3D Printed in Space: A Teen’s Winning Design

While just a senior in high school, Robert Hillian took on a challenge most of us can only dream of: design a tool to be used — and printed — in space.

It was all part of the Future Engineers competition hosted by NASA, SpaceX, and Shapeways, with in-orbit printing courtesy of Made In Space. Since winning the competition with his Multipurpose Precision Maintenance Tool, he’s graduated and now attends college in Huntsville, Alabama. These days, Robert keeps his eyes on even bigger prizes, hoping to one day work with NASA and SpaceX again. We caught up with him recently to ask about his design process, his future, and how he went from high school kid to NASA engineer.

Tell us a bit about what you set out to do for this contest. What was the goal?

My goal for the contest was fairly simple. I focused on delivering the best design I could, without over-complicating it. I was more determined to produce my best design in the limited time I had, rather than trying to win.

The tool you created for NASA — it’s a relatively simple idea, but the execution is really elegant and efficient. What inspired the design? Had you already been interested in tools and engineering?

Thank you, my design was inspired through my process rather than anything else. But one object that definitely influenced the final product was the Swiss Army knife. I enjoyed using tools but I never thought about designing one until the competition,  however I have always been interested in engineering. Creating new things is my passion, and engineering helps me to do just that.

How did you develop the tool? What was the design process like?

I have an elaborate personal engineering process. I first spent a few hours doing as much research as possible on everything from tools astronauts currently use on station to how 3D printers work. From there, I sketched out the maximum build dimensions, and started deciding on where I should place each tool I wanted to include. Afterwards, I had the final product.

What was it like to see your model printed aboard the International Space Station?

It was incredible to simply sit in the Payload Operations Integration Center [at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center] and see the astronauts onboard the station. But seeing that my design was in space, in the hands of astronauts, was unbelievable.

Were you always interested in space travel or engineering for space missions?

Ever since I was eight, I fell in love with space travel, and I don’t remember ever being more passionate about something.

Is this the first step in a career in space, or do you have other things in store? Does being in Huntsville keep you oriented toward NASA?

I definitely think this is a first step towards a career in space — as well as a step toward more ambitious career goals and opportunities. Being in Huntsville definitely helps keep me oriented toward my goals. I hope to one day soon start a company and work with NASA as well as SpaceX.

Any words of encouragement for other young people looking to get into 3D engineering?

My one piece of advice to aspiring engineers would be to never stop brainstorming. And that it’s a lot harder to succeed in engineering if your ideas do not sound crazy to some people.