Fused Filament Fabrication on the Moon

Additive manufacturing techniques have the capability to produce complex and customized parts rapidly, typically in low volume and with reduced material usage. These attributes magnify their indispensability when the availability of materials and equipment is limited, as may be the case in future manned lunar explorations. This article presents a preliminary discussion on the possibility of performing fused filament fabrication (FFF) on the Moon from the perspective of heat transfer in printed parts. It makes use of experimental data and simulations at different print resolutions to quantify the significance of each heat transfer mechanism taking place during printing. The quantification then enables us to investigate how the lunar environment affects the cooling of printed parts. Finally, FFF on the Moon is predicted to be feasible. However, apparent differences in the process window and types of applications are pointed out, as compared with counterpart printing activities on Earth.