Sumo Bot Blog

The project requirements were to create a car that can be powered by a fixed brain box that was provided. We used direct drive to power our wheels. We also used a longer wheel base to provide more power to the vehicle. RDJ won with a time of 51 seconds. They had a lot of space in between the two back wheels to provide power and precision turning. The wheel base was also small, the distance between the back and front wheels were small which made it have a good turning radius. If we could redesign, I would decrease the wheel base and increase the traction. I also would decrease the amount of weight that our car had.

Optical Illusion and Angular Momentum Challenge

We created a yo-yo and two spinning tops, all with optical illusions on them. The yo-yo functions perfectly, and it creates an impressive optical illusion. The spinning top on the right creates a blue-orange mix, while the left top creates a grey-red illusion in the middle.

We decided to create objects that spun to create angular momentum, and created different optical illusions. The only minor difficulties that occurred were trying to get the top to spin as best as it could, and also we had to separate the two circles in the yo-yo so it could function correctly.

If we had more time we would find better string and cut our circle out of stronger material so it would last longer, and spin more smooth. We would also make the spinning top column out of either plastic or a metal so its more durable and could spin longer.

Fastner Blog

The main point of this lab was to show how you can use many different objects to fasten objects. My group had the first choice and chose pegs as our fastner. We came up with the idea of creating a pyramid so we did that by using small wooden pegs to connect our blocks. We combined 3 square levels by 4 vertical pegs so that the pyramid could get smaller as it went up. I feel that we did that successfully because the pyramid is free-standing and if there was one thing that i would do to fix it that would be re-adjusting the lengths of the vertical pegs so they stood up straight, rather than the crooked way that they came out.

Build a Compound Machine

We combined 3 of our simple machines into 1 compound machine. We combined our pulley, lever, and wheel and axle to create a machine with an AMA of 132. We were supposed to create a machine that had an AMA of 90. It was supposed to make lifting an object easier and more efficient. So we attached the wheel and axle to the pulley, and added a crank. After that we connected the lever to the pulley, which is what lifted the lever.

Our compound machine came out good because we had an AMA of 132 which was third in the class. One of the problems that we faced was not being able to pull up the weight as easy as it shouldve been able to because it was rubbing against the wood. So we changed the layout and it made it easier for the pulley to raise up the weight. Our changed that we made improved the AMA by 40, we made the second arm of the pulley go straight down instead of farther out to the side. We couldve used a stronger piece of string instead of the kind that we used, that wouldve made the rotation of the wheel and axle easier, and it wouldve been easier to move the weight.

I learned that the AMA is all depended on how efficient you are at putting your machines together. The hardest part was to think of a way to combine all of the machines, after that, it became easier to made the small adjustments on the project. Now I know that for the future projects, the most important part is to get a good foundation idea to build the project around. After that, the little adjustments that you have to make will come easier because you already have a grasp on the big idea of the project.

Simple Machines Blog

For this simple machine project we built 4 of the simple machines; the lever, wheel and axle, pulley, and inclined plane. For the pulley, the IMA that we were supposed to get was 2, and for the other 3 machines we were supposed to get an IMA of 6. We calculated the efficiency of each machine by dividing the AMA by the IMA and multiplying that by 100. After all the machines were tested and we had all of the percent's, we found the average percent for each group to see who did the best overall job.

For the wheel and axle we got 1st place with a 90% efficiency, for the inclined plane we got 2nd place with a 37% efficiency, for the lever we got 1st place with a 73% efficiency, and for the pulley we got 1st place with a 75% efficiency. Our average percent was 69% and the second place group only was 41% efficient. Some people would say that we were the obvious winner, but there are so many different things that can go wrong with testing the machines so its hard to actually pick a winner.

We didn't get 100% efficiency because its very difficult to measure perfectly and test it perfectly. For the pulley, there needed to be a horizontal line that could go through  2 of the pieces of string, which doesn't include the force arm. For all of the other machines we needed to measure a 6 to 1 ratio in order to achieve an IMA of 6. We could've payed more attention to the IMA before we started building so we could build the machine to specifically fit the IMA, instead of building the machines and then worrying about the IMA. That wouldve made it easier to change the IMA if it didnt come out with the results that we wanted when we tested. We also couldve tested earlier so we knew ahead of time what the IMA was, and if we needed to redo what we previously did.

Wooden Wheel and Axle, Noah and Dylan, Dec. 2013

Wooden Pulley, Nathan and Rob, Dec. 2013



Wooden Inclined Plane, Noah and Rob, Dec. 2013

Wooden Lever, Nathan and Dylan, Dec. 2013

Simple Machines

 

Part A

 

1. Lever

 

2. Wedge

 

3. Pulley

 

4. Inclined Plane

 

5. Wheel and Axle

 

6. Screw

 

Part B

 

First, because the wedge and the inclined plane are very similiar. Secondly, the lever and the pulley both work by applying force onto one side which then moves the object.

 

 



Westwood on the Cutting Edge

 

 

The Online Shopper 



 

The Online Shopper is an innovative idea that would allow you to print out anything that you see online, and have it in 3D form. Instead of going to the store and purchasing the object, you could order it online and then have it printed right there. You could program the printer to be able to print out any kind of fabric, or material that your product needs. Once you program it you could order anything you want, pay for it, and have it within 24 hours. One of the positives to this is that you wouldnt need to pay for shipping and handling, because you are ordering it yourself.

 

Students could learn the idea of programming a printer, and also how to shop online and order it by yourself. They could also learn how the printer takes your order, and creates it into a real 3D product. They would learn a lot of computer science from this project. They would learn codes and other functions on the computer that are advanced terms that not a lot of people know. Most importantly, you could be a part of the creation of a future concept that could start a revolution in shopping forever.



 
Other Possible Projects

 

 

1. 3D Printer: The Online Shopper- If you had a 3D printer at your house then once you saw something that you wanted online, you could enter it into the printer and it would appear.

 

2. 3D Scanner: The Limb-addition- If you needed a limb because you didnt have a limb, then you could scan your other limb, reverse it, and create your new limb.

 

3. Emotiv: The Remote Tracer- If you were comfortably sitting down and didnt want to get up, you could use your brain waves to make the object come towards you.

 

4. Emotiv: The Communicator- If two or more people had the same headset, you could talk to eachother through the headset with your thoughts instead of talking.

 

5. Emotiv: The Memorizer- A headset that can record, and store anything that you've ever seen in your entire life.