User:Lsun224/enes100/My Work 3

Write problem/project Goal
Create a Rube Goldberg machine out of various objects including printer parts

My First Task
Begin to incorporate a ball or some sort of moving object

Summary of actual work over first weekend
Followed according to plan

Week1 Narrative
A rube goldberg machine is meant to incorporate a random assortment of contraptions that work in conjunction with each other or in a domino effect. We already have an assortment of printer gears and a motor to power them, as well as now, as Zach informs me, solonoids that strike wind chimes. However, we needed to begin to think of how to link them all together instead of having literally a giant printer mechanism connected by nothing more than proximity. I think what would be best to do is begin with something simple so I began to draw simple devices from examples i found online. I found examples that included pipes or falling obstructions and others that involved weighted sections that activate in a similar manner to a seesaw. This video also demonstrates that we can incorporate new ideas such as multiple balls and use things like race car tracks. I definitely remember seeing some metal and pvc piping in the back of the engineering room and cardboard tubes are not hard to find. Soon as I get back to the engineering room, I can begin to actually plan how to place and incorporate new pieces. Of course, first we need to start small and make sure all the gears from the printers are connected, maybe make some tracks on the gears themselves to move the ball

My Second Task
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the second weekend.

Summary of actual work over second weekend
How is what you did different than what you planned?

Week2 Narrative
Tell a detailed story describing what you did for your team over the weekend.

My Third task
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the third weekend.

Test new ways of connecting the gears. Brainstorm ideas to incorporate ball

Summary of actual work over third weekend
How is what you did different than what you planned?

Week3 Narrative
Tell a detailed story describing what you did for your team over the weekend.

My Fourth task
Record what you are planning on doing for the team during the final weekend of project work.

Test different methods of connection

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
How is what you did different than what you planned?

Followed according to plan

Week4 Narrative
Tell a detailed story describing what you did for your team over the weekend.

Initially, we connected some of the gears from the same boards with heavy duty black rubber bands that were salvaged from other printers. However, we needed more connections that could were longer and able to connect the multiple boards. I had several ideas, including tape and string. I tested duct tape, masking tape, and painters tape. Painters tape was our final choice and we demonstrated that the entire board could work in synch. However, as seen in the video, the motor needs to be mounted on the board, but this can be difficult because with a 12v AC power supply, the motor only has enough torque to spin the middle gear and so if has to be mounted on that gear.

Zach had an idea that involved a loop of string with knots at random intervals. We tested that, but it turns out string only holds at the perfect tension (will not hold if too little tension and will jam gears if too much tension. However, later on we tested a loop of string with no knots and found that it worked better, was easier to assemble and move, and stronger than any tape could.

If this project is to continue to expand, we need more motors. Also, the motors spin with very little torque so we need to find a way to either increase the power to them or increase the rotational power some other way

Complete Team Page
Team Page