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New 3D Printer Can be Used in The Vacuum of Space

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3D print in space

Dr. Gilles Bailet and his team at the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow have successfully obtained a patent for a prototype 3D printer that can work in zero gravity. The electronic device can not only operate in zero gravity, but also in the vacuum of space, allowing it to be used outside spacecraft and space stations. According to the University of Glasgow, the research team has tested the device on three test flights, with a total of more than 90 22-second weightlessness tests, successfully verifying its performance in microgravity.

Obstacles to Using 3D Printing in Space

3D printers were first used in orbit in 2014, when astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were able to print plastic parts and tools as needed. Last year, the European Space Agency also launched a metal 3D printer, which is currently testing the effects of microgravity on the printing of metal parts on the ISS. However, these devices are designed to be used inside the ISS, where the internal pressure is similar to that on the surface of the Earth.

Dr. Bailet said 3D printing can produce highly complex items quickly and at low cost. However, equipment that works well on Earth often performs poorly in the vacuum of space, and 3D printing has never been performed outside the pressurized module of the International Space Station. The filaments in traditional 3D printers tend to break or get stuck in microgravity and vacuum environments, which is a problem that must be solved before they can be used reliably in space. To solve this problem, Dr. Bailet and his team developed a granular material that replaces the filaments commonly used in traditional 3D printers. This material can be sucked into the 3D printer’s material tank and into the nozzle more quickly, thereby avoiding the situation of filament breakage or jamming, making the equipment more reliable and requiring less supervision.

In addition to producing tools and spacecraft parts in orbit, the research team also envisions using the technology to print other objects to promote breakthrough advances in ground technology. These include space reflectors that can collect solar energy in orbit and reflect it to ground stations, thereby realizing 24-hour solar power stations.

Multiple Uses of Space 3D Printing

Dr. Bailet also mentioned that the technology can also be used to produce drugs that are more effective than existing drugs. “Crystals grown in space are generally larger and more ordered than those made on Earth, so orbital chemical plants can produce new or improved drugs and send them back to the ground.” Dr. Bailet explained, “For example, studies have shown that insulin produced in space may be nine times more effective than on Earth, which means that diabetics can inject once every three days instead of three times a day as they do now.”

3D printing technology can also be used to construct human tissues and organs with biological functions, such as skin, cartilage, kidneys, and hearts. Since the world’s first bioprinter used human cells to create the first blood vessel in 2010, scientists around the world have made varying degrees of progress in the field of 3D printing of artificial blood vessels, cartilage tissue, and organs such as kidneys, livers, and skin. In particular, in 2019, scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel printed a miniature 3D heart that not only has structures such as ventricles, atria, and large blood vessels similar to those of the human heart, but can also “beat” autonomously. However, it is not yet possible to achieve this in some tiny and complex structures such as capillaries, so there is still a big gap from the actual application to human organ transplantation.

Like ordinary 3D printers, 3D bioprinters generate three-dimensional structures by continuously stacking materials containing human cells layer by layer. These structures need support or to form the desired shape. In the ground gravity environment, 3D bioprinting often requires the use of more viscous bio-inks to provide structural support. In addition to containing human cells, hormones, growth factors and other biological materials required to create organs, these bio-inks usually also need to add some scaffold materials or thickeners, which leads to high viscosity of the ink, limiting the use of high-precision print heads, and cannot be used to print some of the smallest and most complex structures, such as capillaries in human organs. When printing organs or tissues in the microgravity environment of space, the printed 3D structure will maintain its shape without the need for support. Therefore, it is possible to use low-viscosity inks and more sophisticated print heads to accurately print some tiny fine structures in human organs. Once these structures are printed, they will be placed in a cell culture system. After a period of cultivation, the connection between cells will gradually increase until they form active, self-supporting organ tissues that can maintain their original shape even when they return to the ground gravity environment. Therefore, the space microgravity environment can achieve more precise 3D bioprinting than the ordinary environment on the ground, providing a more ideal environment for manufacturing human organs such as the heart and lungs. Due to the wide application prospects of the space microgravity environment in the field of 3D bioprinting and human organ manufacturing, many teams in the world have joined the space 3D bioprinting competition.

Summary

If the 3D printer, an electronic device that can be used in the vacuum environment of space, is proven to be effective, astronauts will be able to print larger objects outside the International Space Station. This will completely change the way space travel is done, because fragile and bulky objects can be printed directly in space without being launched from the ground by giant rockets. In the future, when humans return to the moon, this technology will simplify the lunar manufacturing process and may even make the moon a launch base to Mars.

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