Work Day 4/30

Today we tried to figure out our dimensions to our final trebuchet. As of right now, we are thinking of doing a base 60 cm. by 100 cm. The height is uncertain until we figure out how we are going to attach our weights to the arm. We wanted to start building the final one today, but the wood shop was out of the wood that we wanted.

Research Day 4/23

Today we did read a few chapters on the Physics Classroom website and watched a couple YouTube videos about Projectile at an Angle and Optimal Angle for a projectile. We also experimented a little bit more about where the axle should be located. Our farthest throw was about 4-5 meters. While working on this, we came up with some design changes for the final trebuchet. Some of these ideas are: a groove at the top of the arm for the string to fit in nicer, a weight bucket made with different materials, a locking mechanism, and wheels.

Work Day 4/22

Today we finished our trebuchet. We made a new sling since the original one was not working right. We also attached the sheet metal for the projectile to slide on. After working on this, we began to try to figure out what hole (position) the axle should be in to give us optimal distance.

Work Day 4/19

Today we attached the weight bucket and hooked up the sling. We did a few test trials to see how it worked. It took us longer than we expected to get it to work right. In most of the first 10 trials, the projectile went backwards. We corrected this by changing the weight and the angle of the nail that the sling hooks to.

Work Day 4/18

Today we were able to cut a metal rod that the arm is attached to. We also go about 90% done with the weight bucket.

Work Day 4/16

On our first day of work, we finished about half of the trebuchet model. We cut the base to the size we needed, and cut and attached the supports for the trebuchet arm. We also cut and bent a piece of sheet metal for our frictionless surface the the projectile will slide on.