NASA ODME Advanced Toolplate

NASA’s On-Demand Manufacturing of Electronics (ODME) Advanced Toolplate is a key component of the ODME system for in-space manufacturing of flexible, hybrid electronics and sensors for structural and crew monitoring systems. The Advanced Toolplate has swappable, miniaturized toolheads, providing advanced deposition and processing capabilities to enable the in-orbit fabrication of complex electronic devices and sensors. The Advanced Toolplate will also benefit the On-Demand Manufacturing of Metals (ODMM) project for multi-materials 3D printing via a fabrication laboratory (FabLab).

Problem Statement Given the costs and logistics associated with maintaining an inventory of electronics and sensors in space, their in-situ, on-demand fabrication is essential for environmental, structural, and crew health monitoring during space station operations as well as future lunar and exploration missions. The Advanced Toolplate offers eight swappable toolheads for 3D printing complex, multilayer flexible electronics. In addition to ODME, this innovation is designed to be used with the ODMM project’s FabLab custom-designed nScrypt multi-material printer, enabling the creation of electronics and metals with a single printer. In addition, because its toolheads can be swapped out, the Advanced Toolplate can be easily updated as new deposition systems become available. During the parabolic flights, the ODME team will test the microgravity functionality of a direct-write extrusion print head, mill, and pick-and-place component. 

Technology Maturation Relevant environment testing of the Advanced Toolplate on parabolic flights will reduce the risk of introducing the FabLab’s 3D-printing capability on the International Space Station, where a demonstration is expected for 2024–2025. Specifically, microgravity flight testing will allow ODME to evaluate different electronic ink deposition systems and processing methods, advancing the technology readiness level (TRL) to TRL 6 and significantly mitigating operational risk.

Summary of Flight Test
2023-10-16, 2023-11-28, 2024-02-26 During the February 2024 parabolic flight campaign, the ODME Advanced Toolplate team was able to test a new suite of tools for for future use on the ISS to produce or repair electronics. Among the processes successfully proven during this campaign was the ability to fill vias, accurately dispense dielectric material into gaps surrounding and electrical component, mill, dissipate electrostatic charge from offal and collective a portion of the offal into a filter.
2024-08-20 The flight campaign achieved valuable results that concluded the capability of the Sciperio ATS1 machine to perform EHD printing well under a zero-gravity environment. We achieved fine print lines under 100 micrometers using three materials—Silver, PDMS, and ZnO—marking significant progress in the development of EHD-printed random access memory (RAM).

In-space 3D printing of flexible, hybrid electronics and sensors will benefit structural and crew monitoring systems. The Advanced Toolplate contains swappable toolheads for versatility of fabrication and easy updating in the future. This has the potential to benefit NASA missions and the commercial space industry.

Future Customers
• International Space Station (demonstration expected in 2024–2025)
• Commercial in-space manufacturing
• Lunar missions
• Long-duration NASA or commercial missions

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.