Terraformers - Mars Rover

Mechanical Design3D PrintingSolidWorksManufacturingTeam Project

Competition Overview

The University Rover Challenge (URC) is the world's premier robotics competition for college students, challenging teams to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. Hosted annually in the Utah desert, URC simulates the harsh Martian environment where rovers must perform:

As a member of Robotics @ Maryland's Terraformers team, I served as Manufacturing Lead, responsible for coordinating the design-for-manufacturing process and overseeing production of all 3D printed and machined components.

Terraformers Rover Terraformers rover during field testing in Maryland

My Role: Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

Building a competition-grade rover isn't just about clever designs—it's about ensuring every component can be reliably manufactured with available resources. As Manufacturing Lead, I bridged the gap between CAD models and physical parts.

Responsibilities

1. Design Review & Optimization

2. Manufacturing Coordination

3. Team Training

4. Quality Assurance

Manufacturing Workflow Design-to-manufacturing pipeline I established for the team

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFM Principles)

Challenge: 3D Printing at Scale

Our rover required 200+ custom 3D printed parts. At 4-10 hours per part, inefficient designs would blow our 3-month build schedule. I implemented systematic DFM reviews to optimize every component.

Key Optimization Strategies

1. Print Orientation Optimization

Example: Robotic arm joint housing

Print Orientation Example Before and after optimization—support material highlighted in red

2. Stress-Based Part Orientation

3D printed parts are anisotropic—stronger in XY plane than Z direction (layer adhesion is weaker).

Example: Wheel motor mount

Load Direction Analysis: ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ Force │ Orientation Strategy │ ├─────────────────────────────────┤ │ Tension │ Load along XY layers │ │ Bending │ Neutral axis in Z │ │ Torsion │ Shear in XY plane │ └─────────────────────────────────┘

3. Tolerance Accommodation

FDM printers have ±0.2mm dimensional accuracy. I established design rules:

Tolerance Guidelines Reference chart provided to design team

4. Support-Free Overhangs

Unsupported overhangs >45° fail or require support removal.

Design modifications:

Manufacturing Process Management

Production Pipeline

Design Freeze → DFM Review → Slice & Print → Post-Process → QA Check → Assembly ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ SolidWorks My Review PrusaSlicer Me/Team Calipers Integration

3D Printing Infrastructure

Equipment:

Materials:

Print Farm Our 10-printer manufacturing setup in the lab

Post-Processing Techniques

Every part underwent finishing:

1. Support Removal: Needle-nose pliers + flush cutters 2. Sanding: 120→220→400 grit progression for smooth surfaces 3. Heat-Set Inserts: Soldering iron at 220°C to embed brass threaded inserts 4. Acetone Vapor Smoothing (for ASA parts): Improves surface finish and layer bonding

Key Components I Manufactured

1. Drivetrain Components

The rover's drivetrain required the highest precision—any wobble compounds across 6 wheels.

Parts produced:

Challenge: Ensuring concentric bearing seats
Solution: Printed with 0.6mm nozzle for dimensional stability, reamed bearing bores to exact tolerance with hand reamer

Drivetrain Assembly 3D printed wheel assembly with bearing integration

2. Robotic Arm Linkages

5-DOF arm required lightweight yet strong linkages.

Material choice: PETG with 40% infill (strength-to-weight optimization)

Design collaboration: Worked with arm subteam to reduce mass by 30% through topology optimization

Arm Linkage Optimized arm linkage with internal ribbing structure

3. Sensor Housings

All electronics needed protection from dust and impact.

Requirements:

My design improvements:

Non-Metal Machined Parts

In addition to 3D printing, I coordinated production of machined plastic components:

Delrin (Acetal) Parts:

Acrylic Parts:

Manufacturing Process:

Machined Parts Delrin gearbox components

Challenges & Problem-Solving

Challenge 1: Part Warping

Problem: Large flat parts (chassis panels) warped during printing, causing assembly issues.

Root cause: Uneven cooling creates internal stresses

My solution:

Result: Warp reduced from 2mm to <0.3mm

Challenge 2: Print Failures Mid-Job

Problem: 10-hour prints failing at hour 8 due to filament tangles or power outages.

Solutions implemented:

Result: Failure rate dropped from 15% to 3%

Challenge 3: Tight Competition Deadline

Problem: Major design change 4 weeks before competition (arm redesign)

My response:

Outcome: Delivered all parts on time, rover assembly completed with 3 days to spare

Competition Performance

While we did not advance past the qualifying round, the manufacturing process was a success:

✅ Zero mechanical failures during qualification videos
✅ All 200+ printed parts delivered on schedule
✅ Assembly completed without major fit issues
✅ Valuable lessons learned for future team iterations

What We Learned:

Team at Competition Terraformers team at University Rover Challenge qualifying round

Impact on Team

My manufacturing leadership established systems still used by the team:

Documentation Created:

Training Delivered:

Process Improvements:

Technical Skills Developed

Design Tools:

Manufacturing:

Project Management:

Communication:

Lessons Learned

Manufacturing isn't just making parts—it's about:

Key Insight: The best designs are useless if you can't manufacture them reliably and on schedule. DFM must be integrated into the design process from day one, not bolted on at the end.

Future Improvements

If I were to lead manufacturing again:

  1. Start DFM reviews earlier (during initial sketches, not after full CAD)
  2. Implement version control for physical parts (track which revision is on the rover)
  3. Build more spares of high-failure-risk components
  4. Invest in better printer enclosures (temperature control reduces failures)

Technologies & Tools

CAD: SolidWorks 2022, Fusion 360
Slicing: PrusaSlicer, Cura
3D Printers: Prusa i3 MK3S+, Creality CR-10, Ultimaker S5
Materials: PETG, ASA, TPU, PLA
Machining: CNC Mill (coordinated with machine shop)
Inspection: Digital calipers, micrometers, gauge blocks

Manufacturing Lead, R @ M Terraformers Team, URC 2023