Researchers are ready to take 3D printers to the next level by using them to create metal tools.
"3D printers are expected to [revolutionize] the way we live but until recently they could work with only plastic, which is not very useful for many industrial applications," a European Space Agency news release stated.
The metal objects could survive temperatures of up to 1000 degrees Celsius (1832 degrees Fahrenheit).
"This novel technology offers many advantages. 3D printing, formally known as additive manufacturing, can create complex shapes that are impossible to manufacture with traditional casting and machining techniques. Little to no material is wasted and cutting the number of steps in a manufacturing chain offers enormous cost benefit," the news release stated.
The pieces would be strong enough to hold up within a nuclear reactor or the nozzles of rockets, the BBC reported.
"We want to build the best quality metal products ever made. Objects you can't possibly manufacture any other way," David Jarvis, Esa's head of new materials and energy research, told the BBC.
Members of the projects, called Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products (AMAZE), have already used their 3D printing technology to create jet engine parts and airplane wings.
The process of "layering" allows the manufacturing of the parts to produce "zero waste."
"To produce one kilo of metal, you use one kilo of metal - not 20 kilos," Esa's Franco Ongaro told the BBC. "We need to clean up our act - the space industry needs to be more green. And this technique will help us."
Creating seamless parts without using cumbersome screws and bolts makes for lighter products with less of a chance of malfunctioning.
"Our ultimate aim is to print a satellite in a single piece. One chunk of metal, that doesn't need to be welded or bolted," Jarvis said.
The use of a 3D printer could reduce production costs by 50 percent.
"One common problem is porosity - small air bubbles in the product. Rough surface finishing is an issue too," Jarvis told the BBC. "We need to understand these defects and eliminate them - if we want to achieve industrial quality. And we need to make the process repeatable - scale it up. We can't do all this unless we collaborate between industries - space, fusion, aeronautics. We need all these teams working together and sharing."
