On Thursday, May 30, a Metal 3D Printer technology demonstrator successfully printed an s-curve test line aboard ISS’s Columbus laboratory module. It’s the very first metal 3D printing aboard the ISS: the result is encouraging and allows the start of a subsequent full-scale 3D printing test.
📢 First 3D metal printing on the @Space_Station! Watch this mesmerising video of space manufacturing in the making, courtesy of @esa and @AirbusSpace 👇 https://t.co/DNYsqbgGTi
— European Space Agency (@esa) June 3, 2024
Polymer-based 3D printers have already been launched to, and used aboard the ISS, using plastic material that is heated at the printer’s head, and then deposited to build up the desired object, one layer at a time.
Printing with stainless steel involves greater technical challenges and complicates the process due to much higher temperatures and metal melting using a powerful laser. With this, the safety of the crew and the Station itself has to be ensured. If successful though, the strength, conductivity, and rigidity of metal would take the potential of in-space 3D printing to new heights.
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The world’s first metal 3D printer for space
The 3D printer demonstrator was developed by an industrial team led by Airbus Defence and Space SAS under contract to ESA’s Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration.
It was launched on the Cygnus NG-20 resupply mission on January 30, 2024. Once arrived at the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen installed the 180 kg Metal 3D printer in the Europe Draw Rack Mark II in ESA’s Columbus module.
The printer uses a type of stainless steel commonly used in medical implants and water treatment due to its good resistance to corrosion. Before the print process begins the printer’s internal oxygen atmosphere has to be vented to space, and replaced by nitrogen, to avoid the oxidation of the metal.
Subsequently, the stainless steel is fed into the printing area, which is heated by a high-power laser, about a million times more powerful than a common laser pointer. As the wire dips into the melt pool, the end of the wire melts, and metal is then added to the print.
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A work of adaptation to the space environment
The major challenge in the development of such a printer was the size: on Earth, current metal 3D printers are installed in a minimum ten square meter laboratory. In order to fit the rack in which the device had to be installed on the Columbus module, it had to be shrunk to the size of a washing machine. With this, the capability of printing objects is bound to a volume of nine centimeters high and five centimeters wide.
A second challenge was safety: the melting point of metal alloys compatible with this process can be far over 1200 degrees C. Furthermore, fumes are emitted during the printing. For these reasons, the printer sits in a sealed metal box, which acts like a safe.
Last but not least, gravity management is key: wire-based technology is independent of gravity unlike powder-based systems, which always rely on gravity to function.
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Full-scale 3D print test
The next step will be an actual 3D print of four objects to test the performance of the printer and to evaluate microgravity’s impact on the process. The test will produce four specimens which will travel back to Earth for processing and analysis conducted by ESA and Danish Technical University.
They will perform microstructural analysis, strength, and bending tests on the parts made in space. The specimens will be compared to the other four identical samples that have been made on the ground.
Recycling satellites
ESA’s goal behind the project is to create a circular space economy and recycle material in orbit. If successful, this practice would benefit enormously in-orbit operations. The 3D printer would eliminate the need to send a tool up with a rocket and allow the astronauts to print needed parts in orbit, reducing costs in terms of money and time.
One way would be to repurpose bits from old satellites into new tools or structures. Another application would be the production of structural parts for a sustained presence on the Moon since bringing materials back and forth from there is a real challenge.
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