What Is 3D Printing and How Is It Applied in the Space Sector?

The capacity of additive manufacturing, often called 3D printing, to speed the prototype process up and create components in hours has impacted many industries lately.

Its potential uses of space 3d printing are endless, with huge promise for improving space vehicle manufacturing and design to make exploratory missions cheaper. Despite the space industry’s complexity, 3D printing offers a lot of promise as far as changing the way spaceships are developed goes.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

A common space 3D printer functions similarly to an inkjet printer that’s controlled by a computer. In the process called fused depositional modeling or FDM, it builds the 3D model up layer by layer from bottom-up, repeatedly creating layers in the same area. 

Then, the printer builds a model in several hours by converting a 3D CAD design into many cross-sectional and two-dimensional layers. The result is separate 2D prints stacking over each other, with no paper in between. Instead of ink being used, as ink would never build much volume up, the printer employs ultraviolet radiation or adhesive to fuse molten plastic layers or powder together, and to add them to the structure that has already been created.

Top Benefits of 3D Printing in the Space Sector

Below are the space 3d printer benefits the new technology is offering as of now.

Cost-Effective Manufacturing 

When 3D printing, too many raw materials are no longer needed as they are with traditional methods. This technology’s laser technique ensures more precision. Because of this, there will be no leftover materials to reuse, and optimal production efficiency gets to be a crucial feature of this technology.

Further, basic materials can be reproduced and reused into brand new forms so that they are launched into space without any extra expense, allowing them to be reused in unprecedented ways.

Remote Production 

The beauty of 3d printing in the space industry is that you can print almost anything from anywhere on the planet. The capacity to be employed in a variety of locations and circumstances is a big plus, particularly when limited by geography.

3D printing is projected to become very beneficial for future Mars or Moon colonies, as people will be able to create there whatever they want, including food, on demand. Many space habitats have previously seen 3D printing in action, including NASA’s spectacular display on the ISS, when participants have 3d printed rocket parts.

Weight Reduction 

Every kilogram counts in space. Extra weight may turn any successful mission to go wrong if the rocket encounters more opposition than it can be capable of handling. 3D printing may be a useful technique for reducing the weight in this industry in which the margin of error is narrow.

3d printed spacecraft may be a useful technique for reducing the weight in this industry in which the margin of error is narrow. 

Design Freedom

Engineers can leverage 3D printing’s capabilities to modify designs using lattice structures. Complicated engineering problems are tackled by using technology to provide effective and simple results.

3D printing may be used to make specialized components with just the same amount of design flexibility that’s required for the space industry. This is because technology expands design space, allowing for component shapes that would be unthinkable in the world of conventional casting or machining to be created.

Sustainability

When using 3D printing to fabricate anything, 70-90% less waste than when using traditional methods should be expected.

3D printing encourages reusing industrial resources, such as recycled plastic bottles when it comes to generating new materials, as the world today seems to be having more and more green demands. The environmentally beneficial and long-term 3D printing nature implies that space manufacturing has a bright future.

Space Companies That are Using 3D Printing

Some of the space companies that have been giving a lot of importance to 3D printing and are using this technology to build their advanced equipment are Skyrora, Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, and Fleet Space, and more than one 3d printed rocket company should soon join these ranks. 

3D Printing Is Here to Stay in the Space Sector 

3D printing will very certainly play a big part in how space is explored, or other planets colonized. It’s a sustainable and highly successful manufacturing process because it cuts costs while improving environmental welfare and efficiency. All in all, 3D printing definitely has to be evolved.