The printer has been developed by Made In Space, a US-based tech firm founded in 2010 with the goal of enabling in-space manufacturing, and will launch in August aboard the SpaceX CRS-4 resupply machine.
Once aboard the ISS the Made In Space 3D printer will be installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) located in the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory module, where it is scheduled to print an initial set of 21 demonstration parts.
The printer, which works by extruding streams of heated plastic to create objects layer-by-layer, has already undergone testing aboard parabolic flights that yield 20- to 30-second intervals of weightlessness at a time.
Made In Space was able to test its 3D printer on parabolic test flights
These tests demonstrated that the device will work in a microgravity environment, which presents specific challenges to a process that typically relies on gravity and surface tension to help form layers without air bubbles or other imperfections that would weaken the finished product.
The lack of gravity aboard the ISS also presents problems for managing heat, which is central to the 3D printing process, as there is no natural convection. Made In Space has not revealed how it solved these problems for competition reasons.
Michael Snyder, lead engineer and director of R&D for Made In Space, said: "Years of research and development have taught us that there were many problems to solve to make additive manufacturing work reliably in microgravity.
"Now, having found viable solutions, we can welcome a great change - the ability to manufacture on-demand in space is going to be a paradigm shift for the way development, research and exploration happen in space."
The main goal of the testing aboard the ISS is to identify how the device reacts to long-term microgravity and to determine how 3D printed materials change when being manufactured in space. Ultimately, NASA hopes to install a permanent ISS 3D printer next year.
The test device will print a variety of objects, including mock-up tools and parts used aboard the ISS, out of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, although Made In Space plans to make a wide array of thermal polymers available, including some that are aerospace grade.
Aside from giving astronauts the ability to replicate tools and parts without having to wait for a resupply mission, having a 3D printer will enable them to manufacture solutions to unforeseen problems. In addition, components printed in space would not need to withstand the high G forces and vibration associated with lift-off, meaning they could be constructed with about 30% less mass.
