Monday, September 26, 2011

Simple Machine Challenge #1: Mousetrap Racecar

Total Number of Achievements: 11
Design:
"Brainiac" - Brainstorm solutions for your design
  1. Treads vs. Wheels
  2. Front Wheel Drive
  3. Back Wheel Drive
  4. All Wheel Drive
  5. Double Leveled (with undercarriage)
  6. Wheel going underneath the back axel
  7. Using wheel and axel (rather than effort on axel) on the front wheels
  8. Effort pulling on axel (without central wheel attatched)
  9. Wheel on back axel to facilitate rotation
  10. Extension off of mousetrap lever
"Visualize It!" - Create a sketch of a design and label key features (Below)



Build:
"Build It" - Build your design.
Initial Design (Failed):


Final Design:

Changes: No central wheel to power front axel. Uniform wheel size. String wrapped around axis rather then wheel.



"The Price of Glory" - If each part you use costs $1, generate a total cost for your build.
                                                                                                            Total Cost: $57

Test (Compete):
"Competitor" - Competed in the 2nd Annual Mousetrap Racecar Challenge.

"Feedback" -  Positive: Good idea with front wheel drive
                        Change: Faster acceleration
                        Question: Would it have accelerated faster without going under the body
                        Exclamation: Interesting idea having two levels

Iterate:
"Re-work" -  Initial Build and Final Build seen above

"Game Changer" - Not being allowed to use rubberbands. The rubberbands created a new dynamic to the challenge that allowed many participants to easily achieve faster acceleration. Restricting the use of rubberbands would create a "back to roots" and "basic" racecar creation feel.

"Name it" - Change "Re-work" possibly to "Innovate" or "Innovations".

Clean Up:
"Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It" - My workspace was neatly broken down into the order the components were initially found at the start of the challenge.

Reflection:
"Design/Build" - The Design/Build process is used on a daily basis in many professions. It was clearly demonstrated in this challenge as well. Each team created their initial design, tested it and then in most cases went back to the drawing board to rebuild, update, or improve their design. This is a valuable skill that is utilized in every company, group, and organization.

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