No Boundaries: 3D Printing in Space

Imagine you are alone on an international space station and suddenly you have a huge craving for pizza. Normally you would have to wait maybe 6 months to be able to eat one, well, maybe not anymore!

You can print it, heat it and eat it!

Although this was not intended to be the future of 3D printing, such a basic whim as eating pizza can now be satisfied by astronauts anytime as long as they have the basic ink, or ingredients on board. To be able to eat pizza, they only spent USD 125,000.00, but it might still be cheaper than delivery.

This is just one thing that our NASA friends have been developing that could help and actually change the way 3D printing has been used on space stations and incoming NASA missions.  Using EBF3, or Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication, a 3D printer can print metal objects in just minutes.  If you remember our previous blog post related to a faster way to print, this is actually another example that 3D printing is only beginning and that it is starting to scratch its true potential.

Saving energy, time and waste, this can print any kind of object, tool, replacement parts or even vehicle parts that can save our space missions from emergencies and, hopefully in the near future, save millions of dollars by sending only the raw materials to space and print everything needed up there.

Just imagine having a giant 3D printer installed on the moon, where NASA engineers can print everything they need in space, without even having to physically be there.

What do you envision 3D printing being used for in space?

3D Printing - Sexier Than Ever

Thanks to 3D printing, you can now create a bright pink Eiffel tower dildo in the comfort of your own home.

SexShop3D, A Paris-based sex toy manufacturing company is the first to sell sex toys as printable files instead of premade items.  In addition to the Eiffel Tower model, you can purchase a fire hydrant, mustache, stick shift or snail design and customize the size and color to your liking.  After designing your personalized sex toy online, the file is securely streamed directly to your printer (as opposed to being sent as a download) to avoid piracy. 

The price of such an indulgence?  The printable file costs a mere $5. Seems rather inexpensive for something that provides so much pleasure. 

If you’re hesitant about the hygiene of printing such an intimate item on your own, you can check out videos SexShop3D has created to ensure that your 3D printed sex toy is safe to use. https://youtu.be/6qrwcP1_FSI  They recommend you hand sand your new creation with grit paper to ensure the smoothest surface possible and then spray the toy down with a silicone conformal coating.  This prevents bacteria from growing in the tiny pores that typically develop in the plastic as a result of layer-by-layer printing.  Now your new toy is ready for the bedroom!

As 3D printers become more mainstream, I’m sure we’ll begin to see other items being sold as printable files, particularly those most people are too embarrassed to purchase in public.  

Take a look at some other “sexy” things 3D printers can make including condoms, IUDs, and even vaginas!

The 7 Ways 3D Printing Is Going to Change How You Have Sex

http://mic.com/articles/121698/7-ways-3d-printing-is-going-to-change-how-you-have-sex

Euskal Herria eta 3D Imprimagailua

Euskal encounterrerako ilabete batzuk bakarrik falta direnean 3D imprimagailuari buruz hitzegitea gustatuko litzaidake.

Orain 3D imprimagailua asko erabiltzen ari da aeronautika, automobilgintza eta medikuntzan.

Medikuntzarako adibidez, ferula bat inprimatzeko (zure gorputzaren kopia perfektua) zazpi ordu behar dira, geometria eta material aldaketaren arabera. Gero bi ordu gehiago behar dira likidu espezial batean sartzeko.  

Aeronautikan Rolls Royce 3D imprimagailua  erabiltzeaz pentsatzen ari da. 3D sistema erabiliz produktu arinagoak egin lituzkete. GE Aviation 40.000 pita egingo dituzte 3D imprimagailua erabiliz.

Wohlers Associates-ek 3D inprimagailuaren industriak 6.000 millio dolar egingo dituela uste du 2017rako. 2021rako 10.800 millioi dolar kalkulatzen dituzte. Posibilitate egingarria da, urteero 10% baino gehiago igotzen ari dela kontutan hartzen badugu. Kontuan izan 1000 millioi dolarreko industria bihurtzeko 20 urte behar izan dituztela! Gauzak orain askoz azkarrago mugitzen ari dira.

Gauza garrantzitsuena prezioak asko jeitxi direla da (lehenago garestiegiak ziren kate-produkzioarentzat) eta orain dela gutxi pentsaezinak ziren gauzak ikusten ari gara.

Nafarroan BQ dugu Witbox 3D imprimagailua egiten. 1.400 euro badituzu zurea izan daiteke eta nahi duzuna inprimatu etxean. Orduan azkenean zer uste duzue izango dela 3D imprimagailuaren funtzio nagusia? Eta gehiago erabiliko duenak? Enpresek edo pertsonek?

Bideo bat uzten dut 3D imprimagailuari buruz jakiteko.

http://www.bq.com/gb/witbox

Ramon Avial