Welcome to the NHS Introduction to Engineering (I.E.) blog. This blog is a place for NHS I.E. students to post descriptions of their work. Enjoy exploring the various hands on projects that we have created in the I.E. course this year and feel free to leave a comment.
The bridge project was part of the 1st semester final in which we had to build an certain bridge design using materials such as balsa wood and glue. It had to withstand an amount of load that was distributed towards the center of the structure. The bridge would hold as much as possible until it collapsed into the bucket below.
My design took a lot of balsa wood. Every stick that was given to me was used in the whole design. The framework of my bridge design took a lot of tedious patients and caution. In my bridge i had several of the "king posts" truss designs installed into the center refuge of the structure. Different from most other designs made by the class, my bridge held a significant amount of weight however not the most.
My bridge design was a huge success. Although it did not hold the most weight, it demonstrated the errors and the ways i could of done a better job. My bridge could of done better because of where i specifically placed my balsa wood. I could of placed a lot more on the base where the bucket with the load was placed. There, the bridge could of done a more significant job of holding much more load.
I have learned much from this building experience. It gave me a perspective of what the civil engineers do in the real world, their steps to solve the problem and then completion. The engineer always deciphers the weaknesses, pros and cons, etc. before performing their tasks. It also took a large amount of time and patience to build. Since you had to be precise in where your parts were placed.
This project should be a definite in being one of the projects proposed for next year's intro to engineering classes!
robots-we were given a box of a lego kit to build a robot and for the first round of robot building we went by the manual. the manual gave us step by step instructions on how to build this robot. there was an intelligence brick, which was basically the brain of the robot. this is where all the controls were on and all the programs we created were on it. then we took the robot apart, not being allowed to look at the manual, we had to create a robot with the pieces we were given from scratch. our design was more of a flat design with the brick not being at such an angle. we had our two wheels in the front, and a little wheel in the back. in order for our back wheel to work we had a contraption in the back from the brick down the the wheel. we had two motors, one on each side, that were connected to the big wheels. the little wheels was not attached to any motor but it adjusted its position to how the other wheels were operating. we had to create a program that would allow the robot to run a course without us interfering with it at all. it had to go straight, turn left, go straight, turn right, go straight into a cave and have a light turn on and then turn back around and make it back to the beginning. our design was not completely successful, it made it to the cave but never fully made it back to the beginning. we had a problem that our light would turn on in the cave but it would stay on and not finish the program we had designed. i learned that even if you get frustrated during a project you need to breathe and look for different approaches to the problem you are having. with this project there is so many easy solutions and different ways you can fix something. next time i would not make the course so difficult to program and give us more time.
observation deck- the observation deck was based on the deck hanging off of the Grand Canyon. the goal was to get the strongest and longest deck. Our decks however were made out of popsicle sticks and glue. There was a formula that balanced the distance with the strength. we used different weights and each had a certain part of the deck that the weights were placed. for our design we went for length, we had the longest deck in the class. we decided to place all of our weight on the end of our deck. if we placed the weight in a different place we probably could have gotten more weight due to the strongest part of our deck was by the table. we made our deck so that it basically bear-hugged the table. i learned from this project that you need to be creative with designs and cannot always just look at one design and copy it. you need to take different approaches and learn which one works the best. overall i think this was a good project, maybe get different type of weight next time since on some decks we had a hard time keeping the weights on.
The potato cannon is a large projectile launcher that is capable sending small organic objects such as the "potato" hundreds of feet into the distance. The launching sequence requires hairspray installed into the back and a button mechanism to release the pressure and shoot the potato.
My design was a little bit different of those that were brought up online and created by the other class. The cannon had a larger gas portion which could provide much more propulsion as opposed to other cannons. It also had a handle in which the person firing it can get more stability in their shot. Everything else on the design looked slightly similar to other potato cannon options.
Although we did not get to build our classes potato cannon however the design would stand out. Observing the success of the other potato cannon gives me an idea that ours would of done alot better and been more consistent.
This project has given me alot of experience in problem solving strategies and how to assemble more complex building materials. In this building process, I also have learned to use the application called Sketch-up. Which serves as an very effective computer design program that can draw and perform almost anything. This skill will be great for future projects.
I most certainly agree to do this project next year. Building a large cannon then testing your work gives you an exhilarating experience. I believe this project will be enjoyable to people that take engineering next year.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Any feedback you may have for the project if I was to do it again next year.
Post pictures if possible (I've uploaded some pictures onto the shared drive).
