3D Printing Test In Zero Gravity

Contributing editor Dan Ward and his Indiana Ivy Tech associates recently conducted an interesting experiment courtesy of NASA. They bolted an Ivy Tech 3D printer (plastic extrusion type) inside a NASA C- 9B aircraft used for zero-G experiments. During free fall as they flew the downward portion of a parabolic arc, they turned on the printer to see how this CNC robotic machine would perform in weightlessness. The result? The plastic material built up much as it would on terra firma with no discernible difference in the way it was formed into an object. The plastic’s natural adhesive qualities and the extrusion process worked well, showing great promise, in this initial test, for use of 3D printers on the International Space Station and in other venues in outer space.