NASA SBIR 2015 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Techshot, Inc.
7200 Highway 150
Greenville, IN 47124 - 9515
(812) 923-9591

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Mr. Leo A. Shulthise
tshulthise@techshot.com
7200 Highway 150
Greenville, IN 47124 - 9515
(812) 923-9591 Extension :218

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Mr. Mark S. Deuser
mdeuser@techshot.com
7200 Highway 150
Greenville, IN 47124 - 9515
(812) 923-9591 Extension :247

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 1
End: 4

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Recycling/Reclamation of 3-D Printer Plastic Including Transformation of Launch Package Solutions into 3-D Printed Parts is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Techshot's proposed Space Plastic Recycler (SPR) is an automated closed loop plastic recycling system that allows the automated conversion of disposable ISS packaging materials into suitable 3D printer filament. The SPR includes a receptacle to hold materials to be recycled, a grinding system to cut materials into small pieces, an auger system to transport the shredded material to a heated nozzle and a tension controller to precisely control the diameter of the filament produced. An automatic spooling system will wind the processed filament neatly onto a spool.
The SPR includes a method to categorize and label spaceflight packaging materials making them easily identifiable as "print recyclables". The recycler will use the material label barcodes to automatically configure internal settings to process the material without the need for manual adjustments by the user.
We propose operating and controlling the SPR inside the modular Techshot Multi-purpose Variable-G Platform (MVP). Now in Phase III development, MVP has been designed to house, control and provide environmental control for a wide variety of ISS experiments, including hardware such as the SPR. Operating the SPR inside the MVP offers several advantages, such as temperature and humidity control and the ability to monitor and capture vapors. The MVP also provides an extra layer of containment for noise and EMI. But the primary advantage of operating the SPR inside of the MVP is the reduction of development time and cost by eliminating the need to develop separate housing, control and data acquisition systems. The MVP already includes all of the power, data, control and mounting interfaces needed to operate the SPR. The SPR filtering system will ensure that gases and ultrafine particles are maintained below safe limits. The MVP software will monitor the system and shut it down, should any of the air quality measurements exceed safe limits.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
In support of the travel supply chain model for crewed exploration missions, SPR is being developed as an essential element of a self-sustaining, closed-loop, on-orbit manufacturing process. The ability to repair essential equipment in deep space may be dependent on the ability of the crew to manufacture those components from available materials. And if materials come from packaging, failed or damaged components, and other no longer necessary onboard subsystems, the logistics supply chain will require far less upmass.
Refining and selecting the materials that can be used for their original purpose and still be recycled for re-purposing is the other crucial step in developing the travel supply chain. Understanding the entire inventory of available recyclable materials is the most important first step, which is why Techshot has proposed that task as its initial objective of this Phase I project. However, we also recognize that this material selection process will be an iterative and evolving process as new space-worthy materials for packaging, components, and subsystems are selected. Techshot is eager to be an integral part of the travel supply chain development team in providing guidance as to what materials will work effectively with SPR.
Initial operations on ISS will validate the performance of SPR and serve as a test bed in advance of exploration missions. Techshot will work closely with NASA to ensure it is compatible with all 3D printers selected for flight.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Industrial customers who want their materials tested and validated for use in components to be employed on deep space missions, may also be interested in preliminary testing of their product in SPR and 3D printers in the ISS test bed. Therefore, these industrial-based suppliers are likely to become second tier customers for Techshot. In addition to marketing ISS test bed services to our own customers, we also anticipate referrals to industrial customers from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). Techshot is an implementation partner of CASIS and has a long standing relationship with them. We anticipate continuing to work with CASIS to identify and facilitate industry users of ISS and our spaceflight hardware technologies. In addition, Techshot sees a strong potential for the SPR to help in advancing innovation in manufacturing – particularly as it relates to extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Since manufacturing advancements have been encouraged by Presidential Executive Order 13329, which states to give "high priority" to advanced manufacturing-related research within the SBIR program, this proposal qualifies as an important manufacturing improvement initiative. Furthermore, Techshot foresees the potential to improve industrial energy efficiency by developing more efficient equipment and processes used in industry. This further promotes the priority of our SPR proposal under the "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, section 1203.