Reflections on the Power of Making Real Things

Apollo 13 was a famous NASA mission not for its lunar landing goal (which it was unable to do) but rather for its famous recovery from absolute failure.  Space.com just published an article on how the mission would of have been different if the astronauts on board had a 3d printer on the spacecraft. You can read the article here. There is also an accompanying video here. The Apollo 13 crew had to create some very crude fixes from existing materials and tools on board in order to retrofit their CO2 filter canisters. This required engineers on the ground to spend countless hours figure out the solution with only the materials on board, then they had to test it on the ground, then they had to carefully walk the astronauts through the process in space. If a 3d printer had been on board, the engineers could have simply uploaded the print file for the retrofitted housing, and have the astronauts 3d print the piece within hours. 3d printing would not only help with innovating repair methods for future space explorers, but, more importantly, 3d printers could make human exploration much safer than ever.

Last year NASA also awarded a $125,000 grant for research into the possibility of 3d printing food in space.

“The current food system wouldn’t meet the nutritional needs and five-year shelf life required for a mission to Mars or other long duration missions,” NASA officials said in a statement. “Because refrigeration and freezing require significant spacecraft resources, current NASA provisions consist solely of individually prepackaged shelf stable foods, processed with technologies that degrade the micronutrients in the foods.”

As per my previous post, I’ve been conflicted on these Expert Blog Posts. Besides space, I’m also intrigued by the medical applications of 3d printing. Previously I mentioned 3d printed prosthetics. Today I found a news story on a 3d printed cranium!

“It was only a matter of time before critical brain functions were compromised and she would die,” said Dr Verweij. Major surgery was inevitable, but prior to the 3D printing technique, there was no ideal effective treatment.

I believe that the medical applications of 3d printing will be the most visible in the future. While I think the biological and medical aspects of 3d printing are absolutely fascinating, I’m going to shift my expert blog posts to be about space applications. My reasoning is that (1) it will help with my CubeSat Farm project, (2) it fits with my personal interests and hobbies, and (3) since I am pursuing a career in space exploration and related technologies, I stand to benefit greatly by investing more time learning about this theme.

• First surface-specific planetary mobility suit to be tested in full vacuum
• First use of 3D human laser scans and 3D-printed hardware for suit development and sizing
• Most advanced use of impact resistant composite structures on a suit upper and lower torso system
• First integration of the suit-port concept with a hard upper torso suit structure
• Most conformal and re-sizeable hard upper torso suit built to date

Learn more and vote here: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsBjhp7ahMo

30 seconds is clearly not enough time. This rule is rather off putting.

Some highlights: (of which there were many, watch the whole thing)

• Ebeling talks about focusing one person instead of trying to tackle a bigger problem. When you help one, you help many.
• “We are moving through many micro-industrial revolutions, on a monthly basis…”
• “A year ago the 3d printer was a collectible for makers and enthusiasts, this Christmas, Joey from Kansas City might of had it on his Christmas list. Being able to 3d print and do micro-production of your own things is a now something that the common person has access to.”
• “Its the industrial revolution in a $2000 box on your desk.”
• Commit and then figure out how you’re going to do it.
• “You can’t put the pieces back together in someone else’s life. But maybe if we print them new pieces, they’ll start to learn to put it together themselves.”

This came up as one of those advertisement videos while I was waiting for a YouTube video.

It gave me goosebumps. Absolutely amazing.

http://iq.intel.com/how-ultrabooks-and-3-d-printers-are-transforming-lives-in-sudan-and-it-s-just-the-beginning/

“Fablab Aachen printed the prototype of our cubesat structure.
We are developing a low cost space probe. The first system is planned to be sent into orbit in 2013. System includes reaction wheels, gas thrusters, IMU and optical navigation modules.”

 

 

3D printing of the ESO CubeSat project. This model will allow us to test its structural configuration.

“Select a subject area that you would like to focus on. For instance, you might be particularly interested in biotech, architecture, toys, archaeology, fashion, manufacturing, food, retail services, software design, materials, ethics, sustainability ??? 3D design and printing touch on all of these fields and more. Select a theme. Tell me about your interest. Pose a question you’d like to explore, and begin to research the question. You’ll be working with this theme throughout the remainder of the semester, so go with your interest. The idea is for you to become an expert in an area, and then share your growing expertise with the class via your blog.”

I’m a little confused about the requirements for this assignment. Not confused in the sense that what the “ask” is from the professor is confusing, but confused because I’m unsure how to tackle this. One the one hand, I can pursue the obvious path for me. That is, 3d printing applications for space exploration. I have a strong interest in the subject and my enthusiast-lens helps me to synthesize concepts that I read. This can also span many research questions such as: (broad question) “What are some mission critical applications that 3d printing can facilitate?” or narrow such as “Are 3d printed spacecraft parts feasible, reliable, and effective?”

Or I could disregard the whole space exploration applications, since I’m already working on something for my SmartPitch project, and venture into an unknown territory. An area that has always appealed to my curiosity is the area of 3d printed prosthetics. When I was in the music business I met a married couple (both musicians) with limited income (again, both musicians) and they had a little girl, about 5-6 years old, who was missing a leg. I recall there was a campaign within our music network to help raise funds just to help with the expenses of her prosthetics. Children prosthetics are particularly critical and expensive because they require a new set, in some cases, every couple of months as the child grows. This path of research may be interesting but also emotionally draining. Perhaps I should stick to the space path. What do you think?

For many years research organizations and universities have been struggling to launch scientific payloads into space. In the past, groups had to submit proposals to ride along NASA or United States Air Force launches as “secondary payloads”. If selected, they had to custom make a small spacecraft, or figure out a way to attach their experiment to the primary payload. In 1999, California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University developed the CubeSat concept. The basic premise of the CubeSat miniature satellite is to create a standard platform so that all universities and research organizations would have access to space research.

Since the creation of the CubeSat platform there have been numerous experiments sent to space benefiting from this technology. Most have come from universities and a few have even hosted high school payloads. While this platform has been very successful, there is still room for improvement. While the CubeSat itself follows a standard, each experiment and payload within the CubeSat unique, thus requiring significant resources to custom make specialty components. One key factor lowering the costs in development has been the implementation of 3d printers within the research institutions. This allows students and teachers to create quick flight ready prototypes in order to build out their payloads. This is where the CubeSat 3D Printing Townsquare comes into play.

Even with the advantages of utilizing 3d printers to develop CubeSat experiments, many research teams spend a significant amount of time trying out different ways to 3d print their components. Many of these teams are mostly focused on the science and not the engineering so the 3d printing development cycle can even be a nuisance. My proposal is for an online platform for researchers, students and contractors to share their 3d printed component designs and even reach out to each other for additional help. Users will be able to browse existing designs, upload their own designs, and communicate with one another. The aim is to share innovation, speed up development time and forge new professional relationships amongst folks in this field.

Sources

• • http://www.livescience.com/25044-3d-printing-a-low-cost-satellite.html
• • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat
• • http://www.cubesatshop.com

A 3-D printed prosthetic nose and ear are seen on display during the 3-D Print show at the Business Design Center in London, on Nov. 8, 2013.

Article here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-24/3-d-technology-may-someday-print-up-new-livers-health.html