LUNAR 3D PRINTING Launch Less by Launching More Dan Nevius - danielnevius@gmail.com
lunar 3d printing motivation the space game why we don t live on the moon (yet) what is 3d printing adapting for the moon lunar 3d printing current state work still to do the future to work toward
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go science
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go understand our place in the universe
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go technology spinoffs
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go jobs
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go because we can
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go to inspire
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go limited resources
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go population growth
space exploration why we should go why we shouldn t not go killer asteroids
why is this conference not taking place on the moon? then now ~40 yrs
the space game national commercial technology economics politics
the space game national commercial POLITICS technology economics politics
the space game national commercial POLITICS technology economics politics
the space game national commercial POLITICS technology economics politics
the space game national commercial POLITICS fear jobs (fear) technology economics politics
the space game national commercial POLITICS fear jobs (fear) technology economics politics ECONOMICS
the space game national commercial POLITICS fear jobs (fear) technology economics politics ECONOMICS
the space game national commercial POLITICS fear jobs (fear) technology economics politics ECONOMICS
the space game national commercial POLITICS fear jobs (fear) technology economics politics ECONOMICS sustainability same concerns, different rules
so why no moon colony? government technology: economics: politics: limited budgets little vision little motivation status quo easy
so why no moon colony? government commercial technology: economics: politics: limited budgets little vision little motivation status quo easy unproven markets high costs adapting regulations proving technology
problems to focus on 1st 2nd 3rd 4th safety cost technology perception/ market delay astronaut involvement loss of life = worst launch = large cost minimize launch mass and size make sure it works return on investment cool not crazy design goals: safe, cheap + functional
traditional space construction NASA futron corp NASA SpaceX
ideal lunar structure construction safety automated lower cost functional use local materials reduce equipment mass + size gets the job done bonus: has terrestrial applications
3d printing Yan & Gu 1996 digital representation slice into layers build instructions layer deposition materials - thermoplastics - metals - ceramics - food (pastes) - biological material
3d printing techniques a) selective laser sintering (sls) b) inkjet printing with a binder c) laminated object manufacturing d) fused deposition modeling (fdm)
build examples tools fashion art architectural models instruments medical devices 3d printers
large scale 3d printing
large scale 3d printing Ceccanti et al. 2010 Khoshnevis 2004 Lim 2012 Lim 2012
3d printing for space solves problems: automated = safety, limited boots on the ground cost = low mass, uses local materials, one launch creates many structures complexity = free
adapting for space space conditions: vacuum reduced gravity temperature extremes power considerations dust micrometeorite impacts ionizing radiation habitat requirements printing on a large scale
adapting for space Adapted from Williams et al. 2011
current lunar 3d printing technology state materials research: lunacrete, lunar glass lunar 3d printing projects: khoshnevis + NASA dini + foster & partners + ESA
can we do better? cheaper, safer? improvement leads to increased overall feasibility and likeliness of it actually happening lower the launch mass heavy gantry system - get rid of it mobile robotics - minimize it
cambridge research: launch instead of extruding reduce mass further by using stationary system
drop impact - angle and impact speed depend on drop location - surface conditions - build material properties Ideal drops: - uniform building blocks - significant height - drop shape independent of angle and impact speed - ability to support additional layers research focus
test materials newtonian
test materials newtonian viscoplastic
test materials newtonian viscoplastic dilatant
impact behavior results newtonian: viscoplastic: dilatant: spreading splashing at high velocity wetting - small drop height no stacking without curing first diameter dependent on velocity bouncing/rebound stacks unreliably has significant drop height diameter independent of velocity and angle stacks when dry wetting - small drop height
next steps getting dilatant/viscoplastic impact properties from lunar material maintaining drop impact behaviors in lunar conditions -- outgassing, evaporation material prep process + launch process
implications short term (though not soon) bulk material + radiation/impact cover reduction of launch mass for lunar missions increasing safety limited functionality long term technology more advanced starts make more sense to manufacture space hardware in space than on Earth used to build tools, parts, infrastructure, circuitry etc. manufacturing on the moon for other missions to solar system destinations less energy required to launch from the moon than from Earth combine with lunar mining, h3 fuel depots
Summary designing for the space industry overlapping national and commercial playing fields share 3 concerns: politics, economics, technology overcome by designing safe, cost-effective and multi-functional technology 3d printing = increases safety, decreases launch mass and therefore cost lunar 3d printing scaling and adapting earth 3d printers leads to large bulky gantry systems or mobile robotics launching material instead of moving printer head extruders = further reduction of mass and energy consumption much more work to be done launch less hardware by using a 3d printer that launches more material
Questions? danielnevius@gmail.com @dnevius