Rube Goldberg Machine
What is it?
A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that is built to do a very simple objective but in a complicated or complex way. For example our simple objective was to turn on a light. We did this in about ten steps that included a lever, wheel and axle, pulleys, inclined planes, screws, and a wedge.
Our Rube Goldberg Project
Our Rube Goldberg Machines' simple objective was to turn on a light which represented the sun and light up the solar system. Our Rube Goldberg machine had a story behind it that related to the steps within the machine. The first day of our project before we started building we had to make a comic about the machine and our group members all combined our comics and that is how we got our story line.
Our story started out with an alien who wanted to save the universe when the sun when dark one day. The alien and his space ship are represented by the marble. He started on his journey by launching into space which represented by the marble getting launched from the catapult. The alien then flies into a wormhole as a short cut to get closer ton the sun. This is shown by the marble being flung into the funnel. He comes out from the wormhole at the planet Mercury and decides to take a trip around our solar system. The inclined plane representing Mercury is the shortest and fastest ramp because the orbit of Mercury around the sun is the shortest and fastest. He then travels from Mercury to Venus on his little expedition. The inclined plane representing Venus has bumps along it which represents the rocky and bumpy surface of Venus. The next planet he visited was Earth. The step that represented Earth was a pulley that when the ball dropped in the container the the weight on the other end would rise representing the moon rising. Then he flies into a secret bunker down deep in Mars surface because we believe there are aliens on the planet Mars. While there he found some very wise aliens who had been around for millions of years and they had seen the Sun go dark before so they knew what to do.They taught their ways to the young alien and he was ready to complete his mission. This step is represented by a screw. He continues his journey and takes a trip to Jupiter. For this step we created a 3-D model of Jupiter using a 3-D printer so it has all the textures and looks of Jupiter. To finish his journey he went to the Sun and restored the light using the way he learned from the wise aliens of Mars. To finish off our machine the marble would come out of free fall from Jupiter and land on an inclined plane. The ball would then continue to roll down and make contact with the windup car and release it from the wedge it was placed on. The car would then proceed down the ramp and hit the weight. The weight is part of a pulley system which is connected to the light switch. As the weight falls from contact of the car the string connected to the switch will pull and turn on the light.
Blueprinting
Staring Blueprint
We made our first blueprint by having all of our group members make there own blueprint of the machine and then we took all of our ideas and combined them. When we started building we noticed that near the bottom of our board it was getting crowded so we had to change up our board a little bit.
Final Blueprint
We created our final blueprint after completing our board. Our final blueprint and starting blueprint are mostly the same except for some changes to the final steps. We reduced the amount of steps near the end of our board because they did not make sense. We also did not think that with our limited time we were going to make our project work.
Equations and Physic Concepts
Velocity (v)- Rate of covered distance in a direction. Velocity equals change in distance over change in time. Unit of velocity is meters per second. Example: The velocity of the ball going down the ramp was 0.5 m/s to the left.
Acceleration (a)- Rate of change of velocity, speeding up or slowing down. Acceleration equals change in velocity over change in time. Unit of acceleration is meters per second squared. Example: The acceleration of a falling object is 9.8 m/s squared.
Force (F)- Push or pull on an object that causes a change in motion. Force equals mass times acceleration. Unit of force are newtons. Example: More force is required going up a steeper ramp than a less steep ramp even though the work may be the same.
Work (W)- Amount of energy put into something. Work equals force multiplied by change in distance. Unit of work is joule. Example: When you lift a 3 newton load 5 meters in the air the amount of work you are doing is 50 Joules .
Potential energy (PE)- Energy an object has due to its position at a height or in a gravitational field. Potential energy equals mass multiplied acceleration due to gravity multiplied by height. Unit of potential energy are joules. Example: A stretched rubber band is a good example of an object with potential energy.
Kinetic energy (KE)- Energy due to motion. Kinetic energy is equal to one half mass multiplied by velocity squared. Unit of Kinetic energy are joules. Example: The change of Kinetic energy is equal to the change of potential energy.
Mechanical advantage (MA)- There are two different types of mechanical advantage. One being MA real and MA ideal. Mechanical advantage real is how much easier or less force a tool makes a task. Mechanical advantage ideal is how much further or more distance you have to push due to using a tool. The unit for MA real is ¨times easier¨ and the unit for MA ideal is times further. Example: The mechanical advantage of a ramp is the length of the distance divided by the height.
Simple Machine: A mechanical device that helps the project work easier or better. The six simple machines are a lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. On our board we used all of the simple machines.
Reflection
The Rube Goldberg machine was a great way to start off my STEM career. This project was a challenge and really made everyone if our group show our best. Over the couple weeks of the project we had our ups and down but in the end we finished strong. During the project our whole team improved in many different ways including teamwork. Having a project so hands on near the beginning of the year really challenged us to work as a group.
The first day or so of the project our team was already off to a rough start. We all were coming up with different ideas and nobody could agree with one another. We disagreed on different things like what our boards theme should be, the steps, and other small things. As the project went on we all started to get along better and we were thinking more as a team and not as four individuals.
Another problem we ran into during this project was when we were making the screw. We had to get it set up perfectly so that the ball would not get stuck. We had to make sure it was not too narrow or if there was not enough speed for the ball to make its way through. This process included a lot of trial and error and we decided to only loop the tube around once and we also used a smaller marble. Each group member used some of there own strengths coming into the project. For example Luke had experience will 3-D so we had him print out a planet that resembled Jupiter. All group members had different strengths so we all put them to use and taught one another too.
I think because this project was very challenging and hands on it was perfect to start off the year with. Our group went from always disagreeing and clashing heads to working very well. We overcame many different obstacles and in the end we were very proud of how it all worked out.