3D printing

[Frogbull]

The ESA (European Space Agency) is testing the use of 3D printing for more efficient lunar base construction.

What do you think of this concept ?

Source : http://www.esa.int/Highlights/Lunar_3D_printing

[Scotius]

Pretty cool idea, though it will require long time planning and funding. First, let's see how 3D printer on board of ISS will work.

[Lillegre]

Berming... especially awesome when done on the Mun!

[ZedNova]

I think we should just 3D print the hatch that goes to our underground tunnels on the moon. Protection from radiation, meteoroids and solar storms. Plus we could do some rock science while we're down there.

[Frogbull]

I think we should just 3D print the hatch that goes to our underground tunnels on the moon. Protection from radiation, meteoroids and solar storms. Plus we could do some rock science while we're down there.

A large layer of regolith is enough; you don't need to go deep underground.

And, if the Moon base is based on the South Pole, it would be a mess to not have a direct view of the Earth. On the South Pole the Earth is always in the "sky" like the Sun (except when the Sun go behind the Earth for a very short time).

[Good_Apollo]

It means a lot in the design area. I have here on my desk a vice that my grandfather machined by hand from a block of steel for his own use during his time as a NASA engineer (His work was mainly in scale models for use in wind tunnels in an aeronautical expertise).

Not sure if you could make a functional vice (only limitation would be base material strength) but I sure as hell know he wishes he had a 3D printer that could have certainly aided in numerous projects that in his time required real sweat.

[Scotius]

I think it's a beginning of something truly amazing. 3D printing have the capacity to change our civilisation in a way that steam engines, automobiles and widely available personnal compters did. If 3D printing in micro gravity will work as advertised, space industry can finally become reality.

[Kerbface]

The surface of the moon looks suspiciously like it's had water on it...

But seriously, 3D printing can probably do great things for our future. I imagine in 10-20 years there will be some sort of 3d printing in every ship. Perhaps it could even make orbital construction a lot simpler, motivating asteroid and/or moon mining for cheaper space stuff.

[Fel]

I think it's a beginning of something truly amazing. 3D printing have the capacity to change our civilisation in a way that steam engines, automobiles and widely available personnal compters did. If 3D printing in micro gravity will work as advertised, space industry can finally become reality.

But seriously, 3D printing can probably do great things for our future. I imagine in 10-20 years there will be some sort of 3d printing in every ship. Perhaps it could even make orbital construction a lot simpler, motivating asteroid and/or moon mining for cheaper space stuff.

Not really, it's just another fluff story.

What it sounds like they're doing isn't actually '3d printing' as much as making cement, and covering buildings with it. The moon supplies most of the raw material; but they need to bring the last few ingredients over. Their "printers" are just little rovers spreading cement around.

If you want to colonize you wouldn't bring a 3D Printer, you'd bring a kelm. You can produce bricks faster than the printer can print them; and then you can lay said bricks faster than your printer can even finish the floor. *Now, you could bring "Brick Laying Rovers" but calling that 3d printing is an insult to technology.

[Kerbface]

Not really, it's just another fluff story.

What it sounds like they're doing isn't actually '3d printing' as much as making cement, and covering buildings with it. The moon supplies most of the raw material; but they need to bring the last few ingredients over. Their "printers" are just little rovers spreading cement around.

If you want to colonize you wouldn't bring a 3D Printer, you'd bring a kelm. You can produce bricks faster than the printer can print them; and then you can lay said bricks faster than your printer can even finish the floor. *Now, you could bring "Brick Laying Rovers" but calling that 3d printing is an insult to technology.

Okay, so this isn't 3D printing, fair enough, but I think the point still stands about orbital construction. If they can get metals and other spacecraft building materials to print in micro gravity, you could save a lot of money that would otherwise be spent researching complex technologies for creating spaceship parts in orbit. It'd be slow, sure, but would probably save a lot of money.