Space Junk

Hi,

Another business might be rapid-prototyping, IE the
construction of plastic or metal parts from a 3-D CAD
model and a special machine similar to a printer but
in 3-D. Going further with this idea in might be
possible in the space environment, to melt a piece of
metal, then shape it with various dynamic magnetic
fields while it radiatively cools. This MHD effect
has been explored somewhat but needs considerably more
R&D to make it practical in space. If it does however
become practical, it might be possible to build very
large structures like tanks, space habitats, and of
course all the needed structural items from foil to
sheets, from I-Beams to pipe and tubing, and so on.

I hope to be around to see it.

Dave Handwerk

--- Matt Gallimore wrote: