High Vacuum Capable Fused Filament Fabrication 3D Printer, Part I: Low-Temperature Polymers and Early Lessons Learned

On-orbit manufacturing and assembly have become major research and development topics for government and commercial entities seeking the capability to build very large structures in space. Additive manufacturing is well suited to this paradigm since the process is highly automated, produces little material waste, and allows for a large degree of geometric freedom. This paper presents a design for a 3D printer that operates in high vacuum. The vacuum 3D printer has completed multiple thermal vacuum test campaigns, with dozens of parts printed to date using low-temperature thermoplastics. Testing of material coupons shows that samples printed in vacuum have strength properties generally within a standard deviation of samples printed at ambient pressure. The overall results from multiple successful tests of the vacuum 3D printer promote the feasibility of on-orbit additive manufacturing while exposed to the space environment. This paper is part one of a two-part series. Part I presents the results using a low-temperature hotend capable of printing hobby-grade materials and documents some initial findings and lessons learned for applying FFF in vacuum. Part II presents the results for a high-temperature hotend capable of printing engineering grade plastics that are suitable for on-orbit manufacturing. The combined results of the two papers in this series can be used to inform future on-orbit additive manufacturing applications as well as potential uses on future moon missions.