Manufacturing in space

>
> Hi Omar,
>
> Rapid Prototyping is the technology that will probably
> be used. At least for plastic and metallic products.
> Nanotechnology (often considered a sub-class of rapid
> prototyping) will also be of great value, at least for
> the production of bulk materials. I imagine that
> subtractive machining will not go away, and that parts
> will continue to be made in machine shops either
> manually or by NC methods. Food: greenhouses
> w/artificial or reflected sun light, Chemicals:
> processed from ISRU materials.
>

Hi Dave,

Do you got more info? More details?
I read about Rapid Prototyping years ago, and also about 3-D
printers and stuff like that. I would like to know how much the
field has advanced.

> Professor Komerath, an Dept. of Aerospace Eng. at
> Georgia Tech., is working on "Tailored Force Fields,
> for Space-Based Construction", a interesting idea. I
> have done a tiny bit of research into a similar idea
> using MHD technology.
>
> To be economically attractive, all new space colonies
> would need to be net exporters. They would trade with
> earth and other colonies, but would need to export
> more than they import. This leads to a discussion on
> space transport, but I fear that I may have already
> stepped outside of the simple answer to your question.
>

What about producing, for example, a hand driller or a TV set. It is
possible to develop tech so that just three workers could
manufacture them from row materials? I wonder if that is really
possible or if it will be in the near future.

Regards,

Omar Vega