Jakob Krantz Mars Rover
Since the time I’ve published my Sawppy rover project, I’ve learned of a few other rover projects with no relation to Sawppy (other than being inspired by the same rovers on Mars) but also utilize 3D printing. These are far more affordable than trying to duplicate the mechanical workings of a rover in LEGO. This collection also happens to hail from around the world. The first stop of this world tour is Sweden, home of a rover published by Jakob Krantz titled simply “Mars Rover”. It uses commodity PVC pipes for suspension structural members instead of the aluminum extrusion beams I used on Sawppy. The overall size is slightly larger than Sawppy, with different proportions. For example, the wheels and body appear to be smaller than proportional to Curiosity. But it is recognizably and undeniably inspired by NASA JPL Mars Rovers.
Full rocker-bogie is presented and accounted for, including 3D-printed links for the differential. Sawppy didn’t use 3D printing for these parts, it used the same hardware used on the JPL Open Source Rover. They are adjustable suspension link turnbuckles from the remote control car world, and I have yet to think up or find a 3D printed design that worked as well as those turnbuckles. It’s not clear how Krantz’s design handles rotation across multiple degrees of freedom and browsing the published CAD file only shows gaps where some critical components of the joint (bearings? bushings?) would sit. How these differential links function remains a mystery to me for now.
