You’re in luck… NASA proved today that one can be sent just about anywhere… through e-mail! They designed a wrench on earth, e-mailed the design to the ISS, and printed it off for use!
“The socket wrench we just manufactured is the first object we designed on the ground and sent digitally to space, on the fly,” writes Chen.
Finally, a way to never run out of 7/16th wrenches. This is exactly what we’ve needed all this time!
Saw this today as well… all I kept thinking is how incredibly cool this technology still is to me. Those of us immersed in FRC may find it as just another 3d printing story - but it can go a long way when showcasing your team’s 3d printed materials to your local organizations and sponsors!
I now just figured out the first thing I’m going to print when I get my 3D Printer…a wrench with 7/16 on one side and 3/8 on the other. We’ll see how long it lasts.
They really could have use one of these on Apollo 13. Oh wait, they would have not had the energy budget to use it.
NASA isn’t exactly telling the truth.
What they have is actually a matter transporter, just like Star Trek. Not quite ready for living things, though. 
Pretty cool stuff. I worked with one of the founders of Made In Space, until he left to focus on them full time. They’re located just down the street from my office, so its awesome to see them have success.