The Campbell HCA M-1.1

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

My name is Ben Campbell, and this is my first entry for the NASA CHAMPS 3D printing competition. This device is a clamp that can grip on to a handrail that goes throughout the ISS and attach any object that needs to be fixed in a solid place on the station.

To apply the clamp to the handrail, place the brass-colored piece onto the rail, then get the two black pieces and place them on the top and bottom of the center ring piece. You then turn the black pieces clockwise after you have placed them in the channels on the center ring, and the hooks on the outer rings compress the inner ring so it grips and tightens around the handrail. The outer rings also help prevent the clamp from sliding off of the handrail in any direction, so it stays in the exact place that it is applied.

I will soon add images of a physical prototype and maybe even a video demonstrating how it works once I get it 3D printed here on Earth.

-Update- I have just finished 3D printing my prototype, and now am waiting for the support material from the printer to be dissolved while it sits in part cleaning fluid for a while. I'll upload pictures of the finished project tomorrow, and probably post a video on how it works after this weekend.