Philip Lux
A block
Another project that i would like to talk about is the egg drop project. I really enjoyed this project because it was exciting to see what all of the work that we put into our little baskets really did. Mine didnt work but it was still cool to see them drop. For this project, we had to use only 1 paper cup, 20 straws, some cotton balls and a few popsicle sticks to make a basket that would eventually help our egg to not break when it was dropped form the balcony of pilalis. My design had the cotton balls on the bottom of the cup with cut up pieces of the straw on top of it for more cushion. There were also holes in the side of the cup where we put the popsicle sticks through to hold the egg in place. Our design didnt work at all and the egg broke when we dropped it. If i could make improvements, I would give the egg more room to move around instead of having it very stable. From this project, i learned that eggs break very easily on contact but some, if placed in the right materials will not break.
Philip Lux
A block
The project that i really liked this year was the robot that we had to design and program to go through a course. We were not aloud to use any directions and we had to make up our own design as a group and try to see if it ran. My design was pretty simple. It had one motor with one wheel on one side of the command block and the same thing on the other side which made the robot pretty balanced. I also made a small wheel on the back of the robot so that it would be able to drive straight, turn at a 90 degree angle and balance. My design for the robot was pretty successful. All of my programing was perfect but it was hard to get the robot to do the exact same thing every single time so it got pretty frustrating. My robot got through the course once or twice without touching any of the walls but it was hard to do. If i could improve my robot, i would try to get it more balanced and try to get the two big wheels to move exactly the same without wiggling. From this project, i learned that with hard work on something, you can eventually accomplish it. If you were to do this project next year, you should let them use the directions on their actual thing and have them make up the programing because it was hard to get the wheels right and get it perfectly stable to run.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Michael Vaughan
C-Block
Another project I would like give a brief synopsis on would be the potato gun project. We started off by filling out charts for what we needed, safety instructions, and materials needed, and design steps. Again, we practiced our designing skills to begin this project and be on our way. To be specific, we used the program named SketchUp, which is a computer aided design program. The tutorial process for this program was rather lengthy and tough but, once we got the hang of it, it was extremely useful. With the program, we were able to construct our cannon down the specific measurements of each piece. For instance, we used a basic four and a half foot barrel and a two foot long combustion chamber with a 4 inch diameter. Once the SketchUp phase was done, it was time to buy the materials to build this cannon as a class. We went to the local Home Depot and bought the materials needed to build it, including two large PCP pipes. Then, we cut down the pieces to size, assembled the potato gun, and added some finishing touches. We spray painted the potato gun in with a camouflage color with leaves. This was a group project and I think that with the help of everybody in the class, we were able to construct a successful spud gun. On testing day, the gun managed to spit the potato past the football turf, landing approximately 150 yards away. I really had fun designing and shooting this cannon and I next time someone mentions a potato gun, I will brag about the one my class and I built in Engineering class. My advice for next year would be to get the okay from Mrs. Berry to have everyone in the class to get a turn shooting what they had helped design.
For a midterm project each student was required to design and build a small scale wooden bridge out of balsa wood. The bridge had to be able to hold 20 newtons of force over a gap between two tables. We had a set amount of materials and glue to build our bridge and had to design it based off of what we had learned about civil engineering and bridge design. To design or bridge we used engineering paper to draw out each section of our design. To build the bridge we used razor blades to cut the wood and then pins to map out the pieces to the drawing then glue them together. For final testing each bridge was suspend over a gap with a special weighing device attached to a bucket of sand. The amount of sand was increased until cracking could be heard, then we recored the weight then added more until they broke for fun.
I designed my bridge using a system of triangles similar to the isogrid shape however instead of using a system of circles to attach each beam, I notched each connecting peace and attached them at intersecting points. My bridge weighed around 15 ounces and held close to 30 pounds. It was 700% efficient.
For this project i found that time to build was stretched thin and that may more exact cut and cutting tool would have helped the success of my bridge. Although I enjoyed the project very much it was, at times, frustrating.
Andrew Lebowitz
Block C
The Potato Cannon project was my second favorite one. The task of the project was to design and and build a powerful and money saving potato cannon. My design was a 2''x 5' barrel with a 2"x 4" reducer and a clean out. My and someone else's projects were combined to make one single cannon and it shot about a 150 yards. Improvement that i would make for the next time a build a potato cannon is i would probably use something much more flammable then hair spray because the potato will shoot farther. For next year i think that J-Bird should get it approved so that multiple groups will be able to make and shoot there own guns.
