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Old 01-03-2005, 09:13 PM   #1
ChopinPorkChop
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Help in scratch built car

So for school i need to build a "mouse trap powered car"
I already have many plans... and am pretty sure through my couple ideas i can kill anyone elses

So... for the body im building a dragster.. top fuel style.. and first off i need to figure out how to make full chassis.. i already tried out plastic.. wasnt too precise.. little too weak.. i most likely need somthing i can either weld or solder.. such as coat hanger or somthing of that sort. The car will not be big.. maybe about a foot long, and i will cover the chassis with removable sheet aluminum side panels... this things gotta look killer and ive already got some theories as how to make it go.

So if anyone has any suggestions as to how i could build the chassis or anything else pls let me know


cpc
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Old 01-03-2005, 09:28 PM   #2
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Re: Help in scratch built car

ok. i won my mouse trap car competition in high school. i cleared the HS gym plus about 20 feet. then i hit the wall. you need to keep it light, the lighter the chassis and over all construction, the smoller the axle you can use. i would give balsa wood a go. as for the rear wheels, you want a small diameter axle and a large diamter wheel. i cut circles out of the foam board you find in the stationary department at wal mart. if you attach a rod to the trap itself, it allows you to use a longer string so it is spinning the axle for a longer period of time. The geometry on the rear axle is kind of touchy, too small an axle and the trap wont have enough force to start spinning it. for that you either need to adjust the diameter of the wheel (smaller) or the diameter of the axle (larger) finally you need to make sure that everything is square, so that it tracks in a strait line. this makes sure that you go the maximum distance possible. if it curves, you effectively lose distance. any questions?
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Old 01-03-2005, 09:33 PM   #3
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yes this is what ive been thinking also.. but i want to try some maybe weights on one side of the axle.. see if momentem(sp?) can make it go any farther. And for sure im not going with wood or cardboard.. i want this thing to look a certain way so watever i gotta do to achieve it im game... do u have any advice on building an actual tubed chassis? again i tried plastic from model trees and i found that the chassis was very hard to get square.. so i was thinking move onto somthin like a lightweight metal? I dont think it would turn out too heavy if i used it wisely. For the wheels im almost set on using cds with rubber trim around them for traction.


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Old 01-03-2005, 10:05 PM   #4
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Re: Help in scratch built car

big wheels, I won mine as well, I used CDs for the wheels.
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Old 01-03-2005, 10:14 PM   #5
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Re: Help in scratch built car

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChopinPorkChop
yes this is what ive been thinking also.. but i want to try some maybe weights on one side of the axle.. see if momentem(sp?) can make it go any farther. And for sure im not going with wood or cardboard.. i want this thing to look a certain way so watever i gotta do to achieve it im game... do u have any advice on building an actual tubed chassis? again i tried plastic from model trees and i found that the chassis was very hard to get square.. so i was thinking move onto somthin like a lightweight metal? I dont think it would turn out too heavy if i used it wisely. For the wheels im almost set on using cds with rubber trim around them for traction.


cpc
hey, for the part with the cd's that was the same thing i was going to do but never worked out.

i tried to put elastic bands around the cd but they kept coming off.
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Old 01-04-2005, 12:20 AM   #6
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Re: Help in scratch built car

i would be afraid with the weights if they werent placed just right they would throw balance off left to right and it would have a tendency to pull. you would have to make sure that they were in exactly the same spot and of the exact same mass on each wheel. very good thinking tho. as for the construction i would stay away form metal as it is going to be too heavy. i know you are set on a specific design, but more often than not the kiss principle rules. get some balsa sticks and make the frame an I beam construction. if you picked the right sticks you could possibly mount it all on a single I beam. with a carrier out back for the axle, much like that of an on road R/C pan car.
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Old 01-05-2005, 02:36 AM   #7
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The mousetrap powered car my team built at Colorado State U. went 65 feet, but it pulled to the left and hit the wall every time. It had CDs for wheels, would do a mean "burnout" (not much traction on CDs, no smoke though), and yes, it looked like a dragster. The winning team's car traveled 110 feet under power and would coast more than 230. I refuse to tell you how they built it because the point of an assignment like this is to learn how to figure it out for yourself. That's what makes it so much fun!

I will say that aluminum sheets and a welded chassis will be much too heavy to go very far. We used balsa wood rods, poster paper, and straws. What about styrene?

What exactly is the assignment? Does it have to look good, or is that just what you want to do? When we actually tested our car for the grade, we pulled the body off and just ran the bare bones car. If you have say, a set distance to travel, make sure your car will meet or excede all requirements before you make it pretty.

Don't put a weight on the axle, it will just increase rotating mass and will make your car much slower and require more power to get started. Since this car is what they call "power limited" any idea that needs more power gets scrapped.
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Old 01-05-2005, 04:24 PM   #8
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well it has to look good work good and win... in order to win all 3 competitions.. and i was thinking about putting the axle thru some rollerblade bearing that will be mounted on the chassis... so that the axle will be alot more freely moving... and i also want to increase the mouse traps so called "angular distance"(i made it up) from 180 degrees to somthing more by cutting off the wood right before the spring.. so the arm can travel backwards farther... and im still trying to figure out what i want to use for wheels.. i think record will do fine.. but my number one problem is still the chassis... i was thiking of jus using a like.. a 1 foot long 2x2 piece of balsa... drilling it out for weight.. puting the bearing right in there.. and the fron wheels... i think that is the best idea cuz its sturdy.. itll be light.. and very simple... Also does anyone have idea on how to keep this thing straight.. my guess is just to get the front weels mounted strong... so theyr arnt flimsy.. n also the record wheels can be doubled up for more traction.. and even drilled out for weight.... these are just ideas that are coming to me through the day so help me out here

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Old 01-05-2005, 07:20 PM   #9
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Re: Help in scratch built car

If you decide to use the cd's as your wheels, instead of using rubberbands, you could use a product called "Dip It" What it is, is a liquid rubber that you dip your tools inand it solidifies.
Take a Q-tip, dip it in the rubber stuff, and apply a light coat to the edge of the cd.
No need to worry about rubberbands coming off.
You get "Dip It" at any large hardware store: Home Depot (cheapo), Lowes........

John
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Old 01-07-2005, 10:09 PM   #10
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Well i got building today... started with about a foot of 1½" x 1½" wood. Drilled and cross drilled 1 inch holes and now it weighs about half maybe even less its original mass and trust me its extremly light... I then found some skateboard bearings, cleaned them up, made a recess(sp?) for them in the wood.. drilled through for the axle. everything turned out extremly clean n light... my plans are for a wooden axle to fit perfectly inside the bearings, for the wheels i have to figure out how to mount some drilled out records, and still have to decide how im going to setup the front wheels so that they are stable and straight. If anyone has suggestions about back n front wheels thatd help alot thnx


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