PRIME Project ISS Ground Prototype Powder Removal In Microgravity Environments

In Additive Manufacturing (AM) with metal powders, layers of material are deposited and fused to form metal 3D parts. However, remnant powder still must be removed from interior cavities and channels to fully clean the part before space applications. Ground demonstrations such as ultrasonic cleaning has been proven to work through ground testing with MSFC and Florida State University. If this concept could be tested in microgravity, the ability to clean AM parts or contaminated parts can bring new advancements to in-space manufacturing (ISM). The product is to make significant progress on developing an ISS payload using the ultrasonic technology called Powder Removal in Microgravity Environments (PRIME). This would also create new opportunities for in-space manufacturing (ISM) and the additive manufacturing community to develop new standards and practices for powder removal and the cleaning of contaminated parts in space.