One project in particular that I would like to talk about would be the bridge project. This project was considers a civil engineering project. The goal of the project was to design a bridge that could withstand twenty newtons of force. The only materials given to the class for the project were strips of balsa wood, a small container of glue, a razor blade, and metals pins. Before getting into the hands-on aspect of the project, we had to design the bridge and all of its components on engineering paper. We needed to have exact measurements before we could start making the bridge. Once the blueprint was completed, we placed the balsa wood over the measurements and made cuts where necessary. Then, we applied glue at the seems and the pieces were held together by metal pins. Once the roadbed and two side walls were completed, all we had to do was design the the substructure and glue that onto the bottom of the roadbed. Then we tested our bridges to see how effective they were. we spanned the bridge across two desks, and attached a bucket to the rectangle cue. Lastly, we added more and more sand until the bridge snapped. My project withheld some where around 37 newtons, which was pretty decent in comparison to the class. If i could do it gain, I would have used all of my glue to make my bridge more sturdier. Overall, I thought my structure choice for my bridge proved to be effective. I learned how to plan what I am doing beforehand, in accordance with my restraints. My advice for next year would be to work in groups and I think combined strategies will make the results better. Overall, this was my favorite project of the year by far.
the second project i want to talk about is the potato cannon project. this project consisted in the class designing and presenting plans an then going with the best plan. we built a potato cannon out of PVC pipe and we used hair spray as propellant to launch a potato over 400 feet. my group consisted of nick comosa, Andrew lebowitz, and me. our group made the best design and we thought up of the best one and the most affordable plan. our cannon consisted of a 4 ft barrel two inches in diameter, a 2ft combustion chamber 4 in in diameter, and a grill lighter. this project taught me more in depth about combustion and cycles. i already know allot about the combustion cycle and motors but it was a good touch up. if you do this project again you should try to make a huge cannon on wheels.
The Engineering class was tasked with building a Lego Robot that could execute simple commands. Once the robot was built, the small teams were then to program the robot's operations. Our robot design didn't differ from any other groups. We followed the instructions as they appeared in the manual. The design was extremely effective, as the robot could execute any command we gave it. The programs ran smoothly, and except for a chaotic light/motion sensor, the robot worked perfectly. Patience is key when tackling a task as such. Without it, the robot could be in poor working order, causing many problems later on. Perhaps more time to work on the project is in order Joslin. It seems we ran out of it too soon.
For our second to last project of the year, we designed and built a potato cannon. We had to research online many different ways of designing and constructing potato cannons. Then, with our partner, we each had to design the cannon out of the objects we found in Home Depot on Google Sketch-up. First, we learned how to build basic things with sketch-up, then we had to design the potato cannon completely to scale. One we were done with that, we had to create presentations "marketing" our project. We then all voted for what we thought was the best project, which ended up being a combination of two of them. We then went to Home Depot, bought the parts, and built the cannon with all the specifications we decided on. Our design was very successful. On it's best shot, the cannon shot a potato approximately 150 yards. Compared to our standards, that is very successful. If we were to improve it, I would use primer and work longer on the cannon making sure everything was flush. With this project, I learned how to use sketch-up more proficiently, and learned how to make a good presentation to "market" your idea to a customer. If you were to do it next year, I would say let the kids build it in class and have them make more than one and have a competition.
This was a short, one day, in class project that actually taught me a lot. This was also a civil engineering project just like the bridge. We were given a certain amount of popsicle sticks and unlimited amount of hot glue and were told to make a structure that hungover the side of the table and hold as much weight as possible to imitate the hangover bridge at the grand canyon. Graydon and I designed a hangover bridge that actually fit right on the corner of the desk and sort of grabbed on the desk. I really wouldn't change anything about our design considering it held well over 9000 grams and we could've kept going but we ran out of time in class. I learned that you need to really think through your design before starting to build like Graydon and I did. I really enjoyed doing this on Grandparents day and wouldn't change a single thing about it.
The balsa wood bridge project was part of the civil engineering section and intended for us to design a bridge on paper to the exact dimensions in which we were supposed to build it. After given the amount of materials we would have to build the bridge and the guidelines/specifications for the bridge, we had to design the sides (the main part of the bridge including the substructure), the bottom, and the top to the exact dimensions on a piece of graph paper. After the design was complete, we had to cut/shape the pieces of the balsa wood using the design. Using metal pins and glue, we cut the pieces of wood, pinned them to the design and glued them together, repeating the process for sides of the bridge. Once the individual pieces were formed (two sides, top, and bottom), the individual pieces were glued together to form the bridge itself.
