High-Level Project Summary
For our project, we were inspired by building blocks we used as kids, such as Creation Cubes. We wanted a single simple item that could be used to build a variety of important tools and necessities for life on Mars. Our first product is a hollowed-out block that can be printed multiple times to create furniture pieces such as a bed, chair, stepping stool, table, desk, etc. Our second design is a tool that can be printed to any scale with any of the materials, and then can be used to create almost every tool imaginable. A hammer, a fork, a plate, a nail, a shovel; this product is so versatile that a human living on Mars can simply think of a needed item and have it built within minutes.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Our multifunctional tools are meant to be sized to fit each 3D printer and produced with any of the available materials for different purposes. For example, the first design (plain hollowed box) can be printed on a smaller scale in the plastic or metal 3D printer to serve as a cup, plate, container, planter (for hydroponic plants), etc. Then, it could be sized to be a 1/3meter hollow cement cube; once multiple squares are printed, they can be put together to create necessary living pieces, such as a bed, table, chair, step stool, desk, stairs, etc. Because of their hollow nature, these pieces could serve a double function as storage for other tools, food, clothes/space suits, etc.
Our second design is meant to be printed with the metal or plastic printers (depending on the strength of the item needed) and each piece snaps together to form any desired tool. For example, these pieces could be used to build a hammer, nail, utensil, pole, handle, door nob, and so much more. The technology used in this design is modeled off of children's "Creation Cubes", and we used this same technology to design our replacement rover wheel.
We wanted our replacement rover wheel to be built with the metal 3D printer because metal is the strongest material (of the three provided); however, we knew that we couldn't make the whole wheel out of the small metal printer because, according to a NASA article, each wheel is over 50cm in diameter (see Space Agency Data Citation). In order to produce a complete wheel, we relied upon the same technology used in our second design. The wheel's circumference is divided into 16 equal parts that all snap together to complete the circle. Each of these 16 parts looks like a T with an approximately 10cm curve on the top. These T arms are all made as two parts that also snap together.
The main goal of our designs was versatility. Research can only predict so much, so we designed a product that an astronaut on Mars can use to create any tool within minutes to solve any problem, predicted or not. Our product uses simple technology to create the most multifunctional tools.
Space Agency Data
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/mars-2020-rover-gets-its-wheels
We used data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Website to inspire our rover wheel replacement measurements and design.
https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/Mini-Perseverance-Rover-Wheel
This was our inspiration for the look of the replacement rover wheel.
Hackathon Journey
Our team LOVED this Space Apps Challenge. As aspiring engineers, architects, chemists, and powerful forces in the STEM world, we were so excited to work together and solve a real-life problem. We picked the Mars Habitat challenge because we wanted to further develop our 3D printing design skills. Although we all attend the same school, most of us had never met the other team members, so this project provided us with an invaluable opportunity to develop friendships.
We would like to thank our club moderator and our tech teacher, who happened to put out a Lego set before this Hackathon. The Legos she set out inspired our design technology that uses a simple product to build any tool.
The hardest aspect of this hackathon was trying to solve every imaginable obstacle for an astronaut living on Mars. That's why we created a multifunctional product: so that in the most unpredictable circumstances, anyone living on Mars can have the tools needed to preserve, survive, and thrive.
References
- www.tinkercad.com We used TinkerCad to design our 3D printed items
- We were inspired by children's connectable building block toys such as Legos and Creation Cubes
- https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/Mini-Perseverance-Rover-Wheel (Wheel Inspiration)
Tags
#womeninSTEM #fun #Mars #3Dprinting