User:1fcovahcc/enes100/project2/individualwork

Give Instructor top two project choice
My top two project choices were Rube Goldbergand Bernoulli vs Coanda Demonstration. The project I am currently working on is the Rube Goldberg which means that I'm going to keep on working on the same project.

Write problem/project Goal
Build a Rube Goldberg machine with an Engineering theme for Club Rush Spring 2013

My First Task
Come up with the design of level number 2, so it involves the hole made in the first shelve and it connects to the third level.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
For the first weekend I talked with the group of how the second level is going to be connected with the first and third level. This part is essential for the design because this way I can start working on my level, as well as Chad in the first level and Becca in the third level.

Week1 Narrative
For this first week I discussed throughly with the group of how would be the levels interconnected. We came up with ideas of how this could happen. By a hole in the middle was the first choice, we think of this because it is the easiest way of connecting the levels, and since the shelves were strategically drilled to the braces, we could take them off, make the hole and them put them back together. I also suggested making the hole in one of the corners, because for the sketch of level three, it would be better if the ball falls into one of the sides, and not in the middle. I also looked at materials that could be used for the second level of the Rube Goldberg, since the first idea was to make a bridge, I looked around to see how this could be made. I'm also considering that instead of a bridge, an aluminum tube, which is pretty moldable, could be used.

My Second Task
For the second week I'm planning on coming up with the design of the second level in google sketch up, so it can be shown to the team and start working on it.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
I started working on the sketch of the second level. The connections needed for the level one, two and three were made.

Week2 Narrative
For this second week the hole of level two was made. After discussing with the team, we finally came up with the decision that the hole should be in a side rather than in the middle. This way it would fit better with the sketch made for level three. We took of the shelve of level two, and measured two inches from the side, we draw a circle following the size of the 2" pvc pipe, and we started making the hole. The hole was made first with the drill with hole saw. Since this tool makes only small holes, we had to make it bigger with an electronic jigsaw, and after using it the hole was not smooth so we used a dremel and made the surface smoother. After making the hole in the shelve of level two, we put it back together of the structure of the Rube Goldberg. There is a detailed list of steps documented in videos in the Team Page.

After doing the hole in level two, Chad needed a brace that would hold the 2" pvc pipe that goes through the hole in the first level, so while he was working on his level, Becca and I worked on making this brace. We used some thin wood that was in the ENES lab, and we draw a circle wide enough to cover the 2" pvc pipe, after this we measured 10 cm from each side. We first cut the sides of the thin wood with an electronic jigsaw. We alternated the task between Becca and I so we could both have some experience with these kind of tools. Then, we made the hole with the drill with hole saw, but since the hole is not wide enough we had to make it bigger. Since the wood was too thin, we could not use the electronic jigsaw because it would break it and the hole would not be smooth, so we went ahead and used that dremel for this part. After making the hole, we cut the brace in half and Chad drilled it to the first level so it could be used for the brace that will hold the 2" pvc pipe of the first level. Once again, all of this steps are documented in a detailed way on the Team Page.

I also started working on a sketch in Google Sketch Up for the second level.

My Third task
Finish the sketch of level two in Google Sketch Up, and start thinking in ways to build it.

Summary of actual work over third weekend
Over the weekend of week three I worked on the design of the Rube Goldberg with Google Sketch Up.

Week3 Narrative
I worked thoroughly on my Google Sketch Up designs. In the design it can be appreciated the actual structure of the Rube Goldberg, with all of the braces, and holes. I also made the design to scale. I took the measurements of each of the parts of the Rube Goldberg, and I made sure that when I was making the model of the Rube Goldberg every part of it was with its right measurement. This way when I introduce new parts to the design it will be easier to see how it actually would look like.

The first design is of the Rube Goldberg of how it actually its, with the braces and the first part of level one.

All of this work was done over the weekend; however, when we met on campus there was a lot of on-hands work done. I started by playing around with the materials that we had in the Engineering lab and putting them in different places to see how they reacted. As well, my other team members were doing the same. We collected some materials that we thought were going to be useful. Chad had three pin ball balls that we were using to make our reactions, we started by putting one ball in the pipe in level 1 and saw how this ball would fall down in different ways. I started playing around with the position of it, but the ball was so unpredictable that each time it fall, it would fall in a different place. We then saw a rubber tube and we thought that we could use that to guide the ball and absorb some of the initial velocity and besides this, with the rubber tube we could direction in an accurate way the position of the ball when it falls. After innumerable amounts of tries we finally succeed at predicting where the ball would fall. We then, put a ramp in the place where the ball falls, and when we threw the ball down the pipe it fall into the ramp. After succeeding in this two parts, I was thinking on ways to make the second level more exciting. We had found a thin metal tube, attached to a string on each side, we came with the idea of using this tube in a way that would connect the ramp with some other reaction. We came with the idea of using another ramp that would make the ball fall into the third level, and we thought of integrating the steel tube with this.

My Fourth task
Finish the design in Google Sketch Up so the next group would have an idea of what we were thinking for the final product of the Rube Goldberg.

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
For this weekend I worked on the sketch for the final design of the Rube Goldberg.

Week4 Narrative
I talked with my team members and discussed on how they visualized the finished Rube Goldberg, I took some notes and started making some hand-draw sketches. After having a clear idea of what I wanted as my final sketch, I started working in Google Sketch Up and I finalized the design of the Rube Goldberg Machine. The goal to make this sketch was that when other groups will take the Rube Goldberg project they will be able to visualize what we had in mind for the remaining parts of the Project. This way they could either continue with our ideas, or follow the ones that they have but having in mind something that is possible.

Sketch for next group
Complete view of Design

Perspective of second level

Perspective of third level

Perspective of last level

Complete Team page
For reference of the Complete team page of the Rube Goldberg click on the following link. Team Page.