The design I settled for would, in theory, allow me to use very few pieces of wood while maintaining a solid and rock-steady structure, resulting in a lightweight and strong bridge. I chose to use a Pratt truss for the structure of the bridge and a Howe truss for the substructure, which I decided would create large areas of space in the individual triangles. The bottom and top of the bridge were simple pieces of balsa, which were laid across to connect the sides of the bridge, with only 3-4 inches between them.
The bridge was much more successful than I had originally predicted it to be, even for it being statically indeterminate. The design proved successful, as the bridge was incredibly lightweight and held 36 N. The section that proved to be the weakest in the bridge was the “road” of the bridge or, rather, the pieces, which were level to the table and connected the sides of the bridge together. To improve the design of my bridge, I would have to implement certain truss elements into the roadbed in order to support the weight of the sand.
The project taught me the importance of having a precise and carefully outlined design. The design was the key part of the project, as little to no adjustments could me made to the bridge after it was crafted. The project could be improved by having more realistic expectations for how much weight the bridges could support.
Potato Cannon Project:
The potato cannon project was part of the mechanical engineering section and intended for us to design a potato gun using the SketchUp program, gather a list of parts and materials, the costs for these parts and materials, and creating a presentation to present the best possible design specifications. As individual groups, we had to settle on a design for the potato gun. After a design was chosen, we gathered a list of parts we would need in order to construct the cannon. With these parts, we were able to use SketchUp to design every aspect of the cannon, including the dimensions. After the design was created and we researched prices in Home Depot, we had to create a presentation to present our design and cost analysis. The best designs with the most efficient and low-cost parts were chosen.
Our design included the implementation of a 4" x 24" PVC pipe (where combustion took place), a 2" x 48" PVC pipe (the smaller pipe connected to the combustion pipe), their respective adapters, a lantern lighter, and PVC primer. The cannon was designed to implement a longer barrel towards the end in order to maximize distance. The combustion pipe was designed to provide as much power as possible without sacrificing space. The equation we used predicted the design to be very effective, with the combustion pipe providing more than enough power and the long PVC pipe lending accuracy without sacrificing distance.
The results from the design, unfortunately, could only be predicted from the equation we used, as our design was not chosen. If we implemented certain features from other groups (as the final cannon had), our long barrel would have been shorter by at least 6 inches. The combustion chamber was still efficient, as were the other materials we had presented.
The potato gun project, similar to the balsa wood project, taught me the importance of researching and creating a solid and accurate outline/design before the actual construction of the cannon itself. I feel, however, that the project could have been more successful if we were given more time (maybe learn it in the beginning of the year) to fully learn how to use the SketchUp program. The program could have been implemented in a number of projects this year, so learning how to use it early on seems very beneficial to me.
For our final in first semester we did the bridge project. We had to build a bridge out of Balsa wood which is a light wood and it had to hold a certain amount of weight. I choose an arch design with a howe truss system in the arch. i was the only one that had the arch and i thought that i would work out very well but i was a hassle to make. I had to soak the balsa wood in water wait and then attempt to curve the woods but it was very hard to do because to re-make it a lot because it kept on breaking. I would not go with he arch idea next time and i would be more thorough in my measurement and draft process.
I learned that it takes a lot of work to do something that looks so simple, it made me look at bridges a lot differently and i give more respect to the people that make them.
for next year i have no suggestion, i think that the project was done well and it was my favorite one.
The bridge project was designed to test our skills in civil engineering a design that can hold at least 20 Newtons of force. My design was a fairly simple idea that actually worked out pretty well for me. My bridge ended up holding somewhere around 40 newtons before breaking completely. I would have built my roadbed a little stronger considering that was the part that actually broke and not the structure itself. I learned that you have to keep giving the same effort from beginning to end on a project. Because I did the roadbed last, I didn't put as much time and effort into thinking about the design of the roadbed so it wasn't as strong as it should have been. The only complaint I had about the project was that we didn't have enough class time which forced me to come in outside of class to finish my bridge.
Our most recent project was our potato cannon. This was an idea constructed by Mr. Joslin himself in order to demonstrate to the class the combustion cycle which was taught during the mechanical engineering part of the year. This was a group effort due to "financial struggles". All groups presented their proposal and a combination of the best was chosen. The final product resulted in having a 5 ft. barrel, and a 2 ft. combustion chamber. It was spray painted a GORGEOUS camouflage on the barrel thanks to an anonymous member of the class. When tested, the final product shot a potato approximately 150 yards up on KENNEDY FIELD. This project taught us about the combustion cycle and also taught us how to make a self defense weapon. This project was informative, educational, and awesome and should be done for years to come.
