Awards & Nominations
Serbroker has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
Global Nominee
SERBROKER
High-Level Project Summary
The development of a Rover wheel, a multifunction tool and furniture to equip our habitat through the assembly of parts with the combination of various materials using 3d printing technology.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
The adventure began with our vehicle “Roversapiens” (this is how we baptized the person who set foot on this Martian soil for the first time) whose cover broke, so with the printers that they left us in the habitat we began to design a replacement. Here we use the plastic and metal printer. This wheel is the same size as the others at 500 x 400mm (for traversing the sandy surface of Mars).
The printing of the cover design could not be done completely in a single print due to the dimensions of the printing base of the plastic and metal printers, therefore we designed it in parts, which were assembled until the cover was completed. of the wheel.
To carry out this assembly or union of parts, we design parts such as axles and screws, made of metal (and here we use the metal printer) because they are more resistant and do not require as much material. In addition, since it is difficult to obtain the metal by melting and processing the regolith, we had to optimize the use of this printer by building few and small parts to make efficient use of materials. Following this premise, throughout the design and printing process we kept in mind to use the least amount of supports and materials in general.
Likewise, without compromising the structure of the pieces, they were designed with free spaces to save material.
The tread of the cover (the outer part or edge of the cover) is designed with greater depth and we make a small inclination from the ends of the bands to:
a- cause more traction and
b- Do not allow rocks to be introduced and touch the band.
c- The inclination in the horizontal axis is designed so that the Roversapiens does not slide.
d- The inclination of the treads are the direction indicators.
Now, to prevent what had happened to its predecessor – the Rover Perserverance – with the “pet rock” (as the media called it) getting lodged in the wheel, we built our Roversapiens a cap.
To build the wheel cover we used the plastic printer with polymeric material that has more flexible qualities like rubber, because we thought that plastic, being more rigid, would break more easily on this rocky surface and rubber is more malleable and better absorbs the impact and blow of rocks.
The cover located on the outside of the wheel is held only by the contours of the cover with metal screws and a central plastic ring that holds and tightens all the covers to give consistency to the structure.
Each cover has a printed screw in order to save time in making another piece and always looking for the right print.
Now, to change the wheel of our Roversapiens we build the following tool following the acronym “PFF”:
We built this tool to be used for various purposes, it is versatile and multifunctional. That's why it has multiple addresses. The handle of the tool was constructed of plastic and the parts are metal. Something important to highlight is that the entire print design was made considering the following criteria:
-WE DO NOT USE SUPPORT to save materials and printing time.
- PARTS MADE WITHOUT OVERHANG or as little pronounced as possible, so as not to use supports.
This allowed the design to be applied to various uses and options, always respecting the condition that the base for housing the tool in the handle is maintained. Thus, we were able to accommodate Phillips, flat, tube, etc. screws, always maintaining the base, which measures 8 x 8 millimeters, through the assembly system. The locking system is quick, easy and neat, and can be used on either side of the tool handle. The union was made by a threaded means, using metallic pieces that allowed a more rigid fit.
This gave us better use when operating it. For example, we were able to insert parts that simulated a fork, or served as a hammer, into the back of the tool handle.
In order for the tool to work as a hammer as well, we made the head out of plastic and the striking sectors designed to embed metal pieces. Like the flat face and the pointed face.
We also use it as a measurement tool since it has a metric on one of its sides.
We also designed a box to store the tools or other necessary objects that arise during outings outside the habitat.
the software used was autodesk fusion 360.
Space Agency Data
We carry out the investigation of our work following the references and scholars of the most important Space Agency in the world –The national Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), like the National Commission for Space Activities CONAE.
We investigated about the following links, videos, and links that wwe refer to below and that nourished us and provided specific information to address our challenge and move forward in its resolution.
https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-recruiting-for-yearlong-simulated-mars-mission
https://www.nasa.gov/analogs/media
https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/blog/qa-with-former-nasa-astronaut-cady-coleman/
https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/blog/meet-dr-keith-gaddis/
Hackathon Journey
We are extremely surprised, we did not imagine sucha a large organization, carried out with such professionalism by our headquarters in Rosario, being assisted and accompanied throughout the process, and we feel like global citizens, because we were also able to enjoy the applications, networks, chats with people from different countries, share concerns, tastes and feel united.
We learned a lot about our space, the solar system, the missions that are being develope. It was up to us to focus on Mars and we found ourselves located there all the time and projecting that we were putting our grain of sand for our next generations. As our slogan “change is coming, lets be the authors. We believe that we must be part of the changes, for the common good”. We learned a lot about the history of the most important space agency in the world, NASA, and the national research agencies and commissions that alco accompant research and exploration. There is a lot of talent in our country and they are highly recongnized for their creativity and innovation throughout the world.
Our inspiration: We are convinced that 3d printing is absolutely essential and allows us to constantly innovate and advance in various fields. In space it is key to survival, it implies much lower costs, and it is neccessary to provide solutions to problems of breakage or loss as we had to solve in the challenge we chose. The 3d printer is another traveling companion on the ship.
One of the biggest challenges was time. To be able to solve the challenge posed, investigate them and advance in the designs and construction of the pieces and materials in a short time always resorting to our own innovative creation that would respond to what we were asked for.
We would like to thank our Rosario headquarters, its organizers, coordinators, mentors, who were always presente and assinting us. To our team who slep Little, thought a lot and enjoyed themselves all the time.
References
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJAwE_T5mZ6rwMi6zInuKeg