South of the

River
Space
Association
Mars Rover Designers and Fabricators

Tender Submission

Tender Evaluation: Roca Roja

Client: Clive Maynard
Project: Mars Rover/Lander Prototype
Date: 19/04/2017

Hudson Best
Zac Thomas
Kenn Abellana

SRSA
Kent St
Bently WA 6102
Ph: 0433 390 401
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction 4
2. Design Package Review 4
2.1. Understanding of Design 4
2.2. Client Brief Compliance 5
2.3. Concerns and Solutions 6
3. Criteria 6
3.1. Experience 6-7
3.2. Comprehension/Capability 7
3.3. Communications 8
3.4. Management 8
3.5. Professionalism 9
4. Appendix A.1 10

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Designing company Roca Roja, operating on under guidance of client Clive
Maynard, have produced a blueprint design for a prototype mars lander, the following
document is a tender produced by Hudson Best on behalf of SRSA to obtain the rights to
produce the prototype. Detailed in the following tender is a demonstration of SRSAs
understanding of the design, construction method and tender evaluation criteria highlighted by
Roca Roja, and why SRSA is the most suitable manufacturing team for their lander.

SRSAs comprehensive understanding of the design, as outlined in 2.1-2.3, are among

the key reasons this tender should be reflected upon favourably. As defined within Roca Rojas
tender evaluation criteria, the company requires a group of Professional contractors, whom
are capable of understanding the design, provide feedback where necessary and suggest
improvements to the overall quality of the design. SRSA have provided evidence of this in our
understanding of the design and with its compliance to the client brief.
Another chief reason this tender should be considered is that the TEC set out by Roca
Roja has been appropriately addressed with references where possible. Roca Roja requires the
contracting company to act ethically, to be held accountable for the produced work, to respond
punctually and with the correct etiquette to emails or other forms of communication outlets
and to have the project finished within the allocated period. Roca Roja also requires prior
woodwork experience, evidence for which is hard to find but all can be confirmed with the
respective educational institutions each contractor attended as stated within the document.

Finally, SRSA, as a team of young aspiring engineers can assure the Roca Roja designers
we have the relevant technical and communication skills to undertake the production of their
rover to the highest possible quality as required by the tender evaluation criteria. Thus, SRSA
can assure due to the attention to detail and level of experience within the team that we are a
prime candidate to be tendered the design teams mars lander.
SRSA are delighted with their contractors experience, punctuality, etiquette,
accountability and overall professionalism and would like to assure Roca Roja that the highest
quality mars lander will be produced well within the given time frame.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This document outlines SRSAs tender submission regarding the construction of Roca
Rojas prototype mars rover. This document is a response to the desired criteria Roca Roja have
laid out to ensure their prototype is built both efficiently and to a high standard, both of which
SRSA contractors can guarantee.

2.0 DESIGN PACKAGE REVIEW

SRSA have undertaken a design review to fortify our knowledge of Roca Rojas proposal.

2.1 UNDERSTANDING OF DESIGN

Roca Rojas design centers around simplicity and its elegant cross beam design enables
a high degree of quality to be achieved in assembly. Roca Rojas mars rovers first task will be to
track straight down a declined plane of an angle approximately 30 degrees, a simple task for a
design which allows the constructing team to attain precise measurements due to the ease of
cutting pine wood, and the simplicity in fabricating the final cross beam chassis. Pine woods
inherent strength and relatively low cost allows Roca Roja to develop a sturdy, cost effective
design; one which should breeze through the 1m drop test.

Re-enforcing the connecting beams to the main chassis via a rib head screw should ensure extra
torsional rigidity within the chassis, but does somewhat increase the degree of difficult in final
construction, the screw must lay as close to the midpoint within the connecting beam as
possible to ensure maximum strength.
Pinewood is a low-cost wood commonly used for fabricating cheap tables and childrens
furniture. Pinewood is a relatively soft wood, and its malleability can be somewhat of a
drawback when constructing furniture, however it should help absorb some of the impact
whilst reducing the risk of a chassis crack or split.
Using wheels significantly larger in diameter than the height of the chassis, the rover has the
unique ability to roll upside-down which will significantly increase the probability of the rover
landing and continuing to roll after the 1m drop.

One point of uncertainty centers around the length of the bolt used to secure the shorter cross
section of the chassis to the longer members, another regarding the number and position of the
specified elastic bands.