Another project that we did this year was the bridge project. This was another project that was very educational and fun to learn from. We were given a limited amount of supplies and were forced to construct a bridge out of a limited amount of balsa wood, that would hold 20 newtons of sand. We had constraints such as length and width, but other than that construction was forced to be creative and investigations were forced to be done in order to learn about the best sorts of support systems and trusses. I personally used the K-truss support system and although it wasn't apparent to the eye, it did very well with holding the sand. I am not positive but i believe it held up to 55 newtons of sand. This project taught us about civil engineering and what many of their jobs consist of. It also taught us which bridge trusses are the most effective and why. This project, along with the potato cannon project, should absolutely be done next year as well. They were fun and we all learned a lot. Thanks for a great year. Hook it up with a good grade please !!
The bridge design project involved us analyzing trusses to find the most effective system for bridge support. The bridge needed to hold at a minimum, 20 Newtons. The materials included glue, razor blades, pins, and balsa wood. For my design, I chose to use a combination of the Howe truss and the king post trust. The thought behind this design being maximize strength while minimizing materials used and net weight of the bridge. The building process was quite frustrating. The time it took the bridge was much longer than previously expected. Soon work quality was sacrificed to time, as the project needed to be finished. If more time was spent guaranteeing bridge symmetry strength and stability, I have no doubt the bridge would have performed ten fold that of the original test. Even when the project is causing frustration, one must stay on task to prevent chaotic events such as this one. Without persistence and patience, a good idea could turn into a poorly executed final draft.
the first project that i want to talk about is the bridge project. our mission was to make the sturdiest bridge with the least amount of weight. the bridge was made to specific standards and had to hold 20N to pass. i designed a series of triangle trusses and added in a couple different elements. i made sure that the trusses were strong enough by adding in many short pieces of balsa in each big truss. this distributed the weight evenly thought the bridge, making it able to hold a ton of weight. my design was good. my bridge held over 52 pounds. and my weight to load ratio was reasonable. i learned allot from this project. i now know how to build a successful bridge. i learned how to use many angles to transfer weight. drafting to scale was another element that i have learned. i believe that this was the best project this year, you should definitely do it again next year.
Recently, C block engineering, was given the assignment to create a potato cannon using PVC pipe. At the start of the project we used a computer aided design program to create a potato cannon with exact measurements and materials. After each group completed the design and made a presentation outlining safety and beneficial features of our cannon. After the presentations we as a class chose which cannon we wanted to build and proceed to do so.
My design included an 2 foot 4"diameter combustion chamber to allow for a larger explosion and more power. For a barrel I used a 5 foot 2" diameter section. The rest of the design was very similar to the others which just included barrel chamber reducer as well as screw on cap to allow access to the combustion chamber. For an ignition system I designed a handle and grill lighter assembly to allow an easy fire system.
This project taught me how to use a CAD program as well as how controlled explosions work and how to create one. This project was defiantly my favorite project and I enjoyed the time i spent on it.
Introduction to Engineering was full of laughs, thrill, and hard work. The two projects that I enjoyed most and learned most from were the Bridge, and the Robot. The Bridge focused on the the civil aspect of engineering. Through tedious calculations and intense structural design we built balsa wood bridges. Some bridges were stronger than others, although all were required to hold at least 20 newtons. My design was simple and did not have any structural support on the top, only on the bottom. My bridge held a total of 29.6 newtons which was in the bottom 5 of the class. I did not put an arc on the top because I thought it would add extra weight. I sacrificed weight for structure, which did not end up working out well. My bottom structure and road of the bridge was constructed mostly by different variations of the king post. If I were to do this project again I would create a super structure to balance out my sub structure and add the extra weight. I learned a lot about structural and civil engineering from this project. I learned how a bridge can be more sturdy and what is the best design. I also learned about different kinds of posts, such as the king post.
Another project I learned a lot from was the Robot. For this project we had to build a robot following a instruction pamphlet. This was considered mechanical and computer engineering. The mechanical aspect was educational, but not as much as the programming was. Grant and I built the robot and the programmed it in order to perform simple tasks. For instance follow a line or drive forward. For the final task we had to program the robot to move through a course. I was able to program it to get through the majority of the course about one out of three times. If I were to do this project again I would design the final program so it was able to follow each line, and not move off course. I learned a lot from this project, but the things that stuck out to me was precision. The preciseness of the programs had to be on spot in order to move throughout the course.
