501: Additive Manufacturing with Hypothesized Surface Materials

The NASA Psyche Capstone Project program is a partnership between NASA and Arizona State University. Students participating in the program work on projects related to the ongoing NASA Psyche mission. Students create projects that would be used in future missions to the asteroid Psyche. We developed a method of using Psyche’s surface materials in additive manufacturing. We focused our project on adapting metal 3D printing technology for use in low-gravity environments.

Psyche is a large asteroid in the Asteroid Belt, accounting for about 1% of the region’s total mass. Research suggests that Psyche has a high concentration of metals such as nickel and iron. Because of the metal availability on Psyche, we chose to adapt laser powder bed fusion. Laser powder bed fusion uses a laser to melt and fuse metal powder layer by layer to create parts. This method offers precision and produces sturdy components.

Psyche’s surface gravity is equal to about 1% of Earth’s. Low-gravity environments challenge powder bed fusion adaptation. In low gravity, metal powder can become difficult to control and can cling to surfaces or float into sensitive equipment. To prevent this, we employed a Helmholtz coil. The Helmholtz coil created a uniform downward magnetic force on the metal powder, pulling it toward the print bed.

Our project demonstrated the application of the Helmholtz coil into powder bed fusion and its benefits to the future of 3D printing in space. This technology could allow for precision manufacturing in low-gravity environments, granting more flexibility to future missions.