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Author Topic:   First object 3D printed from asteroid metals
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-07-2016 08:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Planetary Resources release
Planetary Resources and 3D Systems Reveal First Ever 3D Printed Object from Asteroid Metals

The future of space colonization and industrialization can now be visualized.

Planetary Resources, in collaboration with our partner 3D Systems, have developed the first ever direct metal print from asteroid metals. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today in Las Vegas, NV., we unveiled the geometric object on the Engadget stage.

This spacecraft prototype was 3D printed from actual an asteroid that was, pulverized, powdered and processed on the new 3D Systems ProX DMP 320 metals 3D printer. It is the first part ever 3D Printed with material from outer space and is reminiscent of a design that could originate from a 3D printer in the zero-gravity environment of space.

The asteroid (or meteorite) used for the print materials was sourced from the Campo Del Cielo impact near Argentina, and is composed of iron, nickel and cobalt — similar materials to refinery grade steel.

More from engadget: This is the first object 3D-printed from alien metal.

Lunar rock nut
Member

Posts: 911
From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A.
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 01-08-2016 06:45 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Lunar rock nut   Click Here to Email Lunar rock nut     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very impressive. Prior to this application, I had always thought of 3-D printing as novelty. This seems to be a very large step in the right direction.

mode1charlie
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Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 01-08-2016 04:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mode1charlie   Click Here to Email mode1charlie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very cool first proof of concept.

Now if they can 3D print an asteroid-derived whiffle ball, that will really be getting somewhere.

Joel Katzowitz
Member

Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 01-08-2016 06:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I toured the SpaceX production facility in Hawthorne, California about two years ago. One of the many cool things they showed us was a 3D metal printer.

The item they were printing was an extremely fine "honeycombed" metal block which was about 12" x 12" x 1 1/2". The honeycomb was so fine that the block appeared to be solid unless you looked at the surface from a 90 degree angle which allowed you to literally "see through" the block.

Of course the block weighed only a fraction of what it would have weighed had it been solid. It was really impressive.

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