This year in Introduction to Engineering has taught me a lot. Thank you very much. Hope you have a great summer.
We had to design a bridge out of a certain amount balsa wood. It had to be less than a certain weight, and had to hold at least 20 Newtons. For materials we had glue, pins, a razor, and the balsa wood. My design used a modified king truss. I had a superstructure and a substructure, with a weak middle. I used a small amount of glue. If I were going to build it again, I would have built a stronger middle road section because that is what actually broke in the end. The sides stayed in tact because that is what I worked the most on. My design held a decent amount of weight, but the middle fell through early. I learned that the design process is very important and you need to think of everything that could happen while building the project. I think the project went very well and you really wouldn't need to do anything differently.
Pop A Block My second favorite engineering project is Balsa Bridge Project. We made the bridge from Balsa wood. The bridge needed to meet all requirements and in the last class, Mr. Joslin is the one who measured weight our bridge can hold. My bridge is created by the concept using much wood. I calculated trusses first and then put it all together. My bridge could hold the weight more than I expected it to be. In contrast, I still need to improve it a lot. I should make the base more organized and use less wood. I still learned a lot from this project. I knew I need to be more careful when designing something and using time properly. Moreover, learning truss in civil engineering is a new thing for me. This project is perfect for me, if Mr. Joslin’s going to do it again, he should choose the Balsa Bridge project as one of his class projects. I’m so happy that once I used to make one of the amazing engineering projects!!!
Pop A Block In engineer class, we did a lot of fantastic projects throughout the year, but one of my favorite is the lego robot project. The lego robot project is the project we had to design and program our robot by given all lego parts. The robot needs to process all tasks; driving forward, making a turn, and turning the light on. Our robot design was based on the first lego robot we did in class; two big wheels in the front and the small wheel in the back, light sensor and sound sensor in the front of the robot. Unfortunately, our robot wasn’t that succeed, since we had problems with our back wheel. Whenever it tried to turn, the back wheel didn’t turn in the direction we wanted, therefore we needed more time to finish it, but I still learned a lot from it. First of all, trying all new programs made me know that using time properly is the most important thing for engineer. Moreover, I learned that if we work as a team, we can finish work earlier. I think we should have more time to create our robot. We had less time, as a result, we couldn’t make the robot as good as we can. However, I still love this project. It’s challenging and fun.
Our last project of the year was the potato cannon. With a partner, we designed our own potato cannon that we thought would work the best. After researching a design, our class went to a hardware store to get the prices of all the parts we would need to build this thing because we wanted to build the most cost-effective cannon. We then used a computer program called SketchUp to create a 3D picture of our cannon designs. The cannon was constructed using mostly different components of PVC piping. The cannon used a flint ignitor to shoot the cannon after the potato was inserted and hairspray was sprayed into the combustion chamber. I learned that the cannon was much like a combustion chamber of a car. The chamber of the cannon contained a pocket of air and flammable hairspray which when ignited, the air expanded at a high rate which pushed the potato out of the barrel. We ended up using Joslin's cannon for the firing so I never knew if my design was successful because it was never built. But I did learn about the basics of a combustion chamber which I know will come in handy sometime in my life. I now can build a potato cannon whenever I please.
One entertaining project this year was trying to build a structure that would protect an egg from cracking or breaking completely when dropped from about a twenty five foot ledge. It sounds simple, but the materials were far from reliable. We had a small paper cup, some rubber bands, maybe about ten plastic straws, some toothpicks, some popsicle sticks and the one egg that had to fit inside our structure safely and be able to withstand the free fall of twenty five foot drop straight onto a hard surface. There were some crazy designs. Some pocked holes in the cup and laid the straws straight across to secure the egg. Another group cut up the straws and used them as cushioning around the egg to withstand the blow of the fall. My design was to put the straws all in a circle, and then tie the bottom with the two rubber bands forming almost a cone shape. Then we could just place the egg inside the cone, and with the cup and straws protecting the egg, hopefully it would land safely. But the egg gods had other ideas. Once our contraption was dropped, I saw a fatal end to our egg approaching. In an instance, our egg was completely shattered on the first floor of Pilalas where there now laid a tarp covered in egg fragments, and yolk of course. If I did this project over again, I would do what some other groups did, which was put the egg in the middle of the cup and put straws and sticks through the cup to securely hold the egg in the cup. From this project I would have to say I learned how not to secure an egg in a cup with straws and sticks and have it land safely from a free fall. This was just one of many creative projects we did this year in engineering.
