NASA wrench printing on my Makergear M2

“While it’s not the first 3D printed object made in space, it is the first item made to do work in space in the hands of an astronaut.”

“When International Space Station Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore needed a wrench, NASA was way ahead of the game; they e-mailed him a new one. It was the first time an object designed on Earth was transmitted to space for manufacture off the planet.”

“You can print your own version of the space wrench. And it comes courtesy of a download direct from NASA.”

http://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/wrench-mis
http://3dprint.com/33556/3d-print-your-own-nasa-wrench/

After several months of trying different software packages, unsuccessfully I might add, I settled on ViaCad 3D. It’s a 2D/3D CAD solid modeling software that seems to be feature rich and yet “simple” enough that I can get my head wrapped around it. The best part is it doesn’t cost a small fortune like some of the others.

I feel at this point I have a solid handle around the technology of 3D printing and have acquired two very nice printers in 2014 that produce excellent results. I seem to be getting more and more commercial jobs too.

What I don’t have a good enough handle on and the next logical step is to improve my design skills. Not that I’m ever going to be a world renowned designer but at the least I’d like to be proficient enough to produce or modify simple designs for myself and clients. I’ve already had requests in that area.

So that’s my 2015 challenge… among others. Hopefully an old dog can learn new tricks. Let the games begin.

My contribution to the tree ornaments this year. What else but a 3D print of a 3D printer printing a Santa hat.

Decided some LED’s were in order to help light up the build platform when checking parts. Ordered a seven dollar string of white LED’s and a six dollar controller. That should do the trick. Not sure how useful the the effects are but it’s kind of cool anyway.

I’m going to need more shelf space.