Engineering Projects/Rube Goldberg/Howard Community College/Fall2012/p1-504-fcrd

Problem Statement

Build a Rube Goldberg machine with an Engineering theme for Club Rush Spring 2013

Team Members

Summary

The last four weeks the team have worked in the creation of a Rube Goldberg machine that will function as a demonstration of Engineering in Spring 2013 Club Rush and other Engineering activities. The first week we discussed several ideas of how we wanted the Rube Goldberg machine to be. We decided that we wanted it to be focused on several branches of Engineering, and also to be vertical, so space could be save. We decided that we wanted it to use wheels so it could be movable, we measure the median width of a door and we made our structure in order to fit through it. The second week we started to make some sketches of how the Rube Goldberg should look like with google sketch up. We came up with a design of the whole structure and the first three levels. This week we also decided that we were going to use for our Computer Engineering level an arduino and some programming concepts. The third week we started to build the structure of the Rube Goldberg machine, we changed slightly our design in order to use the materials that were in the Engineering room. The last week we finished the structure, we installed the wheels, and we start building the first level of the Rube Goldberg machine.

Poster

Example of Rube Goldberg Machine

Story

We decided to build the Rube Goldberg vertically to save space. We went with a rectangular shape, almost like a dresser, but just the skeleton of it. The 4 shelves are 24"x30" and the corner posts are 3"x1"x48". We are going to use simple machines, contraptions, and gravity to make the movements possible for the machine. We decided to build the structure prior to building each level. We have a design that was drafted in Google Sketchup that will be the basis of our moving parts that actually make up the Rube Goldberg. It will move successively from the top level to the lower levels through the means previously mentioned.

Some of the wood needed to be cut to fit our plans. There are several tools that will be invaluable to the project and have used them on numerous occasions. The following pictures show some, but not all of the tools and work needed to construct the structure for the Rube Goldberg. We connected everything with 3" wood screws by first countersinking holes to ensure the screws were fully embedded, giving us the best build quality available to us with the materials on hand.

The structure was tied together by 2 braces running between two posts on each level and finally by an angular brace to ensure that the machine's structure flexed as little as possible and remains stable.

The group found some materials that could work for the next parts of the project but it would require changing slightly the previous design so it can work. We made the decision to go ahead with this because this way we would not have to wait for materials to be ordered, and we would not have to buy any new materials. Since the materials we found in the Engineering room were of high quality we went ahead and used them.

We made measurements of the legs of the structure, and then we cut it with an electronic saw. We were careful about it and used goggles for our protection.

After cutting the legs of the structure we started to drill them to the first level. At first it was really uncomfortable to work with it because we had to sustain it, but then after the first part was done it was easier to work on the rest of the levels.

We decided to use braces connecting two legs of the structure to each other. We replicated that on the opposite side so that each level would have two braces at exactly the same height in order for us to place each precut board used for the levels to be placed. Each level has approximately 12" in between of free space. The braces were screwed into place at that measurement from the bottom of the level above. On the last level we did the same thing, but in order to ensure our structure was level when rolling, we leveled the last board with a 2' level from point to point. As a final addition to the structure, we measured a flat piece of wood measuring 3" wide and 54" long. We attached this piece on the backside of the structure by nailing it into the back two posts and the levels that it crossed to brace the structure and give it more stability.

Then we started making measurements to see where it was going to be the first hole. In the design made in Google Sketch Up there is a hole in the middle of the first level, in that level there is supposed to be a tube that will conduct two steel balls that will consequently fall into a bridge and so on. In order to star working on this part the first part that was needed to do we made the hole. First, we found a drill with hole saw, with that we cut the first part of the hole, since it was to small we used a mechanical jigsaw and we finish making the hole. Since the cut was not smooth, we used a dremel and with that we finished making the cut smoother.

After making the hole the team made the decision to install the wheels before making any further advancements because this way we could see how the wheels would affect the stability of the structure of the Rube Goldberg.

We measured the position where the wheels should be positioned, taking in account that we needed to make it the most stabilized as we can. It was 1x1 inch from each side. The wheels that we used were bought in Home Depot, the material of which the wheels are of aluminum; these types of wheels work better when working with rough roads, and they can stand heavy weight.

We started drilling the wheels, and after that we used a level to see if the structure was leveled, and it was, some of the parts were not that much, but we did some arrangements and we finished by making it leveled in all part.

Steps done to build the structure

Cutting the legs for the structure

Screwing the legs to the structure

Drilling a hole to the first level

Making the hole bigger with an Electronic Jigsaw

Making the hole smoother with a dremel

Screwing wheels to the structure

Decision List

We decided to make the structure vertical so we could save space.
We decided to put the wheels to the structure before building any parts of it because this way we can see how stable it is.

Material List

1.- 5/8" plywood

2. pvc pipe

3. 2 120* pvc pipe elbows

4. 2 steel balls

5. vinegar

6. baking soda

7. 3" wood screws

8. 4 metal swivel wheels

9. 4, 4' 2x1's

10. 55" x 3/16" x 3" slat of wood for bracing

11. 2' pvc y-pipe

Tools

Miter Saw with wood cutting blade

Powered drill (miscellaneous bits)

Hammers

Screwdrivers

Jigsaw

Holesaw

Dremel (various bits and connections)

Software List

Google SketchUp

Arduino Program

Time

18 hours

Tutorials

Tutorial Google Sketchup

Brazing Fundamentals

Tutorial made by Daniel Lim

Connecting Arduino into computer

Next Steps

Gather materials for testing each individual level.

Make more designs that will fit the structure of the Rube Goldberg machine.

Test everything in relationship to each other.