Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - 20
In-Space
Manufacturing
of SelfReplicating
Machines
Understanding
the contexts
of manufacturing - internal,
external, construction,
endo-construction.
H
ow do we get to a future of self-replicating,
Von Neumann space probes? What
are some of the steps required to convert
the Asteroid Belt into a partial Dyson Sphere?
The answer lies in ISAM or in-space servicing assembly
and manufacturing, 3D printing on-orbit, and fully
automated, 'lights-out' production on-Earth. Making it on the
Moon. Let's do it. But, with what and how?
3D Printing a new atmospheric entry vehicle above a new
planet is cool. Repairing a reusable re-entry vehicle above
Earth is essential.
Ordinate systems, or number lines, form the basis of all additive
manufacturing. Unfortunately, these numerologies are trapped
within the traditional manufacturing system. The number line
ends at the border of the 3D printer box. And the parts that they
produce are attached to one another in the real world, not the
digital world. If the number lines for every manufacturing system
were shared between the 3D printers and the welders, then new
horizons would be unlocked. Each sequential manufacturing process
should place its co-ordinates along the ordinate lines of the
super-structure that is being produced. If we are to produce a kilo-meter
scale structure on-orbit, don't you think we need a single
map to guide us? It is difficult to imagine new technology without
a continuous digital workspace. But that is how we do things today.
20
Sensors Across Length Scales
One of the reasons that we have inherited a fractured digital
workspace is because of the history of ideas; the history of aerospace
blueprinting. Those of us from the digital age eschew the
paper world for cyberspace. Vision: the ability to see beyond the
horizon. Any sufficiently enhanced digital technology should allow
for us to see into the next adjacent digital technology without
break. The smaller, more precise, components will be 3D printed
inside of Endo-Robotics; the assembly of parts larger than the Endo-Printer
will be welded together with Exo-Robotics, the assemblies
will be joined together with Construction-Robotics. But can
one eye see through all of these fabrication environments without
break? Do we have a sensor package upon which to lay our number
lines? That is essential. Robotics systems are inherently limited
by reach. The motion platforms' reach should not determine the
interoperability of manufacturing processes.
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Tech Briefs, July 2024
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Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024
Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - Intro
Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - Sponsor
Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - Cover1
Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - Cover2
Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - 1
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Tech Briefs Magazine - July 2024 - 39
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