PASCO Car Insert
For this project, I was challenged with designing and 3D printing a device to
help stabilize a weight block in a PASCO track car.
A science teacher at my school was having difficulty getting a weight block to sit correctly in his PASCO track cars. The issue was that when a single weight block was placed in the car, the block had no restraints. Therefore, it was free to move, shift, and slide around in the car (Please see below images). This free movement could cause poor data and inconsistent results in science experiments, so he asked me to design a device to fix this issue (Please see images in the left column).
The track car insert was designed to fit in the track car tightly as well as hold the weight block tightly. The insert also was designed to use very little material (Note the cross pattern instead of solid plastic).
CAD Rendering of PASCO Car Insert
PASCO track car
3D Printed version of the insert
PASCO track car with weight block
Weight fits tightly into the track car insert
The weight block was able to slide around freely
Insert holds the weight block securely in the track car
The insert also is designed to fit around the small push button on the track car.
The insert has its own mass printed on it (11.5g) to aid in science experiments that require a known mass.