Rube Goldberg Machine

What is a Rube Goldberg Machine?

A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that achieves multiple complex steps in order to complete a simple task. Each step causes a domino effect on the future steps, meaning every step connects to the next without any pauses. The machine was named after an American cartoonist named Rube Goldberg. One of the most famous examples of a Rube Goldberg cartoon is, "The Self Operating Napkin". I have two examples of Rube Goldberg cartoons below.

The Self Operating Napkin

Boom Box Post

The Task

The task my group (Nathan, Ben, and I) had to achieve was constructing a working Rube Goldberg machine in about fifteen days. The theme we chose for our group's project was A Day In the Life Of A High School Student, because for the most part there is the same sequence every day. In our project we involve pencils and other pictures that represent school and a high school student's day. In order to engage the crowd, we started off our project with a double lever because it looks clean and makes you wonder whats coming next. The goal of the project was to create a smooth, working Rube Goldberg machine that contains at least 10 steps, 4 different energy transfers, and 5 unique simple machines.

Rube Goldberg Video

Final Product

Our group was very proud of our final product. We ended up with 10 steps, the final step being the pulley that pulls the bed sheets forward symbolizing going to bed at the end of the day. In our group, I came up with most of the design, I helped calculate the mechanical advantage, acceleration, velocity, potential energy, kinetic energy, and force. I also did all the main design points, and drew all the pictures. The main features of our project are the double levers in the beginning, and the pulley at end.

Original Blueprint

This is my first blueprint on how I planed on my group's project looking. After making this, our group realized that most of the steps were illogical and would not work with what we were trying to achieve. Not only was the measurement scale unattainable, but some of the steps were simply too complicated to complete in the amount of time we had. Once we accepted this, we started to stray from the blueprints. However, we made sure to stay on track with our overall idea.

Final Blueprint

In our final blueprint you can see we have a few less steps than the original blueprint. However, it is an overall more organized project. The measurements on this blueprint are more accurate than the original. Also it is more clearly labeled and has a clear end movement.

Construction Log

Day 1- Developed theme and discussed steps for project.

Day 2- Started blueprint.

Day 3- Finished blueprint.

Day 4- Painted board and found necessary supplies (marbles, cups, ramps, and PVC).

Day 5- Constructed first ramp and measured dimensions for lever.

Day 6- Drilled lever to board and started construction for second lever.

Day 7- Finished second lever ans screw.

Day 8- Drilled ramps to board, glued foam and cardboard wedge.

Day 9- Drilled wood barrier and painted ramps purple.

Day 10- Drilled wooden blocks and cut block to represent dinner.

Day 11- Drilled “dinner” block, drilled bed to board, and constructed pulley that attached to the sheets.

Day 12- Found energy transfers, elements of design and started drawing decorations.

Day 13- continued decorations and started construction log and calculation.

Day 14- Finished decorations, started blueprint and continued calculations.

Day 15- Finished blueprint and calculations started presentation.

Day 16- Practiced presentations.

Steps

Drop large metal marble through hole in board down a ramp.(acceleration- 4.16 m/s^2)(velocity- 3.58 m/s)
Marble drops into cup triggering a lever.(MA ideal- 0.36)
Lever lifts upwards and hits another lever. (MA ideal- 0.36)
Ball sitting on second lever rolls down into a board with hole. (KE- 0.00051 J)
Marble rolls down a spiral.(velocity- 0.71 m/s)
Marble hits a toy car which rolls down a ramp. (acceleration-1.78 m/s^2)
Car hits marble sitting on a wedge.(force- 0.008 N)
Marble drops down and rolls down wooden blocks.( PE- 0.033 J)(KE- 0.0036)
Marble rolls down a steep ramp.(acceleration- 1.79 m/s^2)(velocity- 0.34 m/s)
Marble drops into a cup, which is connected to a pulley, which pulls the sheets on a bed.(MA-1)

Simple Machines

Ramp- “decline” plane- This is a simple machine because it slows down the acceleration of the marble rather than free-fall by making the distance of height reduction over a larger space
Lever- This is a simple machine because since the fulcrum is closer to one side of the PVC pipe when a force is put on the shorter side, the larger side will inevitably go up further.
Screw/spiral- This is a simple machine because it slows down the acceleration of the marble by extending the distance it has to fall by making it do gradual circles
Wedge- This is a simple machine because it hold the marble in place with it’s triangular shape
Pulley- This is a simple machine because it changes the direction of force and makes it easier to lift a certain object.

Energy Transfers

In step 2, the potential energy of the marble falling in the cup makes the hand on the other side of the lever go upwards which is transferred to kinetic energy.
The marble in steps 3 and 4 goes from sitting stationary (potential energy) to rolling down a ramp (kinetic energy).
In step 7, the marble sitting on a wedge goes from potential energy to kinetic energy when it is hit by the toy car.
In step 10, the marbles potential energy in the cup makes the sheets on the other side of the pulley gets pulled forward.

Three Elements of Design

Contrast- painting the board white and the ramps purple makes them stand out rather than having the project the same color
Balance- Making the steps go in a zig-zag pattern and making them fill up the whole board make the project visually balanced and appealing
Movement- Making the ramps gradual, makes the ball move slower, which makes it easier for viewers to watch each and every step.

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