3D Printing Device Could Build Moon Base from Lunar DustFuture astronauts might end up living in a moon base created largely from lunar dust and regolith, if a giant 3-D printing device can work on the lunar surface. The print-on-demand technology, known as D-Shape, could save on launch and transportation costs for manned missions to the moon. But the concept must first prove itself in exploratory tests funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
D-Shape has created full-size sandstone buildings on Earth by using a 3-D printing process similar to how inkjet printers work. It adds a special inorganic binder to sand so that it can build a structure from the bottom up, one layer at a time. The device raises its printer head by just 5 to 10 millimeters for each layer, moving from side to side on horizontal beams as well as up and down on four metal frame columns.
Finished structures end made out of a marble-like material that’s superior to certain types of cement. The buildings do not require iron reinforcing. Such a concept might help future lunar colonists live off the land, as well as provide thick-walled structures that protect against solar storms or micrometeorites. D-Shape offers the added attraction of having a somewhat straightforward building process that does not require huge amounts of construction machinery or many robot laborers.
Space agencies have already begun testing other technologies meant to mine water and oxygen from the lunar regolith. NASA scientists have also played with possible recipes for a sort of lunar concrete based on moon dust.
Image: This 2-meter-tall gazebo was built with D-shape 3-D printing technology. The monolithic sandstone structure was made of about 200 thin layers and was designed to look like a micro-organism called Radiolaria. The structure in the background, overhead, is the printing device.
Source: SPACE.com
That is one of the rare moment where I can say: I have never heard of any idea close to this one!
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Founded by a Brooklyn-based hackerspace, MakerBot Industries aims to promote the DIY manufacturing movement by producing affordable 3D printers that allow people to create almost any plastic object. CupCake CNC is the company’s main product. Made from a 100% open source design that can be freely downloaded, the CupCake takes digital design files as its input and produces 3D objects by building up layers of plastic. The machine is sold as a flat-pack kit that can be assembled by two people in a couple of days. It can even make its own replacement parts. Tinkerers can create their own designs from scratch using CAD software, or download a design file from Thingiverse, an online repository for the sharing of open source MakerBot designs.
3D printers are nothing new, but they usually cost tens of thousands of dollars. The CupCake CNC kit is going for USD 750. With DIY manufacturing now so affordable, and the popularity of magazines such as Make on the rise, it’s no wonder some are predicting a personal manufacturing revolution akin to that of personal computing. NYC Resistor is a small operation; could there be an opening for the mass production of MakerBots? (Related: Connecting creative consumers with local fabricators — Desktop manufacturing, minus the special software — More desktop manufacturing for consumers.)
Website: www.makerbot.com
Contact: www.store.makerbot.com/contactsSpotted by: Bonnie Sandy
Not long ago I heard someone talking about an interesting future vision in which 3D Printer get a big role in economy. This vision was - among other things - about the infinite device. In theory, if a device becomes defective you could print out a spare part which perfectly fits into that device. So you don’t need to buy a new one just because of one damaged part. That’s really a nice vision although you probably get your hands dirty.
Besides an enormous boost of peoples creative development I see another interesting advantage. if you want a custom design to materialize today you assign a Chinese manufacturer to create it for a couple of $. Though this works pretty well in general the shipping time is the great bottleneck. I think having a decentralized network of 3D Printers would be a huge advantage and would facilitates a huge amount of very crazy business models.
