NASA's '3D-Printed' Rocket Injector

[Guest]

NASA is taking 3D printing to a whole new level: OK, so actually it's additive manufacturing, a more complicated form of 3D printing that used lasers to precisely melt metal powder into a desired form. This opens up a whole new avenue of manufacturing whereby you can make complicated rocket motors with significantly fewer parts (and less lag, right?).

Here's the link: Gizmodo: NASA's 3D-Printed Rocket Injector Test: A Beautiful Inferno

There is a link within the article that talks more about the manufacturing process.

[Scotius]

Can you say "Microgravity manufacturing"? In zero-g environment such printer could've work in real 3D - creating an object from all sides at once, without the need of any supporting structure or medium getting in the way (well, maybe EM field to hold it in one place).