Description: Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) proposes to develop the Metal Advanced Manufacturing Bot-Assisted Assembly (MAMBA) Process, a robotically managed metal press and milling system used to create precision parts on orbit. This manufacturing process provides an alternative to 3D printing metals in space, which is difficult due to space environment, feedstock safety concerns, and print quality issues. Instead, the MAMBA-Process relies on an ingot forming technology to create a metal ingot. This ingot can then be milled and machined to form a precision part using a standard CNC milling technique. In order to minimize astronaut time and exposure to the process, the MAMBA-Process will be highly automated and outfitted with a robotic assistant, capable of removing the ingot from the press and placing the ingot in the mill. Automated tool changes are also possible for the mill, enabling complex shapes with fine edge finishes. Testing of the process technologies led to a lab demonstration of ingot formation and milling in the Phase I effort, maturing the MAMBA Process to TRL-3. In the Phase II effort, a full scale engineering unit will be built and tested, maturing the various the payload subsystems to TRL-5 and preparing the work needed to validate this technology for flight.

Benefits: The innovations proposed in the MAMBA-Process would allow NASA to create precision parts on-orbit as needed. Rather than fly a storage room of potential spare parts, the MAMBA-Process could be used to make these components when a need arises, limiting the initial launch volume. In addition, the acceptance of used parts into the Positrusion-Press sub-technology allows for the recycling of used or failed parts, minimizes stored waste, and enables a closed loop ecosystem for metal fabrication. The ability to re-use mass taken on mission, dependent on the mission stage, would greatly increase capability per budgeted mass. In addition, the MAMBA-Process would enable the flexibility to replace critical components when resupply is impossible or improbable.

The MAMBA-Process was designed specifically for in-space use, which limits a traditional terrestrial commercial pathway. Similar to NASA, the MAMBA-Process technologies could be used by any commercial spaceflight companies with a focus on manned space travel. It also could be used in commercial space labs, such as the one currently under development by Bigelow Aerospace. Additionally, this type of process would have utility aboard submarines where resupply is similarly limited.