We went out and did our launches! The results are in!
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During this contest, we researched a bunch of different catapults and ended up using an onager type. Throughout the building process, we began to make a base and created an arm that pivoted towards the front would be most efficient. We attached rubber bands connecting the top of the arm to the bottom of the base. After testing the design, the cube was not being launched enough. We tried to solve this by attaching more bands at different points. We realised that the bands were not in a good position and it wasted energy. At this point, by attaching the bands to the top of the base, there was much more tension, and we had to strengthen the posts. There was still not enough tension, and as a result, we had to move the bands higher and make the catapult taller. But it made the launch worse. We experimented with different heights, and we decided to put it much lower than originally planned right before the launch, which failed. After competing, we decided to mount the rubber bands towards the middle of the post, resulting in great success with the launch. We can improve by testing all possibilities with our design, making the structure more stable, and checking our boundaries to make sure they comply with competition rules.
We started by googling images of catapults. We found one we liked and mimicked it. we ran into some problems along the way and had to find ways to fix them. For example, we needed a way to launch our catapult from a distance. to do this we placed a pin in the arm with a rope attached. However, as we added more bands to our arm, the friction became too great to pull the pin out. To solve this, we made one side of the catapult stationary by tying a string between the catapult and a fence. This allowed us to pull the pin out and launch the catapult. In the end, our catapult edged out the opponents and won the competition.
Rachel H. surprised us by coming to the meeting today! She joined the Kelsey/Owen team, so now they are the Kelsey/Owen/Rachel team. The Kelsey/Owen team decided they weren't happy with the distance the hanging arm trebuchet design was giving them, so the Kelsey/Owen/Rachel team is now rebuilding it so that it is rubber band powered, much like the other two designs. The Noah/Tytan team decided that the launch with the taller rubber bands was "sketchy," so they're in the process of lowering the mounts and reworking the rubber band tension.
Noah and Tytan decided that they weren't getting the distance they were hoping for, so a slight design change was implemented.
The Trevor/Tim team and the Noah/Tytan went outside together for a test launch. I didn't manage to get pictures of the distance, but I got pictures of the prep! Now they're figuring out their launching mechanisms to deal with the distance requirement!
All three catapults have had at least one test launch and are back inside for modifications! It's great to see revisions happening and designs changing. Some pictures of the iteration 1 catapults!
The meeting started at 1pm sharp. We have our three teams: Tytan L. N. and Noah T., Kelsey M. and Owen P., and Trevor H. and Timothy K. The Kelsey/Owen team is planning on creating a hanging-arm trebuchet. The Noah/Tytan team is planning on using rubber bands to launch, with a backup plan to use a motor. The Tim/Trevor team is also planning to make a rubber band-powered catapult.
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