate in the microgravity of the International Space Station (courtesy of Made In Space) for us in space and here at JPL. We at JPL are working quite heavily now by looking at new Soderstrom says now, designs can be done over the internet with programmes through Thingiverse or similar websites, and with social networks, there is a collaboration that has never been done before. He says 3D printing is enabling us being on “the very cusp or dramatic innovation”. Kohlenberg says with the research efforts at Made In Space, they hope to expedite humanity’s ability to survive any potential future events that could jeopardise life on earth. “As we develop solutions for living sustainably in space, we can take those lessons of sustainability back to earth and better live on a planet with finite resources. In the very near term, we hope that our research leads to more products like Made In Space - Fibre On the right is the 3D printer by Made In Space launched to the International Space Station in 2014, and on the left is an electronics box that supplies power and stores data. The printer was deemed successful in 3D zero-gravity printing, and another larger 3D printer is currently at the ISS (courtesy of Made In Space) Optics with clear and tangible economic benefits that can further enable our long term vision.” Soderstrom says it’s about future thinking, with one of the key things considering how 3D printing can help NASA/JPL stakeholders - the public. “In fact, it’s all of humanity. Being able to engage the public and all of humanity in the idea of ‘What could we do with 3D printing?’ is one of the goals, and we’ve had quite a few of those already, but I think we’re just scratching the surface. All of the innovation that is happening in 3D printing in industry and homes throughout the world and in universities is really going to help us a lot.” ©<strong>2017</strong> The Recycler www.therecycler.com Page 3
Page 1: years CELEBRATING TWENTY FIVE YEARS
Page 5 and 6: Aqueous perks Aqueous printing’s
Page 7 and 8: The process Beal says with large co
Page 9 and 10: Dr. K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Ener
Page 11 and 12: 10-colour inkset that consistently

Wide Format news 1-2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?