Robotic 3D printed lunar bionic architecture based on lunar regolith selective laser sintering technology
Philip F. Yuan, Xinjie Zhou, Hao Wu, Liming Zhang, Lijie Guo, Yun Shi, Zhe Lin, Jinyu Bai, Youhai Yu, Shanglu Yang
Abstract
Abstract The lunar base is not only an experimental station for extraterrestrial space exploration but also a dwelling for humans performing this exploration. Building a lunar base presents numerous obstacles and requires environmental perception, feedback design, and construction methods. An integrated fabrication process that incorporates design, 3D printing workflow, and construction details to build a bionic, reconfigurable and high-performance lunar base prototype is presented in this paper. The research comprises the study of the lunar regolith 3D printing mechanism, the real-time control of powder laying and compaction procedure, and the development of a 3D printing tool end system. In this paper, many scientific questions regarding in situ fabrication on the lunar surface are raised and addressed with the proposal of a progressive optimization design method, the molding principle, and gradation strategy of lunar soil-polyaryletherketone (PAEK) hybrid powder, and the principle of dual-light field 3D laser printing. The feasibility of the technical strategy proposed in this paper is verified by the presented empirical samples.