The ZERO: Zip-Tie Revolver

The Boise State University Microgravity Team has been challenged with designing a mechanical Zip-tie tool to be used during EVA missions on the ISS. NASA is looking for a new tool that will allow astronauts to fasten zip-ties to secure wires and hoses. This tool would need to have a number of zip-ties stored internally, be quickly reusable, and would need to be easily and safely operated by an astronaut in a single handed operation

The ZERO: The Zip-tiE RevOlver

The Boise State Microgravity team took part in the EVA Zip Tie Installer challenge. As a part of maintaining the International Space Station (ISS) until 2030, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are inquiring into different device solutions that can install zip-ties fully mechanically and repeatedly by astronauts aboard the ISS during EVA’s. This serves as a solution to the current use of metal wires which are wrapped around pipes and loose wires on the ISS. The Zip-Tie Revolver (ZERO) was created to install zip-ties taking into account the astronaut’s limited dexterity and the goals of reusability with modular components. In order to address the difficulty of the many steps required to install a metal wire around pipes and loose wires, the ZERO was designed with a simple and streamlined operation to bolster effectiveness and usability on EVA’s. At its core, the ZERO is a spring loaded zip tie gun that can propel zip ties around different objects in a microgravity environment