Trap Door W/ Locking Mechanism

grabcad

After thorough consideration, I've decided that incorporating a mechanical trap door mechanism would be an exceptional and innovative approach for the RASSOR drum bucket design. In a low-gravity setting, a mechanically locking trap door mechanism will likely yield the most dependable results. Within this design, the trap doors are naturally secured shut with a pair of lightweight springs. As digging commences, the aggregate will overpower the springs, allowing material to enter but preventing it from escaping. To remove the material by opening the doors, I've added a set of mechanical arms connected to a pulley system. RASSOR will be able to position the ends of these arms on the surface and activate the open door trigger mechanism by moving forward. After removing the material, the trigger mechanism can be disengaged. Although I didn't have the opportunity to test this design, a fill capacity above 70% is feasible. This design may result in a slightly heavier product, but achieving 5 kg with lightweight materials is possible. I've optimized the parameters at 360mm wide and 450mm diameter.