Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Branch Technology Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee, developed Freeform 3D Printing, an innovative process that creates lightweight lattice structures for buildings instead of the traditional layer-by-layer method. This approach enables modular, visually distinctive architectural elements like wall panels and cladding that are both efficient and strong. The method reduces material use by eliminating the need to print fully solid components, according to David Goodloe of Branch Technology’s Advanced Concepts team.
Branch Technology’s progress was partly driven by participation in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a competition to design habitats for deep space exploration. The company won Phase II of the challenge in 2017. NASA technical manager Tracie Prater noted that while the challenge focused on habitat construction for planetary surfaces, Branch also explored on-demand fabrication for interior systems and supplies within pressurized habitats.
The company developed unique nozzles for extruding both lattice structures and traditional solid layers, often combined in wall panels. This technique provides solid substrates for fasteners while maintaining lightweight characteristics. The materials used were influenced by NASA’s challenge requirements, which called for print materials similar to Martian dust, rocks, and recyclables from missions.
Branch created a basalt fiber-reinforced plastic as part of its materials research and optimized its terrestrial printing inks based on that work. NASA’s Technology Transfer program, within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, helps adapt space-based innovations like this 3D printing process for Earth applications. The agency regularly highlights such technologies in its Spinoff publication showcasing commercial and public benefits from space technology.