Finite Monkey Cage.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/xvjocVQ1jfo

Website: https://sites.google.com/my.aci.k12.tr/project/home

The banana basket toolset offers sturdy components with easy-to-maintain designs. It encompasses easy-to-process materials like petrochemicals such as PVC and plastic and light metals like aluminum and titanium. It benefits from additive manufacturing that enables astronauts to create low-cost spares in case something goes awry. That earns the crew very valuable time and resources that would be required to produce a replacement part, and send it to the operational space base. Because the basket houses PV panels, it can sustain itself further without the need for a nearby base.

The main advantage we wanted our tool to have was to make the tool change operation single-handed, and if possible without using your wrist. This was to make it both easier to use and also to reduce fatigue, similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by repetitive wrist movement. Overall the tool is meant to be an open ecosystem to develop tools easily and to be able to manufacture them on-site during a mission to reduce transportation expenses.

Our toolkit also includes a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) that would include various sensors for measurements, such as inertial measurement units, LIDAR scanners, and similar, along with user manuals and repair instructions for various tools and use cases respectively. We have also included solar panels on the back cover of our tool kit meant to charge the PDA.

One of our other goals, as mentioned above, was to make it cheap and easy to manufacture by making the handle piece completely manufacturable on a standard lathe, and a mill with a spindexer or fourth axis. Depending on the use case and geometry the tool heads can be manufactured through subtractive or additive processes. Additive is preferred for the tool heads to make them 3D printable out of 6061-T6 Aluminum, Titanium, or Tungsten with powdered metal SLS manufacturing; PEAK, PEEK, ULTEM, PA12 Nylon or carbon fiber reinforced variants of such polymers with FDM manufacturing. All of these combined make the tool easier to manufacture whilst keeping the pricing low on a low volume scale.

Another key feature of our tool change mechanism is the interconnect on our handle and the bottom of our tool heads. We took inspiration from the BNC connectors widely used in video production and test equipment industries. To improve upon it however we added a spring-loaded pin at the end so that the pins on the outside would be forced inside the locking groves at the receiving end. The key on the handle and the corresponding keyway help keep it all aligned so that the knob that turns this connector can be operated single-handedly.

Last but not least is versatility. Due to the tool changing nature the possibilities are really big, perhaps even endless. But we wanted to have a "base kit" so to speak and have created a set comprised of a shovel, UV LED lamp, brush, a hammer/pickaxe combo, an extension handle, and a PDA.

In order to view the 3D models, to see the animations of the connector locking, and to see our presentation, you can visit our site linked down below.

3D models of tools: https://sites.google.com/my.aci.k12.tr/project/models?authuser=0

1. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/pdf/A16_PressKit.pdf
2. https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tools/tools20.jpg
3. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/pdf/A17_PressKit.pdf
4. https://2020.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/create/virtual-planetary-exploration/teams/mohakash/project

The Space Apps Challenge, which we competed for the first time this year, showed us how we can both test our skills and work as a team under challenging conditions. We have seen how difficult and how much patience it is to be able to do teamwork in the online environment. Since it was a challenge that required design, Virtual Planetary Exploration seemed like a challenge that our team members would be successful at. The kits used in the Apollo missions were our main source of inspiration. We've planned improvements that seem small but are worthwhile overall, and we've gathered those improvements into ready-for-production tools. Valuing each other as a team and the great willingness of all of us to contribute helped us overcome the difficulties and gave us a very happy competition environment. We want to thank ourselves for our time and effort, and Güner Güler Dalkıran, who helped us become this team.

1. https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/cute-monkey-seamless-pattern-background-vector-26660841
2. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/pdf/A16_PressKit.pdf
3. https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tools/tools20.jpg
4. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/pdf/A17_PressKit.pdf
5. https://2020.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/create/virtual-planetary-exploration/teams/mohakash/project
6. https://teokitan.github.io/

#3DModels #3D Modeling #Planetory #Design #Nasa Solution

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.