Jamie Kelly
A Block
It's a bird, it's a brown plane, no wait it's a potato? Our last project was the potato cannon. The idea was simple, build a cannon and shoot the potato. First thing to know about the project are the pieces involved. The igniter for the cannon would be a "Flint Igniter" (lantern lighter). Before the cannon would shoot off you would spray some local store bought hair spray that would be attracted by the igniter and shoot off the potato. To keep the blast from burning whoever was behind the cannon the combustion chamber, consisted the following pieces 4" PVC cleanout pliug, 4" PVC fitting cleanout adapter, 4" PVC coupling, and lastly 4" x 24" PVC pipe. The combustion chamber of the cannon was much like the combustion chamber of a car. There is a compressed volume of gas and air and the fuel is ignited with a spark pushing the potato out of the cannon. The area of which the potato would shoot out would be through a 2" x 4" PVS increaser reducer and a 2" x 48" PVC pipe. We never got to build our designs but we did draw them on google sketch up (which was a pain). You can see my design from the pictures above. I can not say if my project succeed or failed because we didn't have a enough time to build it, however I did learn a lot. First I learned how to use sketch up which most all engineers use to make their ideas come to life on computer first. This application was fun but at times very frustrating, never the less it was a fun to mess around with. One complain about the project is that next time have time to build the cannon. Hopefully one day when I am bored I can build my own potato cannon.
Earlier in the year, we had to construct small bridges out of 1/4" thick strips of balsa wood. We were only given a certain amount of wood and we had to use glue to put it together. Each member of the class designed their own bridge to scale before they began construction. Students were graded on how much weight their bridge could hold and how light it was. My design was very conservative in terms of the amount of wood used which made it very light, but as a result my bridge did not hold very much weight. This free-standing bridge was difficult to glue together and most of the time I needed things to hold it up while the glue dried. If I were to do this project again, I would design my bridge so it utilize the amount of wood given so it will be stronger. During the project, I learned about different types of trusses that are used in life-sized bridges in today's world, although I never really understood which ones would work the best for this situation. For the most part I just put a bunch of different trusses in my bridge and hoped it would work well.
The first project, and one of my favorite projects throughout the year, that we did in engineering class this year was try and use one piece of computer paper and only a foot of scotch tape to try and construct the tallest tower we could, but there was a catch. The tower had to withstand a fan's wind gust from about three feet away. It was tough but some people had some good designs, and of course Mr. Joslin had the tallest tower at the end of the day. My design was try and make four long, thin pieces of paper that had been rolled up. I used three of the thin strands as legs for the tower, making almost a pyramid shaped structure. Then I attached the final strand to the center where the three other pieces met and pointed it straight up. My design was pretty successful overall, but it fell short a few times trying to withstand the fan's gust so one thing I would want to improve would have been its sturdiness. Maybe sacrifice a little height and bend a small part of the legs in to give it more of a base. Right off the bat with this project I learned to be creative and brainstorm different ideas before just jumping into the construction.
The potato cannon project was to make a gun out of PVC pipe that would be able to shoot potato's. As a class we were split into groups and had to come up with a design which had directions and a list of the parts needed. then we went to the hardware store to find the prices of the materials that we were going to need to build the potato cannon. After it is built we get to fire it.
My design was a very simple one that most of the class chose to use. The barrel was 48 inches long with a 2 inch diameter that connected to a reducer. The reducer connected to the combustion chamber that was 24 inches long and had a diameter of 4 inches. The combustion chamber had an end cap that would be screwed on after the hairspray was used. The combustion chamber also had a grill lighter in the side of it that would spark the fuel.
I thought my design was very successful. It was the second cheapest in the class which was one of the goals. The cheapest design was not very save so i believe that makes my design the most successful. To improve my design i would just make the barrel and the combustion chamber longer to achieve a farther distance.
I learned how to build a potato cannon, the parts needed and how much it cost to build one.
i thought the project went well except for the fact that we never got to build it but we did the important part, firing. If you were to do it next year you should have your class make a couple of them and play dodge potato with them across the field.
The bridge project was to build a bridge out of balsa wood. The bridges were going to be suspended between two tables and have weight hung off of them until the was some visible damage.
My design was based on a suspension bridge on top of a king truss. I used as much material as possible and make the sides as complicated which in turn i thought would make the bridge stronger. i also used a lot of members going across connecting the two sides.
I though my design was successful. i got second or third don't remember. It held something like 20 pounds. One way that I could improve my bridge design is that I could have doubled the support one the ends, which was where my bridge broke. i could have also added more members in the superstructure.
