Fire Away!

Task:

Our task was to create a "catapult" that could shoot a projectile the farthest possible.

The constraints were:

  • It must have a base that sits on the ground

  • two legs that hold up an axle

  • a lever arm with both a load and an effort end

  • The device must be easily portable by one person and have no dimension that is larger than 1 meter

  • You can “set” it and release it, but not provide the firing itself.

Ashton Ehmer - Proof of Efficacy Document for Trebuchet

Reflection:

I think for this project i did well as a creative and innovative thinker trying to push the limits of the constraints for this project and create something unique. Instead of building a catapult i built a basic crossbow which required many critical thinking elements to achieve as i had to come up with a lot of solutions to the various problems I encountered while testing.

While i did well as an engineer i could have been a better teammate in communicating to my group because we had to split encase my idea did not work which i could have reassured better. I also could have had more compassion for my group because i was upset from the lack of assistance and support for my idea and did not look from their perspective.