3 ms·
> Are you saying that we can build an air lock, a solar panel, an air filtration system, or a robotic arm with a 3D printer? Sure, why not? Some of them might
by nknight 15y ago
> Are you saying that we can build an air lock, a solar panel, an air filtration system, or a robotic arm with a 3D printer?
Sure, why not?
Some of them might have to be designed differently, but I don't recall anybody from NASA ever saying "it's impossible to design X in any other way".
- maaku 15y agoAll of those things enumerated depend on material properties, strengths, or tolerances that cannot be achieved with 3D printed plastic. Nobody is saying "it's impossible to design X in any other way", but rather we (I work for NASA) are saying that such objects make use of materials with specific properties, materials which cannot (yet) be used in 3D printers.
- nknight 15y agoSo here we have a NASA employee saying "we can't do it because the technology isn't already there" instead of "let's make this work". What a perfect example of the past 30 years of the US space program. By the way, being in space can be a significant advantage for 3d printers printing metallic components. Not that you care, since you can't buy it off the shelf yet, and anything that hasn't been done can't be done.