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2.2 CLIENT BRIEF COMPLIANCE
The client brief outlines that the prototype mars lander must be capable of rolling down
a 2-meter slope at an angle of approximately 30 degrees whilst sustaining minimal damage and
continuing to roll on its wheels after dropping 1 meter vertically at the end of the slope. As
outlined in 2.1, the mars rover when correctly assembled should be perfectly capable of
completing the given tasks.
The client brief dictates the design be no larger in footprint than an A3 sheet of paper (270mm
x 420 mm) and no taller than 210mm at its highest point. The following is a list, Table 1, of the
dimensions as outlined within Roca Rojas MARS ROVER DESIGN document;
Table 1

Measurement Dimension
Chassis length 366.00 mm
Chassis width 146.00 mm
Maximum height 100 mm
The overall dimensions of Roca Rojas design are perfectly complicit with the design constraints
as defined within the client brief by client Clive Maynard.
The client brief demands the project cost no more than $30 dollars total when priced against a
material cost spreadsheet supplied by the client. The projects costings as defined within Roca
Rojas MARS ROVER DESIGN, Table 2, are as follows;

Materials List
Part Material Quantity Price ($)
A Long part of frame 30x18mm solid pine 2 5.57
B Short part of frame 30x18mm solid pine 2
C Wheels 140x12mm solid pine 4 6.61
D Axels 8mm oak dowel 2 2.06
E Screws Countersunk rib head screws 4 4.20
F Bottle holder J.Burrows no.64 rubber bands 4-5 3.64
100g
Total 22.08

The client brief details that there is no complex assembly allowed for securing the cargo during
final deployment of the prototype. Roca Rojas use of elastic bands and a hollow chassis
decreases the overall complexity of the design due to avoiding complexities such as latches or
hinges, as within the brief. This solution also improves the accuracy and efficiency of
construction.

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2.3 CONCERNS AND SOLUTIONS
SRSA have 2 main concerns relating to the design of Roca Rojas mars prototype lander. The first
concerns the use of elastic bands. Although a simply elegant solution, the forces at hand during
the landing will cause the bands to warp and distort, and despite being unlikely, does increase
the risk of the cargo becoming dislodged within the chassis or damaging it upon impact. SRSA
has recommended in a prior briefing that a sturdier cable tie could be used, however it has
become clear the design team wants to maintain simplicity and not risk excessively bulking the
finished product, and are adamant the elastic bands when placed correctly will safely protect
the cargo.
The second concern centers around the connection of the chassis cross sectional support. SRSA
is concerned over the strength of the countersunk rib head screw joint between the sides, front
and back. To address this, it is recommended that the assembly be secured with two rib head
screws rather than one, with a reduced head diameter of 8mm from 10mm. To further support
the chassis SRSA recommends that Tarzans Grip PVA wood glue be used in conjunction with
the screws, in an effort to reduce chassis twist and improve overall rigidity. Understanding of
the price constrictions this product is well within budget at $6.09 from Bunnings.

3.0 CRITERIA
Roca Rojas tender criteria are labeled above SRSAs response in italics.

3.1 EXPERIENCE
If a company is willing to work with Roca Roja, they need to display that they have the
experience required to work in a professional and safe manner. Roca Roja prefers to work with
companies that have previous experience working with tools and hardware, this experience is
preferred to come from school education where a licensed teacher has taught members of the
company how to handle and operate tools and machinery in a safe and correct manner. If a
client does not have any previous education working with tools and hardware it is also preferred
that they have had at least some experience working with tools so that they are able to work in
a safe manner. Companies should also have previous experience working with other companies
so that they have the some experience with deadlines and ethics and communications required
between these companies, allowing them to work in a professional manner. School grades and
subject can be used to express a tenders level of experience working with tools and experience.

All three members of SRSAs contracting team has prior experience with wood-work in high
school. Kenn Abellana has one year experience at Greenwood Senior High during year 10. Zac
Thomas had 2 years experience at Aquinas College during years 9-10 as did Hudson Best at

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Wesley college during the same period. As with any school subject, teachers pride themselves
on a safe operating environment which is something that SRSA, due to this experience will be
clearly able to demonstrate during any stage of the production process. Although due to the
time past, hard evidence of school projects are few and far between.

As an outside hobby, Hudson Best participates actively in competitive kart racing, and has done
for 9 years. Maintaining the kart includes frequent disassembly of all the running gear from the
chassis for cleaning, tuning and part replacement and reassembly requires a vast knowledge of
both tools and a karts assembly process. Other activities involve tire changes, top end engine
rebuilds, and constant setup tweaking; all of which use tools from power drills to torque and
socket wrenches, as well as more elaborate machinery unavailable in this project. Hudsons vast
use of a multitude of tools in the past ensures he is both fast, accurate and safe with even
hazardous tools such as power drills and metal cutting drop saws. Photos of the kart are
attached in appendix A.1 whilst Hudsons mechanic, Tony Lang, who can vouch for his quality of
work and safety can be contacted on 0437 139 353.