I learned about trusses and how to design a bridge. i also learned more about civil engineering which was what i was the most interested in.
I think the project went very well and you could do it the same if you were to do it next year. This was definitely my favorite project.
In this project, John and I worked in a group to build a LEGO robot which can execute different missions. At first, we just followed the instructions to build the robot, and used Mindstorm to program for the robot. Then we dismantled the robot, and started building a robot without instruction and program it so it can follow the missions that Mr.Joslin assigned.
Our design for this project is quite simple. It contains following parts: wires, wheels, intelligent brick, and connections that put them together. Two wheels in the front and one omniwheel in the back. The intelligent brick sits at the center of the robot.
Our design is relatively successful. It's the first and one of the few robots can walk through the route assigned by Mr.Joslin. The most interesting feature about our design is that it can drive on the wall, so it allowed our group more space for miscalculations. However, the flaw is obvious too. In general, the connections of the robot is not very stable. As a result, a slight change in our programs could cause the robot to go way off the assigned route. Also, our design is over simplified. According to Mr.Joslin's rubric, the robot needs to at least turn on the light, hit a ball, and make a sound when finished, but our design is unable to perform these tasks due to our ignorance of the programming tool - Mind storm.
From this project, I learned teamwork - how to cooperate and communicate with my partner to figure out problems. I learned the importance of experiment - we are the first group start testing our robot on those tasks. Our accuracy comes from adjustment after each miscalculation. I also learned the importance of observation - when we followed the instructions to build the robot and program, we observed, then started building. Observation is a process of learning and with that ability, we achieved our success.
Feeback: next year, students should have more time to do the project. More time allows deeper understanding of the robots, which leads to higher completion.
The second project is Potato Cannon Project.
In this project, we started off doing research online on how to build a potato cannon. We picked the best design, went to a store to check the price of different parts, analyzed the design in terms of price, assembly process, and safety features, used Google Sketchup to draw the 3D graph of the cannon, and finally, made presentations to our plan.
The design Jacob and I picked is quite different from the rest of the class( since the other groups all use the same design.) We do share some similarities like barrel, combustion chamber, ignitor, connection parts, and a cap in the back. The special thing about about design is that we have a handle between barrel and combustion chamber, and the ignitor is placed like gun at the joint of the handle and the main body. " The Bazuka" is its nick name.
The successful part in our design: we recognize the brittle nature of the PVC pipe and use ABS pipe instead, so the design is safer. Secondly, still the handle. It helps the cannon stay stable when shooting it. Thirdly, we used reasonably shorter chamber and barrel so it costs less. We can improve our design by putting soft materials around the part in touch with the body, so when firing it, the for generated won't be as big.
From this project, I learned how to get information from the Internet and compare them horizontally. I also learned cost is a big concern in real world engineering. The material we use should be as cheap as possible.
Feeback, the students should be able to fire the cannon. After all, they put the effort to build it.
Here are some pictures of our design:
Jamie Kelly
A Block
This past school year we did a lot of projects to learn the fields of engineering. One of my favorite projects was the observational deck. The idea of the project was to build a deck to hold weights until it broke. We were given 50 popsicle sticks. The groups could either go for longest deck or how much weight it could hold. I chose how much weight the deck could hold. My design was simple instead of doing a single popsicle stick for support I lined up two sideways to give great support. I also built from the back forward. I tried to create some weight in the back to keep the deck from falling forward. However the back did nothing to give weight because the weight of the weight was far more heavier than all the popsicle sticks. For the deck part I made a basket type where there was a big square opening to hold the weight. To support the over the table deck I used a L shape support with again double popsicle sticks for greater strength. I tried a little to put length in my deck to gain some points. I just put popsicles in the shape of a cone with a pointy end. All the sticks were held together by glue from a glue gun. My deck was the best one in the class holding the most weight but there is stuff that I wish I would have done more support in the front and not waste so much of the sticks in the back. What I learned from this project is that the double popsicle sticks gave great support and that time and limit amount of supplies really does hold a restriction on what you can do. The only thing I would say about this project is that let people have more popsicle sticks.
It's hard to believe that the first year of Introduction to Engineering at New Hampton School is drawing to an end. I have learned a lot and have had a lot of fun exploring the field of engineering with the students this year. We have looked at some amazing feats of engineering such as the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, the jet engines used in the new Joint Strike Fighter jets by Lockheed Martin, and the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. The students have also tried their hand at designing with projects on model bridges, circuits, and robotics. In the next few days you should see the students post descriptions of their work here. Enjoy!
