Boomilever B/C

[sjwon3789]

My state is over and this year is over for me. For this type of event, will there be any rule changes? (I'll be in division C. Would it most likely stay the same; 15cm as height?)

[chalker]

My state is over and this year is over for me. For this type of event, will there be any rule changes? (I'll be in division C. Would it most likely stay the same; 15cm as height?)

Yes, we typically change the parameters of the construction events from year to year. Not sure yet what we'll do with Boomilever though.

[Unbihexium]

My state is over and this year is over for me. For this type of event, will there be any rule changes? (I'll be in division C. Would it most likely stay the same; 15cm as height?)

Yes, we typically change the parameters of the construction events from year to year. Not sure yet what we'll do with Boomilever though.

Are there any known possibilities? It seems like making it less than 15 cm would make it impossible to hold full 15 kg, as well as length manipulation... Is something like what happened with towers, where a scoring system encompassed dimensions likely?

[elispa]

Sorry from deviating from the original topic but what's the best place to get wood from online?

[Unbihexium]

Sorry from deviating from the original topic but what's the best place to get wood from online?

In terms of quality the best place to buy wood would be Specialized Balsa. (http://www.specializedbalsa.com/) In terms of price it's most effective to buy in sheets and use a balsa stripper to cut the size you need. If you're looking for something cheaper, places like pitsco and kelvin and balsawoodinc have less careful selection and generally do not allow you to choose densities, but will be significantly cheaper. Buying in sheets is by far the best in terms of cost and consistency as sheets are more self consistent than strips.

[balsa]

My state is over and this year is over for me. For this type of event, will there be any rule changes? (I'll be in division C. Would it most likely stay the same; 15cm as height?)

Yes, we typically change the parameters of the construction events from year to year. Not sure yet what we'll do with Boomilever though.

Are there any known possibilities? It seems like making it less than 15 cm would make it impossible to hold full 15 kg, as well as length manipulation... Is something like what happened with towers, where a scoring system encompassed dimensions likely?

I don't think they will make it less than 15cm. Maybe lengthening the boom length itself, some other changes perhaps.

[Unbihexium]

Yes, we typically change the parameters of the construction events from year to year. Not sure yet what we'll do with Boomilever though.

Are there any known possibilities? It seems like making it less than 15 cm would make it impossible to hold full 15 kg, as well as length manipulation... Is something like what happened with towers, where a scoring system encompassed dimensions likely?

I don't think they will make it less than 15cm. Maybe lengthening the boom length itself, some other changes perhaps.

Either way the whole issue with that is that any manipulation of the distal angle might make any sort of efficiency near 2000 impossible as it was nearly so this year. 15 cm was already pushing it. Maybe they'll change it to be like towers with the scoring system counting the dimensions...

[fanjiatian]

I'm trying to justify a design that tapers from the base to the distal end
I don't see any benefits: wouldn't there be more net force + shear on the compression members? They'd have to be longer since it gets narrower towards the distal end

Would it create more stability near the loading block?

[iwonder]

Could you elaborate on the tarpered part? Is it a compression boom with a tapered compression member? Or some other design.

[fanjiatian]

Sorry for not being clear!
So if the compression members are 5 cm apart when they touch the testing wall, then the compression members will be less than 5 cm apart where the loading block goes.
If you looked at the boomilever from an aerial view, the compression members would look more like a trapezoid or triangle instead of a rectangle.