By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A 3D-printed moon habitat built here by Ingersoll Machine Tools has been named The Coolest Thing Made In Illinois.
The Rosenberg Space Habitat was chosen from a field of more than 250 entries in the annual Makers Madness competition, a bracket-style contest that ran for eight weeks with more than 300,000 total votes cast online. The contest is hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association to celebrate the work of manufacturers in the state.
“Ingersoll is humbled by this recognition and proud to be in the company of these amazing manufacturing organizations,” Jeff Ahrstrom, CEO of Ingersoll Machine Tools, said in a news release. “Our 131-year history in Rockford demonstrates that the manufacturing challenges of today are the standards of tomorrow. Ingersoll will be there to meet those challenges and move American manufacturing forward.”
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The title was bestowed on Ingersoll on Wednesday evening during a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield.
“The habitat represents the very best of our state’s manufacturing industry, where creativity and determination turn dreams into reality— including living on the moon,” Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said in a news release. “We are proud of the wide variety of products featured throughout this year’s competition, and hope this contest shines a light on the important work taking place on factory floors across Illinois every day.”
The Rosenberg habitat is a 3D-printed polymer structure designed to house humans on the moon. It’s built to house a crew of two people, and it stands 23-feet tall with a thickness of only 5 millimeters. It’s the world’s tallest single-piece 3D printed polymer structure.
“The Rosenberg Space Habitat is a current concept for humankinds first lunar colony and was printed on the large, Ingersoll Master Print 3X platform,” Ahrstrom said. “Our mission of advancing the possibilities of manufacturing and human exploration is a challenge we readily accept.”
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Other finalists included the Drug Terminator, a portable drug incinerator made by Elastec in Carmi that’s designed to help health care officials and law enforcement safely destroy prescription drugs and narcotics, 17th Street Barbecue sauces in Murphysboro and 77GHz Radar made by Hella Electronics Corp. in Flora to assist drivers by providing early safety warnings.
“Illinois is a state built around innovation— from the Ferris Wheel to the dishwasher to the zipper. The best of that legacy continues to shine through with Makers Madness and the Rosenberg Moon Habitat by Ingersoll Machine Tools,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release. “This team quite literally reached for the stars and imagined a future of space travel and habitation that inspires us all. To them and to all the participants, congratulations, and thank you for all you do to make Illinois a hub of innovation.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas