The prototype 3D printer that’s been installed on the International Space Station has just completed its first round of tests.
In a post on Medium, the team from Made In Space, the manufacturers of the high-flying 3D printer, explain what’s happened since the machine was installed late last year.
The machine is a first; no similar manufacturing technology has ever been attempted in orbit, so testing was obviously required. NASA and Made In Space created a set of progressively more difficult test objects to produce, each investigating various properties of the 3D printing process as operating in a micro-gravity environment. Beginning with a simple test “coupon” to see if the process worked at all, and ending with a spectacular working ratchet, it appears the Made In Space machine passed all tests. (Note: we duplicated this particular print on the ground.)
In the image at top you can see the specific tests involved. Most items were printed only once, but a three were printed multiple times (calibration coupon, tensile test and flex test) in order to determine consistency from print-to-print.
Here is the most startling finding of this series of tests: every single print attempt worked perfectly without incident.
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