Bridge Design
Under Pressure
In this project we are going to design a bridge out of balsa wood.
Restrictions L-11 13/16 in to 17 11/16 in H- 6 in W- 3 1/8 in Weight 30g Our design is simple two I beams hooked together by struts, this is not finalized yet but we do want to keep the core design. When we began to test on the CAD program Inventor we believed it could hold a relatively large amount of weight. It was estimated it would hold around 200lbs, but during testing it held closer to 22lbs. We still came in fourth, but this was due to our efficiency as we were only 15g. We could have improved our design by increasing the height of the I Beams, which would have given us greater strength. Through this project we learned that you simply cannot trust a computers estimate. When using a computer you will find that it is a perfect environment and you cannot take all variables into account. so, It is important to always use real world testing. |