Let me try one more time.Balsa Man wrote:And the other thing that would help, as suggested a couple messages back, is for you to take the time to go back and carefully read through what's been posted. Yeah, a lot of pages, but you'll find a discussion that starts with simple basics, and progresses through very detailed discussion of key aspects of design, wood selection, and construction. Once you've done that, a) you'll understand a lot more, and b) you'll be able to ask specific questions, and get answers.Unome wrote:A bit more specificity would help; what exactly are you trying to understand?Llamastwaimzjf wrote:Oh my god! Thank you but I'm still not sure I comprehend what you're explaining. May you please explain this to me in simpler terms?
Len Joeris
Fort Collins, CO
1. I and others are more than glad to try to help you.
2. But, even after reading all your posts in the different topics/threads, I have no idea a) what you're doing, b) what your tower looks like; What I read doesn't make sense. A couple specific examples: You say (I think) your base has the four legs at the corner of a 20cm square; the distance between any two legs, at the base is 20cm. If you're just trying to span the 20cm square opening in the testing base, that's too far apart. At about a 16cm spacing between any two legs, you can span the 20cm square opening; just turn/rotate the tower so each of the legs are sitting at/just outside the center of each of the sides of the 20cm square. By being further apart at the base than you need to, your legs are longer than they need to be (which is adding un-necessary weight), and at a greater angle (which means they're under greater force when the tower gets loaded, so have to be heavier/stronger to hold the load (which is also adding un-necessary weight). But, if you're going for the bonus (2kg of free credit on the load carried) that you get if the legs span a 29cm circle at the base, you don't have enough separation of the legs at the base; you'll need about 21.3....call it 21.5. Another example, you refer, I think, to a 60cm length, which I think is referring to leg length. Don't know if you're B or C division. In a C division tower, the minimum height is 60cm. That means the legs have to be longer than 60cm. In a C div tower where the legs are far enough apart to span the 29cm circle, leg length is 61.34cm. In a B division tower, the minimum height is 50cm, and leg length in one spanning the 29cm circle is 51.55 cm. The legs at the top of the tower need to be in a 5cm square; that is the outsides of (any two of) the legs need to be just under 5cm apart. That's so the load block will sit on the top ends of the legs. Having the top at a 10cm square, said as politely as I can, makes no sense; no reason to do it, and it....just won't work. I have to ask, given this, you have read the rules, yes? If not, you need to read and understand them. Last, on wood sizes, I can't tell what size you're using. 1/8" x 1/8" (cross section), be it bass or balsa, is plenty; you should not be thinking/using anything bigger than that. Decent tower weights, carrying close to full, 15kg load (maybe top 10 at regionals), depending on where you live, under this year's rules, will be on the order of 15 - 18 grams for C, a couple of grams lighter for B. Top 10 at Nationals will probably be near or a bit below 9gr for C, and near or below 7.5gr for B. What's your current weight at?
3. Most importantly, having said it once, I'll say it one more time, there is a LARGE amount of information and discussion in past posts. It starts with the basic science and concepts you need to understand to design and build a decent tower. It goes through in detail on various aspects- what, why, and how. If you'd take the time to read and study it, a) you'd have a much better understanding of what you're trying to do, and how to go about doing it, and b) you'll be able to ask specific questions, and get specific, useful answers. Have you done this critical 'homework??
4. You've said, in various ways in different posts, about different topics/issues if I may paraphrase, "I don't understand, can you make it simpler?" When you just look at the last....2 or 3 posts discussing the details of something on which discussion started a number of pages ago, of course you won't understand what's being discussed. It's just like walking into a conversation with two friends, or coming into a class late- if you missed the first 10 minutes, you'll be lost.... Can't say it any more simply than that. Unless you get up to speed, you'll be lost. Go back to the beginning, where the basic concepts are laid out simply, then follow the discussions as they get into more detail and complexity, and it will make a lot more sense. There's no way for me, or anyone else to tell you simply, in....a couple of pages, how to design and build a decent tower.
Please understand, no put-down intended in what I've said above. Just trying to get you to a point where you have a basic and correct understanding, so that you can get meaningful, helpful feedback .
Len Joeris
Ft. Collins, CO