Element G

Design

For our design we originally focused on building the main frame of the cart, that being the base C channels, the frontal beam, and v-grooves across to hold the hurdles first, choosing that as then from there we would build up around it to support the sides of the hurdles as they're loaded in and have a handle bar to push the cart around with after the caster wheels had been installed under the frame.

Construction

First our prototype started out as a CAD model that was given a very rough early stage out of cardboard and duct tape we were able to use, after we confirmed dimensions we began the construction of our actual prototype, first laying out a rough shape of the final design, then cutting, welding, and testing the design and fitting as we went, building it up from the base first before adding the wheels and vertical supports that we included with the CAD design.

As we continued the construction of the final prototype there were multiple modifications we made that increased the efficiency and ease of use for the cart, such as adjusting the angle of some hurdles so that they would have a far easier time meshing together and reducing space, to facilitate this change the base supports and the support attached to the handle posts were modified to fulfill this need. Other modifications include the proposed change of wheel bolts to assure they wouldn't snap under load or during use, removal of the side supports that would increase weight for negligible gain in support, removal of material to reduce weight, ad the shifting of side supports for a tighter, stronger fit. Originally we ran our testing data and estimates around the steel we were able to find online that would specifically fit the design specs we had, however upon the beginning of construction we were limited to what we could afford and what was donated to us for usage by the metal shop, restricting the parameters and weight of our project to what was on hand, although it still remained manageable and maneuverable even at such high weight.

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