Project Description
The project I chose to do was create an electric vehicle. The vehicle is required to travel a distance between 9 and 12 m and stop at a certain distance determined the day it's due. It must meet specific requirements, like width and length.
My vehicle, powered my a motor, rotates a fan that propels the vehicle forward. The most challenging part was making an efficient and reliable braking mechanism. The one I came up with is a string attached to the wheel as the rest of it is in a straw in the back. As the wheel spins, the string comes out of the straw. Eventually, the string will run out and its tension will cause the wheels to stop moving. The tension is created by a small amount hanging out the back with a cap on the end.
Logs
Approximate time spent on project (11+ hours)
- Researching and assembling vehicle (2 hours)
- Testing/experimenting with vehicle and braking mechanism (8+ hours)
- Compiling data (1 hours)
- Researching and assembling vehicle (2 hours)
- Testing/experimenting with vehicle and braking mechanism (8+ hours)
- Compiling data (1 hours)
Vehicle
Data
This points were used to make the graph shown to the right.
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This graph allowed me to find the equation for the points. Then, I can pick a certain x value (meters) to determine how many turns it takes to reach that distance. I just take the turns to reach 12 meters (since it is the maximum) and subtract the turn # I just found from it to get the turns I need to do before launch.
Simply put: Max turns - y(x) turns = pre launch turns |
What did I learn?
While this project did not necessarily teach me how to make an electric vehicle travel and stop at a certain distance, I feel that it taught me far more important things. I did not have the greatest amount of success with this project, and a large amount of frustration was included with the experimentation of a braking mechanism. My intended major, mechanical engineering, though may not include a project exactly like this, will 100% include challenges that I will need to attempt again and again to get right. Through this project, I learned that things will not always come easily for me and it will take failure to reach my goal. I know that I did not develop the best electric vehicle, but I feel that I came a long way from the very beginning of this project; I had no idea where to start at all. I can tell that from start to finish, this project taught me to become more patient and open to failure, because failure only opens doors for success. I am confident that I can take the experiences from this project and apply it to challenges in college, and even challenges that I will face in life. Even though I may not have chosen the easiest project or received the perfect grade, I am glad I chose it.