3D printing has enormous potential for application in space. After all, the speed and efficiency of this technology's manufacturing products make it very suitable for use in resource-constrained environments. However, so far, we have not yet understood the influence of microgravity on the 3D printing process. To this end, the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Clausthal University of Technology and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have jointly launched a project entitled “Powder Additive Production under Weightless Conditions†for further development. Investigate the impact of microgravity on 3D printing and accelerate the arrival of the era of space 3D printing.
In a five-day period, the researchers performed powder 3D printing experiments under very low gravity, which is part of the DLR's 30th parabolic flight.
French company Novespace organized these flights on behalf of DLR. The carrier was an Airbus 310 aircraft. In order to carry out 3D printing experiments, there is a large laboratory in the aircraft. The plane took off from an airport in Bordeaux and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Every day, the aircraft will fly 31 parabolic flights and the entire event will last for a total of four days. On each flight, the participants were in weightlessness for about 22 seconds. Four days later, they experienced 35 minutes of weightlessness.
NASA has been using a 3D printer on the International Space Station, but this is a plastic-based FDM3D printer that operates in a different way than a powder bed system. The joint project focused on the production of a single 3D printed part and the development of a method to stabilize metal powders in a microgravity environment. In the past, it was very difficult to do this because the “printing beds†that did not exert pressure on them could not be combined.
In order to stabilize 3D prints during layer-by-layer printing, the researchers used an air-gas flow inhalation system. In the absence of gravity, the powder can be held in a predetermined position by vacuum. The researchers successfully printed out 30 layers of a set object, which is a very promising start. It turns out that this method not only stabilizes the 3D printing process under these extreme conditions, but the inhalation system may also be used to optimize everyday 3D printing on Earth.
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