The Refabricator Will Be Recycling Plastic and 3D Printing Onboard the ISS Next Year
“In 2015, NASA awarded Washington-based technology firm Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue developing its Positrusion Recycler, which recycles plastic waste into 3D printable filament, for use aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA was pleased with the direction the technology was going, and last summer gave a Phase III SBIR to TUI division Firmamentum to create a 3D printer/recycler combo for the ISS, an experiment in closed-cycle manufacturing in outer space called the Refabricator. The machine, which is the first to combine 3D printing and recycling in one device, is about the size of a mini fridge, and is able to melt down a plastic component and print out a brand new component from the same plastic…”
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https://3dprint.com/186521/refabricator-device-to-iss/
Use Biodegradable HEMP ! Healthier for every one on board ,
Michael Sullivan True, but we have to do something with the plastic we’ve been littering the earth with. That’s the idea behind this.
All plastic can be made from hemp . No need to recycle . Its biodegradable . In a close space plastic might cause a health problem . Hemp is as good as plastic if not better and its organic .
Everyday we get closer and closer to Subnautica-style fabrication stations. I can’t wait to see what future years bring.
True . It’s the process that has me worried .
Michael Sullivan still missing the point. Less energy is used by recycling than new production, lower carbon footprint and there is no fucking hemp in space.
All plastic is made from organic materials already, and what keeps it cheap is the use of a mariad of different sources. Using but only one source would increase the price of plastic significantly, that policy would be insane.
All plastic is made from petroleum products . That’s the problem I have with this refabricatetor . Hemp oil plastic I would assume is safer . If there is a problem and it leaks the petroleum chemicals that could kill them . If it’s made from Hemp oil plastic , all you will get is some smoke . however ! They are not sending that type of plastic product up there. I hope the petro plastic works out .
I’ve been doing this since October 26th 1985… =^.^=
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