Sintered Inductive Metal Printer with Laser Exposure

The proposed innovation is a 3D metal printer, which offers the unique ability to fabricate metal components and tools in space. The proposed system will accomplish this task through the utilization of a two-stage filament melting process whereby a metallic filament is first heated to Curie temperature through induction and then deposited on a build platform where it is fused to the previous layer by exposure to a low energy laser. This new unique process is known as Sintered Metal Printing with Laser Exposure (SIMPLE). Induction heating is not entirely new to Fused Deposition Manufacturing (FDM). There has been recent research into the integration of an induction coil into the "hot end" of a plastic filament FDM printer. The induction coil surrounds the metal nozzle, known as the "hot end" and inductively heats the nozzle when an AC current is applied. The nozzle then heats and melts the plastic filament allowing it to be extruded onto a platform where a part is formed. The use of induction heating, when printing with a metal filament, is similar but the induction coil heats the wire filament directly as it passes through its center. This system offers faster melt times resulting in faster feed rates, lower mass resulting in quicker more accurate printer head movements and lower overall power consumption. Conceptually, the wire filament will not be heated to melting but heated to the Curie temperature and laid as a hot filament on the build platform. To gain adherence between deposited layers, a low energy laser is used simultaneous to the layering process to heat and fuse adjacent filament layers.

Government customers will initially be from NASA, where it should be of keen interest to the Advanced Exploration Systems division and to scientists seeking to take advantage of ISS materials science research opportunities through NASA Research Announcements. Through its Space Act Agreement, its IDIQ contract and its role as a CASIS implementation partner, Techshot will offer both the SIMPLE equipment and the associated services required to conduct materials research and processing in microgravity aboard NASA vehicles.

In parallel, Techshot will market SIMPLE to federal government agencies beyond NASA. The company has established excellent relationships with several branches of the Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Besides space-based commercialization, Techshot's business model includes the terrestrial commercialization of technology by the maximization of the company's IP assets, many of which have been derived from the SBIR program. In essence, Techshot's terrestrial commercialization strategy is to secure patents for technologies with the greatest potential for commercial success, then form start-up companies to which the technology is licensed. For example, Techshot Lighting, LLC successfully manufactures and markets an LED tent lighting system to military customers that derived from Techshot SBIR contracts with the Army.

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.