help me with my project

[whiteracer]

Ok, so i got an engineering project to do. My teacher is a James Bond buff. We have to make some sort of gadget similar to something seen in the Bond movies. Well obviously these aren't gonna be that good. Instinctively i thought about a car gadget. My instructor approved, with of course some rules. Obviously it can't be any rocket launcher or something like that. But i was thinking something along the lines of an oil slick, or dropping nails with a touch of a button or a hit of a switch. both of these as well as a few others were approved by the instructor. Its just to see a basic understanding of our imaginations. Given that this is a beginning class, i don't understand a lot nor does anyone else. I was thinking this has to be very simple, like a one time thing, all i have to do is have a piston that is holding up a box or something that moves back once i hit a switch. And it can't just be like a trap you see in the cartoons with the box being held up by a stick and i pull the stick via a string. I need some ideas on how to make a board slide out of the way allowing something to drop from the back of my car. This is like the weirdest thing i've ever gotten to do in school and i want to make it good. It doesn't have to look pretty just run the stuff out of sight so its not too obviously cause i will take it off once the projects over.

[grimmy]

move your washer fluid lines so they sit right behind your grill, then fill the reservoir with like paint thinner or somethin. that way if someone pisses you off, at the next red light you can make a nice little mark on the back of their car. or two small holes in your trunk with pink spraypaint right behind them connected to a button so if someone is tailgating you you can spray them. or cut a hole in the metal where your license plate goes. then buy a plate frame that trucks with trailers use so you can lift the plate and attach your trailer to the hitch. put a little bow with caltrops behind it and attach the plate to a small motor so with the press of a button the plate lifts a little caltrops fall out and whomever is chasing you gets a couple of flat tires

[2strokebloke]

If your car is pre catalyst era, how about someting that inject oil into the engine to create a smoke cloud?

[whiteracer]

ok i really like the paint thinner through the washer nozzles, and the license plate thing but that one i just can't understand.

[Porsche]

:finger: I want to have that teacher and that course DAMN YOU!

(I'm Assuming you have some sort of shop car or this is purely theoretical)

If you want to drop something like the 750iL from 'Tomorrow Never dies' Remove the rear bumper and any attachments exposign the frame rails. Install two rails in the frame rails with a motor that can move these rails in or out. (Think of it as telescoping crane boom) and moutn the rear bumper to these rails with a compartment with an bototm that opens via some servo or ram like bomb-bay doors deploying nails or something like that)

Another idea is one of that South African Guy's BMW M3. He mounted propane tnaks with lines underneath the driver's door and with theflip of a foot swtich a pilot light ignites expelled gas severley burnign any would be carjacker with 6 foot flames. It's not original, but Bond-worthy.

If you could get little slits of the body panels on the doors to flip out (Like open horizontally with some sort of fluid line attached to them) it'd look cool but not do a whole lot. You coudl go all out and make it Remote Controlled by conencting motors and actuators to the master cylinder, throttle cable and steering rack, just make it less cumbersome than most other systems I've seen, and out fo the driver's compartment.

[whiteracer]

i saw some show on NBC in the morning, it was some kids show. They had teams of teenagers making something along the engineering lines. They had a pin that moved back when they pushed a button and it was contolled by air pressure or something. That's what i'm looking for. I like the nail drop or oil slick dropping from my rear bumper.

[fearless_simian]

A solenoid might be easier to use then air pressure.

[freakray]

Originally posted by whiteracer
i saw some show on NBC in the morning, it was some kids show. They had teams of teenagers making something along the engineering lines. They had a pin that moved back when they pushed a button and it was contolled by air pressure or something. That's what i'm looking for. I like the nail drop or oil slick dropping from my rear bumper.

Did you think of using a small servo like you find in an R/C car, they aren't that expensive and you can get various sizes.
They also run off a low voltage and are easier to rig up then a solenoid or air system.

[Pikachoo]

Well, if you want to stay away from electronics how about a license plate that will switch your plates to a different plate number?? It would be real easy. Just take a cable actuator (like the pull cable that is used to pop your hood open) and rig it to a rotating license plate with a different plate on the back side. So when you pull the cable, the license plate flips over and shows the other plates.

This same idea could operate your nail drop system... just have the pull cable attached to the sliding door that opens. If you put a spring on the sliding door when you released the cable the door would even close by itself.

Good luck!!
:smoka:

[Pikachoo]

Oh! Oh!! How about mounting the sliding door to an electric lock solenoid!(like power door locks) All your wiring is already done, and it's made to operate off of your existing auto electronics. Just get an electric door lock solenoid from the junkyard for like $10, and get a two button door locking button from junkyard for another $5. One button will open the sliding door(like unlocking the door), the other button will close the sliding door(like locking the door).

This way you can cleanly mount the two button door switch inside the car, and it's electronic which is cool too!!

BTW, I'm a mechanical engineer, so I have about a million other ideas that would be easy and cheap!!
:sun: :sun: :sun:

[YogsVR4]

Make an automated Martini shaker. Bond could appreciate that.

[whiteracer]

see that the problem, almost all that stuff you mentioned i don't know how to work with. Remember this is a very beginners class. None of us know anything about engineering, he just wants to test our imaginations.

[freakray]

Originally posted by whiteracer
see that the problem, almost all that stuff you mentioned i don't know how to work with. Remember this is a very beginners class. None of us know anything about engineering, he just wants to test our imaginations.

Now is as good a time as any to learn.....

[Pikachoo]

Originally posted by whiteracer
see that the problem, almost all that stuff you mentioned i don't know how to work with. Remember this is a very beginners class. None of us know anything about engineering, he just wants to test our imaginations.

My car lock idea only uses three wires, you can handle that...
And if you use the cable actuator you don't use any electrical components... you just run the cable and pull.

[taranaki]

THE idea of a nail-dropping device intrigues me.....I would never consider using it in real situations,but as an exercise,it could be fun.If you have a remote release cable for the trunk,you might consider buying a couple of spare latches from a wrecking yard,and mounting them upside-down under the car.The trunk would still be usable,but you'd have to open it with the key.A simple bonnet scoop or similar could be mounted under the spare wheel well,with the trunk release cable activating an old e-brake pulley to ensure that both latches triggered at the same time.The container[bonnet scoop] would drop free from the car ,bouncing on the road and shattering [if you use a cheap plastic version.

Builders 'z' nails would be best, through a combination of two 90 degree bends,whichever way they land,they will invariably settle with one point facing upwards.

or alternatively,the container could hold a party balloon full of oil.The ballon would prevent spillage in normal use and itss elastic properties would ensure a wide 'splatter effect' when it hit the road.