Lego Drag Car
For our very first project in the class, we were tasked with building the fastest drag racing car, out of Legos. I was alone, but got the same materials everyone else did. We were given lots of different gears, wheels, studs, and even a motor and battery pack to make the wheels spin. The main importance of this project was to learn how gears work and how the mechanical advantage they have to make a car go faster. I went with a 40 tooth gear being the driving gear, and the 8 tooth gear being the driven gear, which comes out to a 1:5 gear ratio. The lower the gear ratio, the more torque the car is going to get. We had a total of 3 attempts, and then the playoff rounds. At first, my car did not do good, but on my 3rd attempt, I got 3.5 seconds, which was pretty fast. And in the playoffs I did even better but sadly lost. Overall, I thought my car came out good looking and ended up being fast as well.
Lego Slow Car
What? - Instead of having to build the fastest car, we had to build the slowest. But with a 6 inch long track compared to a 10 foot one. We were still learning about how gear ratios worked, and the Legos helped a lot with how they can work to either build speed or torque.
How? - In order to have the slowest car, I had to put on as many gears as I possibly could. The more gears I put on the longer it would take for the beginning gear to reach the last one on the wheel axle. The key part of my project was the worm gear, which is a spiral threaded gear that fits in with the teeth of the rest of the gears. It drastically changed the speed of the motor and the worm gear to the second 40 tooth gear. Then from there I added a bunch of 24 and 8 tooth gears until I ran out.
Why? - This project really helped me learn more about how important gears are. They were the main part of this project I think and they gave me a better understanding on their importance. I learned how a worm gear works as well, since we got introduced to them. At the end, my car finished with 34 seconds, which came in 4th place overall.
How? - In order to have the slowest car, I had to put on as many gears as I possibly could. The more gears I put on the longer it would take for the beginning gear to reach the last one on the wheel axle. The key part of my project was the worm gear, which is a spiral threaded gear that fits in with the teeth of the rest of the gears. It drastically changed the speed of the motor and the worm gear to the second 40 tooth gear. Then from there I added a bunch of 24 and 8 tooth gears until I ran out.
Why? - This project really helped me learn more about how important gears are. They were the main part of this project I think and they gave me a better understanding on their importance. I learned how a worm gear works as well, since we got introduced to them. At the end, my car finished with 34 seconds, which came in 4th place overall.
Lego King of the Hill
What? - To finish our Lego unit, we had to build a car that could go up 3 ramps. One was about two feet high, one was 6 feet, and the last one about 10 feet tall. This threw a wrench in a lot of people's plans, since you couldn't build a really fast car that had no weight. But you also couldn't build a slow car with too much weight, or it wouldn't go up. So the distribution from weight to speed was necessary in this project.
How? - For this project however, it did not go so well for me. I tried to have lots of grip so it would make it easier to climb up the ramps, which is why I used big grippy tires and rubber bands as well. And then, I also put rubber bands around the axles of the wheels so then when the front wheels would spin, the back would too, making it some what of a 4 wheel drive. I tried to put on as much weight as possible so then it wouldn't try and fall backwards.
Why? - I thought that this project was very significant since it challenged me with not only trying to get up a stepp ramp, but also trying to find the best model for my car. It was mostly a trial and error thing, with me building the car and seeing if it would go up or not. I tried different gear ratios, different weight techniques, and even different heights of the car as well. In the end though, my car did not do so well, but I did learn a lot from this project.
How? - For this project however, it did not go so well for me. I tried to have lots of grip so it would make it easier to climb up the ramps, which is why I used big grippy tires and rubber bands as well. And then, I also put rubber bands around the axles of the wheels so then when the front wheels would spin, the back would too, making it some what of a 4 wheel drive. I tried to put on as much weight as possible so then it wouldn't try and fall backwards.
Why? - I thought that this project was very significant since it challenged me with not only trying to get up a stepp ramp, but also trying to find the best model for my car. It was mostly a trial and error thing, with me building the car and seeing if it would go up or not. I tried different gear ratios, different weight techniques, and even different heights of the car as well. In the end though, my car did not do so well, but I did learn a lot from this project.
Alternative Energy Car
What? - For our next unit, we took a jump from doing Legos and started to build with more hands-on equipment. We were introduced to a little DC hobby motor, Some solar panels, and even hydrogen energy cells.
Small Gas Engine Unit
Probably the biggest and most important unit in my opinion, me and my partner, Caleb, had to disassemble and reassemble a small Briggs and Stratton engine.