Forschung-2 Module

The second module of the Forschung serie is as much an engineering section as a scientific one, despite being classified as the later. It is designed for practical experiments in micro-gravity 3D printing. Its overall hull is based on the Kern module, though it lacks thrusters and only has one major port to connect to a junction node. Due to the power requirements, its 3 parallel solar panels are twice as wide at 20m by 8m, with a consequently increased array surface size that spans nearly the entire length of the module.

A significant obstacle to the colonization of space is the difficulty in obtaining tools and spare parts to use in maintenance and repair. Traditionally, new components would have to be brought from the surface or entire modules replaced. At the same time, classical machining takes significant space and is very limited in production range, thus it would not be viable to set up classical production machinery. The apparent solution to this predicament presents itself as 3D-printing, which allows a wide variety of pieces to produced on site, at custom order, with relatively small machinery.

The E-2 module hosts several printers of two different types and complementary equipment, as well as computer terminals from which blueprints are stored, accessed and potentially produced. A large database of technical parts and tools is already present, but a 3D Scanner is also onboard, with the software required to take care of post-scan error corrections and file conversion into more usable form.

The first printer is a high-power Electron-Beam-Melting type, designed from the onset to be used in vacuum environment and based on the model pioneered by NASA. Its power requirements are high enough that only one may be active at a time, even with the massive solar arrays of E-2. The remaining printers are thus low-power models using Fused Filament Fabrication as well as multi-material technology. The multi-nozzle approach was favored as to avoid cross-contamination in multi-element prints and minimize the waste of raw material. Four such printers are present, one calibrated for metals, one calibrated for polymers, one calibrated for powdered ceramics, and one calibrated for bioprinting organic material.

All FFF printers are modified to function in vacuum to eliminate contamination risks and post-processing machinery is also present within the module for the elimination of dust and the smoothing of the surface finish in completed pieces. Theoretically, the assembly should be capable of producing, most simple pieces up to and including electronic components, which the station or visiting space shuttles may need.