First Factory Use Of 'Replicator' For Spare Parts

maddogsparky writes: "Over at Spacedaily, there is an article about how a 3D printer was used to fabricate a replacement part in a production environment--the first known case. They've also done some tests in NASA's vomit comet and are planning on a shuttle test for applications on the ISS or Mars trip."

Comments

Re:Probably a temporary replacement...

[Paul Neubauer]

Yes, probably a temporary replacement, but don't count out what polymers can do.

Some years ago I was told of a project to make a plastic clip for an overhead window (sunroof for houses). The window manufacturer was quite concerned about the strength and had the perception that any and all plastics were not likely to be good enough. Eventually the material used was a tougher nylon, with something like 30% glass fiber reinforcement.

When the first pieces were tried there was an attempt to break them, to show that "mere plastic" just would not do. Sure enough the piece disassembled and a chunk went flying across the room. As comments were being made about inferior product someone retrieved the broken part. The nylon had held, but a steel pin had not. There were no more arguments about 'cheap plastic' from then on.

While glass fiber reinforcement is probably out for this 3-D printing, polycarbonate is some pretty tough stuff (but subject to chemical attack by a few common things..) and plastics can be recycled. This may make much sense in space applications. If a part is needed, make it, and put the old part back into the source mix and use the molecules over again.

Re:Why is this news?

[WolfWithoutAClause]

No. Previous items built by 3D printers haven't been strong enough to actually use. The first ones were weak plastic, and then there were wax models- you could see what it would look like, you could turn it over in your hands and fit it together, but it wouldn't actually work.

This is the only time anyone has actually put it straight into a real machine. (Although people have built molds using this technology; it's close but no cigar IMO.)