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TSUGITECH
Summary
TSUGITECH is the combination of Tsugite, a millennia-old Japanese technique which consists of using only cuts and geometry to create solid joints, together with the addition of magnets to secure the joint in place
How We Addressed This Challenge
TSUGITECH was born (tsugite of the Japanese word for “fittings” and tech from “technology”) from the need to assemble components in space to make the process of assembling their parts easier given that satellites, ships, telescopes, etc. are getting bigger and soon enough it wont be possible to send them in one trip but rather in multiple trips.
How We Developed This Project
Have you ever wondered how far away satellites are? or how they end up way up there?
It takes hundreds of people to craft and set a satellite in orbit and due to their ever increasing size its becoming a necessity to assemble them in space.
How can we make this easier?
These were the questions we Ctrl+Z asked ourselves when thinking about the challenge.
Studying various 3D models of satellites and the ISS provided by NASA, it was possible to reach the conclusion that joints are currently very complex, that is, they have too many parts for them to be assembled cheaply and efficiently in the space.
We thought about ways to simplify theses joints and to make them secure. This is how we thought about the ancient japanese wood joint technique "Tsugite" which consists of making joints without nails, screws or nuts. The joints are simply created by stratigical geometrial shapes between the pieces that are wished to be joint.
We later thought about how to secure this joint. Since we are removing the necesity of screws, nails and nuts we thought about the use of magnets.
In 2016 Polymanget developed a way to make strong magnets whose magnetic field are only on the surface of the magnet. By partnering with Polymangnet we can add these magnets to the joint making it secure and wihtout having to worry about magnetic interfirance damaging vulnerable components near by.
To develop our ideas further we used CAD programs to create a simple geometry and then we used Simulation software to simulate how the the joint would hold with different forces applied to it. To our delight the results show how the Tsugite joint are very optimal for space assembly.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
To know where and how to start we used NASA research data to get to know the problem better and to deeply understand it. Once we knew what the problem was we started to think about the solution. For this we used NASA's 3D models of satellites and the ISS to study how currently the joints are put together and why is it presenting a problem to assemble them in space.
The idea of simplifying the joints would have not come about if it wasnt for the 3D NASA models that showed all the parts and how they were put together.
Project Demo
Data & Resources
-NASA/JPL-Caltech, C. M. (2010, Abril 11). Aura. Retrieved from NASA 3D Resources: https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/aura-eoe3d
-Sandlin, D. (2016, Marzo 20). Youtube. Retrieved from Mind-Blowing Magic Magnets - Smarter Every Day 153: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IANBoybVApQ
-About Polymagnets. (2020, Octubre 3). Retrieved from Polymagnets: http://www.polymagnet.com/about-2/
-Curiosamente. (2016, Octubre 24). Youtube. Retrieved from How do magnets work? Curiosamente 45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7afwV_aJcjk&ab_channel=CuriosaMente
-Maderea. (2016, Abril 11). Técnicas japonesas de unión de madera sin clavos ni tornillos. Retrieved from Maderea: http://www.maderea.es/tecnicas-union-madera-japonesas/
-Manuel, J. (2012, Febrero 26). Youtube. Retrieved from Cómo imantar/magnetizar y desimantar/desmagnetizar un destornillador: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRiSIXBV-aw&ab_channel=JulioGerm%C3%A1nRodr%C3%ADguezOjeda
-Milenkov, T. (2019, Noviembre 2). WOODEN JOINT 10. Retrieved from GrabCad: https://grabcad.com/library/wooden-joint-10-1
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