Zero-Gravity 3D Printer: In-Space Additive Manufacturing (2D)

A 2D cross-section companion to the orbital FDM printer simulator: instead of watching the whole bracket build, this view zooms into the physics of a single melt bead and asks the real materials-science question behind in-space printing — does gravity help or hurt? The Bond number Bo = Δρ·g·L²/σ answers it at any length scale by comparing gravity's pull on the molten polymer to surface tension holding it together. Toggle gravity on the bead panel to watch a print bead flatten under Earth weight versus bead up under microgravity's surface-tension dominance, and watch the live overhang-bridge comparison show the real tradeoff: the same unsupported span sags and can fail on Earth, but prints stable in orbit, exactly as it does aboard the ISS Additive Manufacturing Facility.