Suggestions, Ideas
& Hints
Project Ideas:
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Materials:
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Project Hints:
Prezi.com - you will need to use a desktop/laptop for this, the site does not work off your tablets.
What should your Presentation have????
Video: video footage of your project WORKING!
- If you already have a Prezi account:
- go to www.prezi.com
- Your login: firstname,[email protected]
- Password: southseneca
- go to www.prezi.com
- If you need to create a Prezi account:
- go to www.prezi.com
- Create an account using:
- Your login: firstname,[email protected]
- Password: southseneca
What should your Presentation have????
- Title
- Purpose of the project - what is it meant to do?
- Blueprint
- Steps/Explaination
- Simple Machines
- Laws of Motion
- Video
Video: video footage of your project WORKING!
- Your Prezi presentation will include this video file.
- Use your tablet to record your project working, its steps, simple machines, and Laws of Motion.
Project Suggestions:
- To Improve Reliability:
- Consider building a frame for your machine, it will hold the components in place and make it easier to move (be sure to consult the rules for frame size limitations).
- If the machine has any heavy falling parts, be careful not to let them fall on the base or anywhere else that they may set off subsequent steps.
- If you have very complicated or hair-trigger steps, add safeties to keep the machine from being set off accidentally.
- If you are going to paint your machine, particularly if you are going to use spray paint, you should paint the individual parts first, and then build your machine.
- Most paints shrink as they dry, so plywood, cardboard, or other flat, thin surfaces tend to warp when they are painted (especially if the paint is only applied to one side).
- While it may feel dry to the touch after just a few hours, most paints take several days to fully cure. If the steps of your machine require fine-tuning, they may need to be re-adjusted several times before the paint becomes stable.
- Spray paint (or any paint which has been applied carelessly) can cause parts to stick together. If you wait until your machine is otherwise finished and then spray it with paint, it will almost certainly get gummed-up and stop working!
- Most paints shrink as they dry, so plywood, cardboard, or other flat, thin surfaces tend to warp when they are painted (especially if the paint is only applied to one side).
- Consider building a frame for your machine, it will hold the components in place and make it easier to move (be sure to consult the rules for frame size limitations).
- To Make Your Machine More Interesting:
- Add time-delayed steps; they give your audience a moment to catch up with the action and add drama to the execution.
- Change the direction of motion in the machine's steps, a one-dimensional machine is less entertaining.
- Add parallel lines of action, but be careful about timing sequential steps.
- Though it is not required, some groups choose to give their machine a theme. This can make a machine more entertaining for your audience, and it may even help you with when coming up with ideas for the steps.
- Add time-delayed steps; they give your audience a moment to catch up with the action and add drama to the execution.
- A Simple Machine is Defined By Its Action, Not Its Shape or Appearance!
- A triangular block of wood is only a wedge if its triangular shape is used to separate two objects when the block is forced between them - if the triangle simply hits something and knocks it over, it's not acting as a wedge.
- A triangular block of wood is only a wedge if its triangular shape is used to separate two objects when the block is forced between them - if the triangle simply hits something and knocks it over, it's not acting as a wedge.
- A central axis with threads around it is only a screw if its rotation causes a nut to move along its length - if a force on the end of a wood screw causes it to rotate about a fulcrum, it's acting as a lever.
- For A Simple Machine to Count Towards the Four-Machine Requirement, It Must Advance the Action of the Overall Machine By Using Its Mechanical Advantage!
- If a board on a fulcrum tips up so that an object can roll up its length, that may be a cool idea, but it's an inclined plane, not a lever.
- If a toy car rolls along on a set of wheels connected by axles, but no force is applied to the wheel to make a force exerted by the axle advance the machine, then it doesn't count as a wheel and axle.
- If a board on a fulcrum tips up so that an object can roll up its length, that may be a cool idea, but it's an inclined plane, not a lever.
- Problem Parts or Steps (Based on Previous Experiences)
- Dominoes
- Pros:
- can change the pace of the machine
- can be visually interesting
- can change the pace of the machine
- Cons:
- can be unreliable
- tend to go off at the wrong time
- can be unreliable
- Recommendations:
- if you use dominoes, keep the number reasonable (no matter how many dominoes you use, they are only one step)
- be sure no steps have loose parts that can set them off prematurely
- don't let heavy objects fall near them
- try finding dominoes with squared corners; rounded dominoes fall over too easily
- if you use dominoes, keep the number reasonable (no matter how many dominoes you use, they are only one step)
- Pros:
- Mouse Traps
- Pros:
- can store a lot of energy and can be set of easily, which makes them a good choice to restart a machine that's winding down
- can be used to produce a wide variety of outcomes
- short, quick jerks
- large sweeping motion
- release of objects trapped under the set bar
- short, quick jerks
- can store a lot of energy and can be set of easily, which makes them a good choice to restart a machine that's winding down
- Cons:
- somewhat hazardous (consult the rules)
- not built to last (will wear out after just a few dozen uses)
- can go off too easily
- somewhat hazardous (consult the rules)
- Recommendations:
- do not mount permanently (assume traps will need to be replaced several times as they wear out)
- consider attaching booms to the trap's hammer to extend the range of motion
- protect the trigger from lose parts set in motion by other steps
- don't let heavy objects fall near trap
- do not mount permanently (assume traps will need to be replaced several times as they wear out)
- Pros:
- Tape
- Pros:
- quick and easy attachment of parts
- allows for modifications more easily than glue or screws
- quick and easy attachment of parts
- Cons:
- relatively weak/low durability
- when removed, leaves a sticky residue which can interfere with moving parts (this is especially true of duct tape)
- can be unsightly
- relatively weak/low durability
- Recommendations:
- use masking tape during testing phases, but consider going to more permanent solution as the machine is finalized
- be sure to clean up and left-over adhesive fully when tape is moved/removed
- if your final project includes tape, use it sparingly and apply it neatly
- Never count on tape to fail! steps that require a piece of tape to release an object at a specific moment are always a problem (the tape either sticks too well or too poorly)
- use masking tape during testing phases, but consider going to more permanent solution as the machine is finalized
- Pros:
- Dominoes