It was a prototype to drill into the sides of cliffs hanging on to the side of a rover called "Axel"
I know that feeling! It's always tempting to dive right in and get going, but you'll almost never regret spending some time thinking about things and getting more details, asking questions etc. Thanks for write-up; it was an interesting insight into this kind of engineering project.Finally, I learned to do more planning when taking on a project, and resist the urge to begin modeling and engineering right away.
Good question, I would guess not. The AXEL rover project was ended shortly afterwards (Their technical lead left to SpaceX). I hope that someday a derivative of that is used on Mars, because accessing the sides of cliffs is very important to understand the geological timelines. As far as the drill goes, I don't think anyone will look at it as inspiration for future projects. It was made as a cheap demonstration project. I'm sure there will be drills like it, but I don't think they will be derived from this.
Okay, this is super neat. For one thing, I think it's great that a NASA subcontractor doesn't have an EDM burner 'cuz those things were just sorta ubiquitous growing up (but then, I grew up at a national lab). For another thing, it's awesome to actually see an application for 3D Printing that actually leverages the strengths of 3D printing. If you don't mind me asking, what material did you use to print?
My experience at NASA ranged from good to horrible. The project I posted above wasn't made at NASA, since I was working for a private contractor, and I can say I enjoyed it much more. I was able to work on a real hardware project, had a budget, and actually had some control over my IT situation. If you are interning on a good project at the Right center it can be tons of fun. I don't think I made a post for the one that wasn't.