This research is all the research I did over the summer. Since then it has been expanded on and re-evaluated. It was the building block for what I now have, and gave me a good jump-start on the year.
Background Information-
A Rube Goldberg device is a deliberately over-engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. To make a seemingly simple task, filling a glass of lemonade, much more complicated, students will design and produce a Rube Goldberg machine to do the job. This is to be designed in order to challenge the minds of students and provide instances of thinking “outside the box”.
To keep with the marine theme, water needs to be implicated throughout the designing of the machine. The water will be used to power it or using it in the systems to create the machine.
Solutions:
See below for possible solutions.
Design Brief-
Design and produce a Rube Goldberg machine which has many small systems making up a larger system. This machine must produce at least one cup of lemonade. It also needs to be designed so it could be realistically used in a shop for resale.
Specifications-
• Produce at least 1 cup of lemonade.
• Apply water as part of at least 2 systems.
• Must use a quarter as a way to start the machine.
• Must incorporate mechanical and electrical components.
• Must be made of a wide variety of items.
Limitations-
• Must take less than 45 seconds to produce the cup of lemonade.
• Must fit into a 4’x4’x4’ area.
• Must take only a quarter, not any other coin.
• Must cost less than $500 to produce the design.
For our Rube Goldberg device, not much can be decided until a final design is reached. Once the final stages of our design process have been completed, we can start to formulate the systems and individual components of the device. We do, however, have ideas for many of the systems of the device. For instance, systems for regulating how much water, sugar, and ice dispense into the final cup will be a hatch which easily opens and closes allowing the materials to flow into the cup. Those systems will be the simplest to design, but the systems which trigger these final systems will be the most complex. In many Rube Goldbergs, things like marbles and mouse traps are used as triggers to start other parts of the device. Creating something like a small marble track or mouse trap switch will be a great addition to the device, as it is simple and easy to implicate. As seen in the picture below, almost all Rube Goldberg devices begin with a rough sketch of how they will appear.
In this picture, a diagram including letters or numbers points to a specific system and on the opposite side it describes what the system is and what it contributes to the whole device. During the designing process, we will try to follow this type of planning, trying to keep with the traditional theme, as well as providing an easy to follow diagram.
Until we finish designing the device, we do not know what materials we will use. We plan on going to the local dump and salvaging what materials we can, using as many trinkets and nick-knacks we find. One thing we need in particular is a coin receiver, the kind you find on a traditional gum ball machine. Other parts we need are most likely PVC piping, wood, and electrical wire. We will probably be able to find most of our parts from the dump, and if not, they will cost little to nothing. We hope this project will cost as little as possible.
After finding all our parts, it will be much easier to create the final design for the project. We know how much space something takes up, what its job is, and what else we can use it for. The first task on this job will be locating and acquiring our supplies. Once that happens, the rest of this project will just fall into place.
The aim of this project is to test our mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic engineering skills. With two minds on the team, a lot of ideas will come to our heads, and we will try to make this as interesting a project as possible. Most of the time will go towards designing and testing, because obviously things aren’t going to work perfectly, or we may just have a better idea. I can safely say though that the final project will be a result of all our great engineering and imaginative skills.
Possible Solution 1:
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