[X-spurt]

You brought up a question I have about the rage about 3D printing. Only in a virtual world with metrosexuals that really don’t do any hard work, PLASTIC is only good for toys and fake flowers.

Oh heck this is probably as good as the Ruski or Chinese metal tools they have on-board.

[bigbob]

3D Printing is a bastardization of the process called stereolithography which includes a variety of processes, including Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) which can fuse metal powder to create objects much more durable than plastics. There’s also Selective Laser Melting and E-Beam Melting. The whole topic of 3D Printing is mangled by non-technical writers who don’t take the time to learn what they’re talking about, but the idea of creating metal parts onboard a spacecraft is entirely feasible, requiring only a stock of raw material rather than hundreds of already-manufactured parts. That’s what the OP referred to asteroids as a source of raw material.

[Spktyr]

3D metal printing exists. They’ve already 3D printed a working 1911 from metal. They’re now producing a 10mm 1911 completely 3D printed of metal: http://3dprint.com/21109/3d-print-metal-gun-reason/

[Vince Ferrer]

Plastic would be good for the space station, because the plastic can be recycled back into filament easily.

Filabot

So once you have a 3d printer, a recycler, and some plactic, they can keep manufacturing what they need at the moment, and get rid of things they don't use much.

[Kirkwood]

3D printing with embedded carbon filaments is as strong as aluminum. https://markforged.com/