Mousetrap Vehicle

Methods: Check this out first;

http://sciolytexas.wikia.com/wiki/Mousetrap_Vehicle

PDF: http://mesa.eng.uci.edu/Resources/Students/Mousetrap_Car_General.pdf

Important: This is the braking system you need: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJwFtkFSuJM

Quick Tips Based on Search Terms - I will try to answer a few questions I see people searching for.

* Faucet washers - 1/4L appears to be the size used but I found that not all these washers were the same size. Washers I had ordered from Doc Fizzix fit the CD ROM hole tightly with a friction fit. The ones I purchased in hardware stores were slightly smaller in diameter and I had to glue the washers to the hole edges. For the Quicky Mouse mousetrap car I cut chunks of tarp straps and glued over hole in CD.

* Axle size - most of the kits I have built use 3/16" brass tube, I have been using coat hanger wire which is a smaller diameter. The smaller diameter axle will turn the wheel more revolutions for the length of line that is wrapped around the axle.

* Problems - what I have seen are: too long of line, wheels that wobble badly, too much friction in bearings, and poor glue joints.

* Where the lever arm attaches to the wire extending from the mousetrap has a great deal of stress on it so needs to be very robust. On my design I had wrapped string around the wood dowel lever arm and the wire and covered with hot glue. This will work if the string is wrapped tight enough and the hot glue has setup hard before putting any stress on it. Doc Fizzix kits use a brass tube that slips over this wire, this works very well.

*At Case, they said you can use wheels from Lego or K’Nex… they don’t have to be made by you

How to build a car that stops at a certain distance:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081024043517AAXjvpI

Mousetrap cars braking system: instructions

http://www.docfizzix.com/topics/construction-tips/Mouse-Trap-Cars/braking-system.shtml

WikiHow: How to Build a Mousetrap Car

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Mousetrap-Car

Instructables http://www.instructables.com/id/Mouse-Trap-car/

Doc Fizzix http://www.docfizzix.com/mousetrap-car.shtml