

Nasa just emailed a wrench to the ISS - cryptoz
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-12/19/3d-printed-space-wrench

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mtmail
previous article with more photos and detail
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8768314](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8768314)

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ChikkaChiChi
I heard them talking about a wrench over the ISS feed two days ago in between
a discussion about the vacuum cleaner and their preparations for holiday
events.

Space is not always sexy.

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netcraft
are there design considerations for 3d printing in low gravity? It seems like
not being able to assume gravity would be a significant hurdle.

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ChikkaChiChi
Yes. Apparently they use materials with a lower melting point than those
commonly found in Makerspaces:

[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experimen...](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1115.html)

I believe this is the first time they have used this technology outside of
experimentation.

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valarauca1
At some point in the very near future I will no longer need a massive tool
box, or hugely expensive toolsets. Just a tool factory.

Actually I wonder if this is economically viable today.

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omilu
Distributed manufacturing can't compete with the economies of scale from
traditional manufacturing where a highly expensive, specialized single purpose
tool is used to fabricate a gazillion high quality widgets at cheaper per unit
cost, than the plastic piece of crap that you could get from a 3d printer. But
for certain one off specialty items, yes a 3d printer is supremely useful and
economical today.

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chton
That's entirely true for the current generations of 3D printer, but how do you
know they won't improve in the future? If printed tools ever become good
enough or almost good enough to compete with the quality that a traditional
manufacturer can provide, they definitely have a chance of becoming more
economical. Cutting out transport, work, and other such costs can make up for
it.

I don't know when that tipping point will happen, but it would surprise me if
it's decades for common tools. Printers have made great strides in just the
last few years, and if the current pace of development keeps up, they could
reach parity in the very near future.

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ChikkaChiChi
UPS (The shipping concern) is already testing the idea of having 3D Printers
at their stores.

For simple machines and parts, there is already a projected path in which your
online purchase has the product being manufactured at one such location and
delivered to your doorstep with about the same speed as a pizza.

This is going to be the most cost-effective way of undercutting Chinese
manufacturing and bringing those tasks back locally.

