User:Rakintuj6805/enes100/project2/individualwork2

Write problem/project Goal
What is your wording of the overall problem/project goal?

The overall project goal is to create a Rube Goldberg device which involves different aspects of engineering, including electrical, computer, chemical, and civil/mechanical engineering. This machine will be used to attract prospective club members to the Engineering Club, by next Club Rush.

My First Task
What are you going to do for the team this first weekend?

My first task is to gather different types of springs, containers, and blocks to be used for testing how the Rube Goldberg will initiate a chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar.

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

I spent this time gathering up different materials to use for the third level of the Rube Goldberg machine. I know that somehow I have to get a flask of vinegar to fall into a bowl of baking soda, creating a chemical reaction. I also talked to my group members about how the different levels of the Rube Goldberg machine will transition into the next step.

Week1 Narrative
Tell a detailed story describing what you did for your team over the weekend.



I spent this time gathering materials. I collected many things from the ENES lab which I believed could be put to good use, such as springs and wood. I found three different springs of differing strength, and thin pieces of balsa wood, as well as wooden dowels, blocks, and long pieces of wood. I also found pieces to a yoga mat in the ENES room, and took that as well; in the diagram showing the third level of the machine, I figured I could use the mat as the holder of the flask. So far, my plan for the third level of the machine is to have some sort of ball fall through a hole in the top of the third level, and it will weigh down the mat, which will pull down the flask, and then spill the liquid into a bowl which will hold the baking soda. I plan to somehow rig the bowl such that the adding of vinegar will weigh down the bowl just enough to push down a something that will be attached to the bottom of the bowl, which will interact with Daniel's level of the project.

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

My second task will be to begin to test out how to make the third level of the Rube Goldberg by using the materials I gathered.

Summary of actual work over second weekend






How is what you did different than what you planned?

I found that I did not spend as much time testing as I first planned to. I spent time using a hole saw to drill a hole into a piece of wood I used for my testing, and began the first steps for my testing process. However, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with different tools in order to know what to use during testing.

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

Last week, I wanted to begin using this week to test my materials. However, I found that I didn't know how to use many of the tools in the lab, things I would need to perform my tests. So during the week, I spent a lot of time getting used to the tools in the engineering lab. First, I had my teammate Chad help me learn some things about several of the tools in the engineering lab. He helped me use the hole saw to drill a hole into a piece of wood that I wished to use for testing. After this, I also learned how to use the jigsaw. These things were learned while assisting my teammates in working on Chad's level of the project. I learned how to use a small saw, as well as the jigsaw and the hole saw while working on making a brace. This was made by taking a thin slab of wood, creating a hole using a hole saw, and then using a dremel to even it out. After this, Freddy and I used a jigsaw to cut it in half. This brace was placed around the pipe going into the 2nd level of the machine. This helped me assist my team members, as well as learn about different tools. For my level of the Rube Goldberg, I used the piece of wood with a hole in it to mimic the top part of my level of the machine. I will assemble a similar structure that I will use to test what I want to see in my level of the machine.

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

For the third weekend, I will assemble a similar structure to that of the third level of the Rube Goldberg, that I will use to test what I want to see in my level of the machine. I will also try to make some sketches in Google Sketch Up of what I want to see on the third level.

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

I spent this week testing what I want on the third level of the machine. I found that the mat holding the flask to initiate the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar would not work very well, and decided to use a ramp to replace it.

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

I began my testing by familiarizing myself with an electric drill I own. After this, I attached a block of wood unto my slab of wood that acts as the top portion of the third level of the machine. I then proceeded to test how the chemical reaction would happen. This proved very difficult when using the plan I initially had, with some sort of net, or the yoga mat during my testing, holding a flask that would pour into a bowl. I tried to test with a ball that weighed about the same amount as the pinball which would be used in our machine, however I found that it was difficult to get this to work in the way I had previously envisioned. I later found, after working with my teammates in the lab to construct the components of the second level of the machine, that using a ramp would work a lot better. I planned to have the ball drop through the hole in the top part of the third level, then roll down a ramp onto a platform which tipped over the flask's contents into the bowl. I found this was much easier to achieve in the third level of the machine than my previous plan. This is later what I changed my plan to. I spent most of my time focusing on how to get the portions directly connected to the flask in order during this third week, so did not focus much on getting the bowl to properly move into the final level of the Rube Goldberg. Along with my group, we began constructing the components for the third level. It seems that this will be as far as we get for building our Rube Goldberg, and we will spend the rest of the time leaving our plans for the next group to use.

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

For the final week of the project, I will finish up my ideas concerning what I want for the project. I will try to create some sketches in Google Sketch Up in order to leave the next group with my ideas for the net portion of the Rube Goldberg machine, and I wish to make some tutorials with my group for how to use some of the tools used in this project.

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

I spent this week finalizing the documentation on both the team page, with our team's story, and on my individual page, in order to help the net group that takes on the Rube Goldberg assignment.

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

I found that working with Google Sketch Up can be very difficult, and so was not able to create a good model of what I want to have on the third level of the Rube Goldberg. However, I spoke to my teammate Freddy, who was able to create a diagram showing what my team and I envisioned for each of our levels of the project. I also focused a bit more on what I want to do with the bowl on the third level of the project; I found that placing springs on the bottom of the bowl would be a good way to get the bowl to move based on the weight of its contents. I also found that placing a wooden dowel on the bottom of the bowl would allow my teammate Daniel to have something that would help him initiate his arduino program, most likely by having the weight of the bowl make the dowel push into the final level of the project, and in turn pushing a button on a computer that runs the arduino program.

Complete Team Page
Fill out the Team Form (should have already copied the form, created the team page, linked to it and started filling it out).