Mousetrap dump truck and separation system project Essay

Mousetrap dump truck and separation system project - Essay Example The goal of the minor project is establishing innovation and creativity by using a critical way of problem solving. It aims at designing a dump truck –truck used for transportation of loose material. A distinctive dump truck is characterised by an open-box bed hinged at the back, the front can be lifted allowing deposition of the contents on the ground at the delivery site. The core concept of task two is to utilize energy of a mousetrap to make the device mobile for 5 metres in a straight line. The second section of the project is the separation box which is supposed to separate the different sizes of the balls when hit. However, the description of the project is to utilize light, simple, flexible, inexpensive and available materials. There are various materials that the group used to design a lightweight truck model e.g. light carton, disks, BBQ sticks, light fishing line, bottle tops, mouse trap, rubber band and small pieces of cloth hangers. In addition, the group used three materials in designing the separation box: cartoon, BBQ sticks and wooden sticks. Tools involved: glow gun, balloons and tape. In a nutshell, the project should demonstrate innovation of a lightweight truck in the simplest way possible. The concept is to capture energy from a mouse trap to allow it to move for 5minutes along a straight path. The box holding the balls is strateg ically placed high above the body to allow the balls to drop in the separation box. Pieces of cloth hangers are used to improve flexibility. Initially, the project had three possible designs. Numerous factors had to be considered to adopt one as the final plan. Figure 4.1 shows the first design –mouse trap car-the second design consisted of a large coca cola bottle. Figure 4.2 is an illustration of the final design. Before settling for the design in figure 4.2, several tests were directed to eradicate all flaws