Chris Geimke 5/9/14
Summary: I want to make a floating arm trebuchet because I think it would look cool. It also has a better efficiency than the counterweight trebuchet. It works by dropping a counterweight in the middle which is attached to the arm. A wheel is attached to the arm to roll across the machine which keeps the counterweight from falling and destroying the machine. the arm launches the sling which lets go of the projectile firing it into the air. It is unique because the arm is not attached to the pivot point on a fixed point.
CASE STUDY 1:
Positive Points:
- Many different ratios for arm length
- Has lengths and dimensions
- good size to build
Negative Points:
- He is still making tweaks to it
- Took 2 months to build
- trouble making diagonal 2 x 6s attach to shannel
"The first good throw was about 206 feet, although the trajectory was way too steep, to the point where we could not see the baseball. So, I'm guessing that a baseball would go in excess of 300 feet!"
CASE STUDY 2:
positive points:
Our design required that we load each weight one at a time onto the weight bar using ladders. This was done with the safety bars in place, as well as the chain clicked into the trigger. at this point, we used a ratchet to tighten the eye bolt, until the chain was in tension and the weight bar no longer made contact with the safety bars. Then, we cleared away and removed the safety bars, and fired. The chain was then loosened again, the weights removed, and the arm cocked and locked with the safety bars again, and the cycle repeats.
positive points:
- includes material list
- includes dimensions and angle measures
- step-by-step directions
- Includes welding
- dangerous machine (may fire backwards)
- used concrete and other expensive materials
Our design required that we load each weight one at a time onto the weight bar using ladders. This was done with the safety bars in place, as well as the chain clicked into the trigger. at this point, we used a ratchet to tighten the eye bolt, until the chain was in tension and the weight bar no longer made contact with the safety bars. Then, we cleared away and removed the safety bars, and fired. The chain was then loosened again, the weights removed, and the arm cocked and locked with the safety bars again, and the cycle repeats.