Although no member, being straight out of school, has any experience working with companies
as outlined in the tender evaluation criteria, all have team work experience as all schools have
group assignments.

3.2 COMPREHENSION/CAPABILITY
Comprehension is the ability for a company working for Roca Roja to understand and grasp the
ideas and designs brought forward by Roca Roja, and they are also expected to input ideas and
possible improvements that can be made during the design process. It is most important the
company can comprehend the designs given forward by Roca Roja because it is important that
the design given to the company is the design that comes out in the final model. Companies
should also have the man power required to be able to build and complete the design handed
forward by Roca Roja in order to meet deadlines and build times because it is required that
companies have the capability to fully complete our Mars Rover to the best of their ability and
at the lowest price. A way of measuring a tenders comprehension is by showing them designs of
the build and identify if the tender can accurately reproduce those designs, if they can then they
shall score highly, but if the designs are altered or done incorrectly then the tender would
receive a low score.
As demonstrated in this tender application, SRSA have a comprehensive understanding of Roca
Rojas design and have inputted some possible improvements that can be brought forward
during the design process. Due to the 3 experienced contractors within our group, we can
demonstrate we have the manpower and expertise to execute your design to the desired high
quality standard.

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3.3 COMMUNICATIONS
In order for Roca Roja Mars Rover to be built on time and to the budget required it is
imperative that there remains a strong and responsive communication between Roca Roja and
the company working with us. So communication is seen as a rather important aspect of a
strong partnership between our two companies. For a tender to be considered for high marks
from our criteria they are to be punctual and responsive when communicating with Roca Roja.
An example of this would be for a company to quick and responsive when emails have been
sent; roughly within the hour of them being sent, a tender should also be aware of the
importance of taking and sharing minutes during and after meetings between tender and Roca
Roja. Although being responsive to emails and communications is important to Roca Roja, when
working with a tender the tender should also greatly consider the importance of email and
communications etiquette. For a tender to achieve high marks in this area they would need to
speak reply formally to emails and questions during meetings between companies.

As demonstrated whilst organizing a meeting between SRSA and Roca Roja, our contractors
have demonstrated we are punctual to respond to emails, replying within the half hour. Any
meeting that has or will occur will be minuted and shared with all stakeholders involved. SRSA
contractors Zac Thomas and Hudson Best were also swift to notify both contractor Kenn
Abellana and Lukas Holroyd of Roca Roja to their unavailability to attend a meeting, whilst Kenn
shared the details of this with Zac and Hudson later that day.

3.4 MANAGEMENT
Roca Roja believes in the great importance of proper time and team management, because
within these professional skills the Mars Rover may be built to a lower standard of excellence
after deadlines, or it might not even be completed. That is why tenders should have the ability
to properly manage both; team members who are building the Mars Rovers and the time that is
taken by the team to build it. For tenders to be considered for this build potential there should
be high standards towards teamwork and the initiative to have builds and designs completed
before deadlines, that will ensure that the Roca Roja Mars Rover is built to the highest of
professional standard, on time and for the cheapest price. A method of gauging the level at
which a tender can manage a project is to be shown their drafts of previously completed
projects and see if they had been completed ahead of schedule.

SRSA, to ensure the project is completed well within the given time, will produce to Roca Roja a
day by day time table regarding the construction of the prototype rover. Already SRSA have
been communicating well throughout the project within the team and believe we can extend
this attribute of commutation through to our working relationship with Roca Roja.

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3.5 PROFESSIONALISM
For a company to be able to work with Roca Roja the corporation is expected to meet standards
of professionalism whilst on the job. Roca Rojas definition of professionalism is acting with a
high level of etiquette within working hours by following the guidelines of the Australian
Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics; which includes companies respecting the company
that is Roca Roja, and acting with accepted ethics; an example of this is companies following the
Australian Labour Laws whilst working with Roca Roja. When working on the job companies
should display high levels professionalism which includes following safety guidelines which have
been derived from Roca Roja risk management assessment. Companies who work with Roca
Roja should work with the respect time management required to complete all designs and builds
on time and to a high standard. High marks will be awarded here if tenders accurately follow
the Social Workers Code of Ethics and the Australian Labour Laws, now and with any other
previous jobs their corporation has completed.
SRSA is committed to being ethical and accountable for our work and our combinations with
Roca Roja. Resulting to a high professional standard of all work undertaken by our contractors
team, not only with the project at hand, but also with our standards of communication upheld
through all members of the group. SRSA aims to provide clarity to Roca Roja throughout
construction over any queries they may have and to be held accountable over the finished
product.

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4.1 APPENDIX A.1

Steering column after rebuild.

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