NASA announced that a 3D Printer is one of the first things that it put on its priority list. Combined with a CAD program on a PC, it can create many items right to spec that is needed on Mars when they are on the planet. This makes all the sense in the world. No need to guess what you may need and what size or shape it should be. Design it perfectly when the application becomes required and is actualized.
I was at Union County VOTEC for a tour and I saw the students creating a mock up of a human brain with the help of a CAD program and then printing it on the 3D printer below. The Monmouth and Ocean VOTECs also own this type of equipment. So VOTEC students are being trained to work in this environment and using this advanced equipment.
This technology should be looked at as a possible remedy for businesses looking to visualize a product or structure without spending more time or money then the CAD drawing and letting the printer do the rest. Structures can be more than one piece that are put together to form a larger more complex structure. One of the projects that will be created on Mars will be to build parts of a green house that fit exactly to their needs.
They are also considering using a large scale printer to build a colony on Mars.
“A major roadblock to a sustainable colony on Mars is the logistics of transporting humans, supplies, and building materials to the planet. Could a large-scale 3D printer make a Mars colony a viable project? It is being seriously considered to help solve the problem.” Science Channel
These houses could be built within 24 hrs.
Think what you could do with a printer like this. The sky’s the limit or maybe the heavens are a better prospective. Go to Amazon and search for 3d printers to get an idea of what can be accomplished.
Jim Mahlmann
NetCetra LLC
Jim is the managing partner of NetCetra LLC since 1994. They are a full service Internet company offering; Internet marketing, social media, web design, ecommerce, data base programming, hosting, cloud technology and colo for client servers.