Sunday, April 10, 2016

Ben's Individual Rube Goldberg

Individual Rube Goldberg:

1. Provide the computer drawing for your individual RG setup.



2. Explain your setup.

My Rube Goldberg set up starts with a DC voltage signal coming off of Austin's project. Because his signal will be a high voltage, low current signal it will immediately switch over a relay so reset the power input to a more standard level. The relay will turn off a LED and start a DC motor. The motor will wind up some floss that is acting like string. The floss will pull on the fan blades, causing the stopping block in front of the car to be removed. The car will roll down the track and will knock a marble down a Lego track. Once at the bottom the marble will roll and hit the touch sensor to start Matt's project.

3. Provide photos of the circuit and setup.

Circuit setup for the Rube Goldberg project


4. Provide at least two videos of your setup in action, one being a failed attempt.




This is a test of the 'mechanical side of my Rube Goldberg project


5. What failures did you have? How did you overcome them?

I had an issue with getting the vehicle to go down the ramp without falling off and without stopping short of knocking over the marble. I changed the tricycle style bike into a makeshift car with four wheels so it would not veer off the ramp all the time, and I adjusted the ramp and the platform after it so the car would travel farther.

21 comments:

  1. I like your setup.
    Another video missing. -2

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    1. I know I was just so tired from the day that I could not go any farther.

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  2. Nice progress so far. Your drawing for the setup is very easy to understand. Keep up the good work!

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    1. Thanks, I only wished I had the whole setup on video when everyone came around to do their commenting.

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  3. Your setup is easy to understand and the idea is pretty simple and neat. I'm glad you changed the tricycle to a basic 4 wheeled car; having a tricycle just sounds like a pain. Good job

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    1. That tricycle would go any direction but straight. It had to go

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  4. Ben

    I like the Lego setup, and your schematic is top notch. What kind of Fan are you Planning to use to put the car into motion, and have you considered attaching some form of sail apparatus to get the maximum force possible from the fan?

    KP

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    1. The fan is just a lego fan blade, that will turn when the string pulls it. The purpose of the fan is not to blow anything over, just provide an attachable place to create a spin on the axis it's attached to.

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  5. I like the setup with the car and the lego setup. The picture and description were easy to understand what is going on.

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    1. Thanks, I just wish I had the whole video to show.

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  6. I like your setup, the lego's is definitely a cool idea to go with. Did you have any issues getting your relay to switch over or has it all worked out pretty well?

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    1. It's been working fairly well, but that is with me sweeping the voltage with the power source itself. There will probably be problems when I'm getting the signal from Austin.

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  7. Hey Ben, I love your RB setup since it is so original. I haven't really seen anyone use LEGO pieces and a fan. I have two concerns and the first is like you said, the car falling off the track before making contact with the marble. Maybe you can make a rail or guide so that it is more stable and does not fall as easily. The second comment is just about your schematic. According to the data sheet I believe that pin 3 of the relay is the output voltage when the input voltage is less than the threshold. This would mean that the fan would be on initially and then turn off when the relay flipped. If I am wrong please correct me.

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    1. Thanks, I personally like working with legos over the stuff in the back room, I feel like I can do more with legos. I did end up making a rail for the car so that it would go down straight and not fall off. That schematic of the relay is looking at it from the bottom, pin 3 is the output voltage when the voltage is higher than the threshold.

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  8. Ben,
    How creative! At first I was going to ask a question regarding your confidence level in the mechanical aspect of your circuit, but the video looks fantastic! You seem to have put a lot of time in making sure it's precise. However, the string and fan blades -- Is the stopping block connected to the fan? How sure are you that this will work correctly?

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    1. The stopping block is connected to the fan, almost like an extended fan blade. It will rise when the fan is turned. I am confident that the fan will work correctly every time, so long as the motor works as it is supposed to.

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  9. Good work, I like the the schematic!

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  11. Ben,
    Solid idea, I love the Legos especially . It seems like your RG machine requires a bunch of steps and each step there is means there is a greater chance something will go wrong, but I’m pulling for ya. Good luck.
    Andrew

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  12. Ben, great explanation of the project, especially your detailed description of how the input and output of your project is connected to others. Also, the lego idea is cool!

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  13. Looking forward to seeing a more complex circuit and whole RG running.

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