rubber band cars

[cookie]

so i have a project that requires me to build a rubber band car that goes 10 feet
okay that's easy but it also has to carry a golf ball and drop it once it reaches its target.

how in the hell am i suppose to do that if we're only allowed to use rubber bands.
i've been trying to think of ways to do this but i cant. any engineers or physicians wanna help?

thanks

 

[rafool]

Cover an already made car with rubber bands perhaps?

 

[soltheman]

There are a number of ways you can do this. Maybe go into detail?

Are you actually ONLY allowed to use rubber bands, or are things like paper clips and straws fair game?

What is the target? Will the target be something that could possibly jar the golf ball loose upon impact, e.g. a brick?

Define "drop." Can the ball simply be forced/let loose (like in the example above,) or does the car actually have to be able to drop the ball after adistance of 10 ft is reached?

I can definitely help once these are answered.

 

[cookie]

paper clips and straws are fair game.
the target is just a piece of paper on the ground
the professor never said anything about how the ball has to drop so im assuming it can be simply forced or let loose

thanks for the help by the way.

 

[phillypac]

 

[primavera vills]

Whenever you do it, update this. I want to know how it turns out.

 

[damnneardeadstock]

how the hell is that possible?

maybe i'm just not creative enough with physics to think of a solution...

 

[soltheman]

Make your wheels out of cardboard. It's one of the lightest and densest materials you'll be able to easily shape.

Use a paper clip for the axels. A single one for each axel is ideal. Be sure that when you stick the paperclip through the wheel to bend the end of thepaperclip against the wheel. (So, stick the paperclip through the wheel, and on the outside of the wheel, bend the remainding paperclip back into the wheel.)

Then, find the two strongest rubberbands you can possibly find (it works better with two, but you don't need to use two,) and put them around the twoaxels. Now the harder part.

You'll have to find something that you'll be able to put in the middle of the car. You could use straws to form a square frame for the car, but theymight not be strong enough. They're pretty light though, and they can withstand punishment.

Attatch the rubber bands to the frame in a way in which that when you wind up the rubberbands, they'll force the wheels to rotate. It's a lot easierthan it sounds. You can always look on youtube for this.

Now, for the golf ball. Since your teacher has only set in place a piece of paper as the goal, ask if you can put a stationary at the end of the goal to forcethe ball to drop. If he/she lets you, all you'll need to do is make a slightly curved body to place on top of the frame. That way the golf ball won'troll out when the car is traveling, but will be forced out by the momentum of the crash.

If you can't, you could always create a window for the ball to fall through.

1. You'll need a sliding casing of some sort. You could take the top part off a small picture frame and slide a piece of paper/cardboard in. It should beeasy though.
2. Attach a piece of string to the paper/cardboard. You could finish it up in two different ways.
2A. You could simply get a really long piece of string, wait for the car to get to the goal, and then pull on the paper forcing the ball to fall through thesliding window and onto the ground, orrr...
2B. You could be creative and tie one end of the string to one of the axels. As the axel spins, the string would be pulled and rolled around the axel. Then,the same concept applies of the window being opened and the ball falling through. You'll just need to find the right string length for this to work.

hope this helps.

 

[darthbunny]

Originally Posted by Rafool

Cover an already made car with rubber bands perhaps?

 

[cookie]

Originally Posted by soltheman

Make your wheels out of cardboard. It's one of the lightest and densest materials you'll be able to easily shape.

Use a paper clip for the axels. A single one for each axel is ideal. Be sure that when you stick the paperclip through the wheel to bend the end of the paperclip against the wheel. (So, stick the paperclip through the wheel, and on the outside of the wheel, bend the remainding paperclip back into the wheel.)

Then, find the two strongest rubberbands you can possibly find (it works better with two, but you don't need to use two,) and put them around the two axels. Now the harder part.

You'll have to find something that you'll be able to put in the middle of the car. You could use straws to form a square frame for the car, but they might not be strong enough. They're pretty light though, and they can withstand punishment.

Attatch the rubber bands to the frame in a way in which that when you wind up the rubberbands, they'll force the wheels to rotate. It's a lot easier than it sounds. You can always look on youtube for this.

Now, for the golf ball. Since your teacher has only set in place a piece of paper as the goal, ask if you can put a stationary at the end of the goal to force the ball to drop. If he/she lets you, all you'll need to do is make a slightly curved body to place on top of the frame. That way the golf ball won't roll out when the car is traveling, but will be forced out by the momentum of the crash.

If you can't, you could always create a window for the ball to fall through.

1. You'll need a sliding casing of some sort. You could take the top part off a small picture frame and slide a piece of paper/cardboard in. It should be easy though.
2. Attach a piece of string to the paper/cardboard. You could finish it up in two different ways.
2A. You could simply get a really long piece of string, wait for the car to get to the goal, and then pull on the paper forcing the ball to fall through the sliding window and onto the ground, orrr...
2B. You could be creative and tie one end of the string to one of the axels. As the axel spins, the string would be pulled and rolled around the axel. Then, the same concept applies of the window being opened and the ball falling through. You'll just need to find the right string length for this to work.

hope this helps.

awesome thanks.

 

[northparkblind]

Originally Posted by phillypac

 

[hugo]

Originally Posted by northparkblind

Originally Posted by phillypac

 

[arrjae]

what class is this for?

and update us when your done, or during your process!