Abstract: A system for excavation of magnetic regolith having a collection chamber, a transport tube, a power supply, a wiring system, a controller, and a plurality of electromagnetic coils. Embodiments according to the invention allow for the excavator to have an electromagnetic rod and a flexible tubing. Further embodiments of the invention allow for excavation along vertical and horizontal axes and for the electromagnetic coils to be energized simultaneously.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for additive manufacturing in which a metal feedstock is converted to a carbonyl compound (or other gaseous media) and then optical heat patterns are used to direct the deposition of the contained metal into an arbitrary 3-D structure. The optical methods used to guide the metal deposit may include one or more laser beams acting independently or in concert, and/or other optical technologies to apply a pattern of thermal energy, including LCD, LED, LCoS, DLP, or even CRT projection technologies. The metals which may be deposited are limited to those which have compounds which are gaseous at moderate temperatures and which decompose (to a gas and the metal) upon the application of heat or specific chemical binding energies via optical means. Such compounds include (but are not limited to) nickel tetracarbonyl, iron pentacarbonyl, cobalt carbonyl, titanium iodide, and platinum chloro-carbonyl.