The researchers of Iowa State University has successfully tested a new approach to 3D print electronics in zero gravity
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Instead of gravity, the team’s technology efficiently employs electric force to print conductive ink on a glass foundation layer by layer, allowing sophisticated circuitry to be created. Engineers want to use this technology to create sensors in orbit, decreasing astronauts’ reliance on lugging parts and making long-distance flying more practical.
“For future NASA missions, space exploration missions, they want to send not just people there and back, but also facilities for longer durations,” says Hantang Qin, lead investigator of the study team. “That’s what we’re aiming for. We’re designing the printer to last a long period on the International Space Station (ISS) or Mars.
Iowa State University NINJAS researchers during a parabolic test flight. Image courtesy of Steve Boxall/Zero-G.
It is not commonplace for electrical equipment onboard spacecraft, like as sensors, to malfunction and threaten the mission. For example, moisture sensors on the International Space Station are crucial to the crew’s safety, and if they fail, they must be replaced or repaired promptly.
Although delivering replacements to the base may appear to be the logical option, doing so causes the craft to be extensively deployed during supply missions, making the process substantially more expensive to execute.
To address this, a group of researchers known as the No-Gravity Ink Jet Printing for Aeronautics and Space, or ‘Ninja’ team, developed an alternative. The engineers’ solution, developed at Qin’s Flexible Electronics and Additive Printing Lab, includes employing electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing processes to build components using unique patent-pending silver and barium titanate inks.
These materials, according to the scientists, are highly suited for electronics manufacturing since they allow for ultra-stable, high-resolution printing, and with additional R&D, they may be utilized for flexible sensors, soft robotics, and a new type of circuit board. Can enable the development of classes., semiconductors, and other minuscule devices, both in space and on Earth.
Qin and his colleagues developed a prototype 3D printer in late 2021 as a first step in laying out their testing strategy, while Iowa State colleague Shan Jiang built his own samples of conductive ink before parabolic flight experiments from his lab. I worked hard to make the set just right.
“Our major objective was to build a conductive circuit layout in microgravity,” Qin explained. “We examined a number of inks with varying physical qualities such as density, surface tension, and permeability, and found that ideal working parameters such as voltage, pulse frequency, and nozzle orientation.”
Experiment with NINJAS in Zero-Gravity
When their prototype was ready for testing, the NINJAS team flew it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where it was flown by a sophisticated aircraft that imitated space conditions. At the crest of this curve, the aircraft was able to do this by repeatedly flying up and down at 45o angles, allowing the scientists and their experiments to experience brief periods of weightlessness in microgravity.
While the engineers admit that parabolic flight experiments were the only option to evaluate the performance of their 3D printers without travelling into space, they believe that handling the system in zero-gravity is a no-brainer in and of itself. was not a modest accomplishment, and it was characterized as an equal. “Jumping for 20-30 seconds from a 30,000-foot-high skyscraper.”
“It was also not difficult to acclimatize to the sense of a zero-gravity environment,” said Matthew Marander, one of the Iowa State students who participated in the study. “What was more difficult for me to deal with was the sensation of a quick shift between hypergravity, normal gravity, and zero gravity.” Switching between all of them so rapidly may be annoying.”
In terms of printer performance, Jiang concluded that the first day of the three-day experiment was a learning process for those involved, but the team was able to 3D print “some good designs” on the second and third days. Following their initial accomplishment, the researchers have increased their research efforts, producing enhancements for their systems and materials in preparation for a second test in May 2022.
Jiang stated that the crew eventually intended to “assist NASA establish a platform that could increase the materials and tools they could manufacture in space” through their $420,000 effort, so they opted to build themselves. A long-term aim has been established. Before 2024, there will be a new nozzle head for ISS printers.
3D printing in space in action
NASA continues to invest substantial time, effort, and money in conducting Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 3D printing studies, with the most promising technologies being tested on the International Space Station (ISS). Last year, a European Space Agency partnership developed an Early Stage FFF 3D Printer that is said to be capable of producing parts of ‘infinite length’ for the International Space Station.
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