James Rushford 3
“Fun Bucket”
JAMES RUSHFORD
GEORGE QUARLES
WES TIPTON
Patrick Dobbs Section A2
EF151
Fall 2006
December 5, 2006
Table of Contents
Summary 1
Introduction 1
Design 1
Conception 1
Simple Everyday Activities 2
Designing Period 2
Building 2
What have we built? 2
Potential Problems 5
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Bill of Materials 5
Conclusions 5
James Rushford 3
Summary
This paper presents an overview of how our team decided to spearhead the development of our Rube Goldberg project; a man famous for a series of well planed transfers of energies in order to perform a simple everyday task. Not only will this report present a short descriptive perspective of our invention, but hopefully will give the reader and opportunity to really visualize our true intentions without even having to see it in action.
Introduction
Engineering is an extremely dynamic and encompassing field that has a great influence on how the Earth will and has been formed. Each great leap in engineering hasn’t happened at some whim of thought, but instead through careful and meticulous planning. There are certain processes one must go through, whether it is a design, building, calculating, or material summation process, without this accuracy is increasingly compromised.
Design
Conception
Every plan starts with an idea. It could be something as simple as a bird house or as complex as the largest suspension bridge Asashi Kaikyo in Japan. Realizing this we decided to sit down and really immerse ourselves in the meaning of the project.
From a historical perspective Rube Goldberg earned lasting fame for his "Rube Goldberg machines" devices that are exceedingly complex and perform very simple tasks in a very indirect and convoluted way. So sure we could make something that were to push a marble across a table and fall into a cup, but that would not be keeping true to the spirit of Rube Goldberg, and in doing so we would be performing a great injustice.
Figure 1-Whiteboard Drawing
Simple Everyday Activities
Here seems to be a very easy question to answer, but don’t judge a book by its cover. Alright, so think about something you do everyday, anything that comes to mind. So, say you were thinking about flicking a light switch on. That would be a great idea, the only problem now is, how you are going to go about that. Getting a little harder now, well let’s drop a weight on the switch. All I have to say now is you better make a guide so that the weight lands on it accurately, also don’t forget, you better have enough potential energy to convert into kinetic in order to even move the switch. So simply picking out an everyday activity is literally the first inch of a mile you have to take.
Designing Period
This is the period where we needed to take decisive action in order to really get started. So we decide what we want to accomplish, which was pressing the lever down on a toaster. We wanted to design a simple yet inventive procedure so that every time it would work. So basically we met several times, threw out ideas, and put down our very rough drawings. Other than that we just got ready and put our game faces on.
Building
What have we built?
Now, that we have an objective to reach, we have to start the execution of that plan; after that it was important for us to gather the materials. Fortunately our team member, David Woods, had all of the materials necessary to build our project. He then securely fixed all of the tracks to the plywood and set the levers up in order to hit the toaster correctly. So when it is all said and done, we have built what you can see in the picture below, a project with 4 energy conversions that performs a task that one can do everyday.
Calculations
Potential Problems
It is very important to keep an open mind while you’re building. What I mean by this, is that you must be aware that while you have spent some time on the conception and designing period that there is most likely going to be minor changes. These changes are usually only so that your final result will be that more effective or if your originally idea had a hitch that was unpredictable. This is alright and should be prepared for, because all that matters in the end, is that if your final result is the one you were searching for.
Bill of Materials
There are certain materials that one needs in order to build their project. These are the materials that we ran into and used for our final product.
· Bucket------1 $ 10.00
· Plastic Tote------1 $ 7.50
· Spoon Silverware----1 $ 3.00
· Plumbing Tap------1 $ 1.50
· Glue and Sealant-----2 $ 7.50
· Motor------1 $ .50
· Hardware------1 $ 5.00
Conclusions
Engineering is one of the best concentrations that UT has to offer. I don’t think you can find many majors that are as diverse as Engineering; you can specialize in anything and would have an interesting and engaging field. Without Engineering I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work on this project.