Mousetrap Vehicle C

[masterhat]

@starpug

Feel free to do that especially if you think that it will keep the formatting of the wiki more consistent.

[starpug]

@starpug

Feel free to do that especially if you think that it will keep the formatting of the wiki more consistent.

Eh, we've been planning to move towards multiple pages per event for a while now

[packer-backer91]

I thought about this for a long time and don’t know what category my vehicle fit into. I had my vehicle coast the final 2-3 meters on the way back. The each team has in the event is the lever arm will only pull x length of string from axel, so I found ways to get the string used to get the vehicle to start slow [very slow] then slowly accelerate to the 7m line then reverse and give the rest of the arm to reach the max speed that is capable for the vehicle at which time the string detach from drive axel and the vehicle would free travel the rest of the track. Now this is risky but if I would have went all power the vehicle would have been 3 sec slower so it was a necessary risk because string is used to maintain the speed. I don’t want to disclose the secretive parts that made my vehicle special because I know they will use the similar design this year as to the one my school used last year. I do know that at least 2 or 3 of the top 6 from my state had use of coast in one way or another; I don’t know if others may have thought of this as another way to propel your vehicle back.

Simply, you can find how much string you need to get out and then to reach top speed on the way back. Then calculate how long your arm must be in order to accomplish the task, in almost every situation this would mean making the arm shorter thus getting more power in the proses = faster speed.

Risk: [know your terrain] look or even do some test on the slope of the floor you will run on makes a large difference at the 7m line and how fast the vehicle will coast. From this knowledge adjust the wraps on the axel to compensate to give more power to the out or back depending on what direction the slope is. Also know the EXACT amount string the lever is able to pull off, if you don’t you will get to most likely see one of the funniest epic fails ever, at full speed your vehicle may stop violently what I seen on mine lifting up the back end and bouncing on the ground [which is bad can brake DVD’s if not fitted to axel correctly].
The the floor can make a big difference, to overcome this for state I went as far to find the slope of all of the gym floor [NOT fun], so if anyone ever wanted to know the direction a ball would roll at Michigan States IM West main gym I could tell you with a good degree of confidence.

[winneratlife]

The the floor can make a big difference, to overcome this for state I went as far to find the slope of all of the gym floor [NOT fun], so if anyone ever wanted to know the direction a ball would roll at Michigan States IM West main gym I could tell you with a good degree of confidence.

Please, do share!

Also, for anyone new, category 3 cars are the only kind worth exploring, to my knowledge. No other prototype of category 1 has been successful, and the concept for category 2 is sketchy at best.

[packer-backer91]

packer-backer91 wrote:
The the floor can make a big difference, to overcome this for state I went as far to find the slope of all of the gym floor [NOT fun], so if anyone ever wanted to know the direction a ball would roll at Michigan States IM West main gym I could tell you with a good degree of confidence.

Please, do share!

I really meant that as a joke although it took me about an hour of to get the basic test done then a lot more time to graph/model what the floor looked like, I can’t describe it for two reasons; one you most likely would not comprehend it it’s difficult for others to understand what everything represents. Also it’s not fair unless everyone from Michigan was on here for me to give it away [unfair advantage potentially]. I went in the gym and conducted the test needed for the graph during a time that anyone was free to do the same thing, thus everyone had the same opportunity to do what I did.

Also I would i disagree with only method 3 being the best one to use. All there are good if constructed and planned well, #1 produced the winner at Nat’s, variations of #2 beat me at state, number three is the easiest but to do but hard to make perfect.

[winneratlife]

packer-backer91 wrote:
The the floor can make a big difference, to overcome this for state I went as far to find the slope of all of the gym floor [NOT fun], so if anyone ever wanted to know the direction a ball would roll at Michigan States IM West main gym I could tell you with a good degree of confidence.

Please, do share!

I really meant that as a joke although it took me about an hour of to get the basic test done then a lot more time to graph/model what the floor looked like, I can’t describe it for two reasons; one you most likely would not comprehend it it’s difficult for others to understand what everything represents. Also it’s not fair unless everyone from Michigan was on here for me to give it away [unfair advantage potentially]. I went in the gym and conducted the test needed for the graph during a time that anyone was free to do the same thing, thus everyone had the same opportunity to do what I did.

Also I would i disagree with only method 3 being the best one to use. All there are good if constructed and planned well, #1 produced the winner at Nat’s, variations of #2 beat me at state, number three is the easiest but to do but hard to make perfect.

Wait...WHAT?

First off, being on this site, talking with vets, using the wiki, isn't this all an advantage anyways?

Second: define "variations of 2". I highly doubt someone wound a rubber band around their wheels.

Third: I have yet to see a prototype of 1 that can beat any prototype of 3.

[masterhat]

packer-backer91 wrote:
The the floor can make a big difference, to overcome this for state I went as far to find the slope of all of the gym floor [NOT fun], so if anyone ever wanted to know the direction a ball would roll at Michigan States IM West main gym I could tell you with a good degree of confidence.

Please, do share!

I really meant that as a joke although it took me about an hour of to get the basic test done then a lot more time to graph/model what the floor looked like, I can’t describe it for two reasons; one you most likely would not comprehend it it’s difficult for others to understand what everything represents. Also it’s not fair unless everyone from Michigan was on here for me to give it away [unfair advantage potentially]. I went in the gym and conducted the test needed for the graph during a time that anyone was free to do the same thing, thus everyone had the same opportunity to do what I did.

Also I would i disagree with only method 3 being the best one to use. All there are good if constructed and planned well, #1 produced the winner at Nat’s, variations of #2 beat me at state, number three is the easiest but to do but hard to make perfect.

#1 was the winner at nationals but that was the only successful version of #1 that I have ever seen, also it was extremely modified and in general, I still believe that #1 cars are extremely hard to build and coordinate the transition to reverse. #3 is not only the easiest to build, it is also the most consistent performer IN GENERAL (there can be some exceptions). Also, with my car it was a modified #3 so that it could coast back. I would never recommend trying design #2 due to frictional and speed issues. Obviously the best cars will not just be the basic design but will have features that really put them in front of the competition (check out Solon's torque equalizing lever arm!)

[sj]

what are the dimensions for the mousetrap car this year

[penclspinner]

what are the dimensions for the mousetrap car this year

3.g. 1.0 m by 1.0 m with no height restrictions

[sj]

what are the dimensions for the mousetrap car this year

3.g. 1.0 m by 1.0 m with no height restrictions

so there's no restriction on wheel diameter or how far apart the wheels can be