Rube Goldberg Machine

For the Rube Goldberg project this year, each group was challenged with the design and construction of a Rube Goldberg machine following a list of set criteria. The projects would then be judged by a panel of professionals who would grade the machines based on looks, functionality, and understanding of the physics behind the project.

The theme for my group's Rube Goldberg project is Bob Ross. We decided on this theme both because we thought it would be a fun topic to work with, and because we enjoy Bob Ross' works and find him absolutely inspiring. He was a kind, peaceful man who did what he loved while helping others, and poses as a great role model for young people today and forever. Bob Ross had a very eventful life, including a military career prior to his years filming The Joy of Painting. Unfortunately, he died on July 4, 1995 at the age of 52 years from Lymphoma. My group and millions of others enjoyed watching his show and painting along with the charismatic artist.

The way that we incorporated this theme into our project was by following one of the tutorials created by Bob Ross in The Joy of Painting. We painted the board that our project was built on to create a background image that related to our theme. We based our painting off of Ross' Mighty Mountain Lake, featured in episode 12, season 16 of his show. Our painting is shown above.

Here are some of the required criteria that this project is judged on:

    • 10 steps - The machine uses at least ten steps to complete the simple task
    • 5 simple machines - There are five simple machines incorporated into the completed machine
    • Theme - Final product clearly reflects the theme
    • 4 energy transfers - The project includes at least four clearly explained energy transfers
    • Physics calculations - Each step is clearly explained from a physics standpoint, including calculations
    • Record of construction - Construction log is kept and work is well documented
    • Schematics - Clear and complete blueprints are drawn to scale
    • 3 elements of design - At least three elements of design are used, explained, and reflected in work
    • Aesthetics - Project looks nice and well put together with high quality of construction
    • Presentation - Graphics are clean, project is discussed with clarity and understanding of work
    • Questions - Students answer questions well and understand the project and work they've done
    • A final task - The goal that the machine accomplishes

10 steps

  1. First lever tilted
  2. Second lever tilted
  3. Squirrel rolls down ramp
  4. Squirrel hits marble
  5. Marble goes through spiral
  6. Marble falls in cup
  7. First pulley goes off
  8. Wheel and axle spins
  9. Second pulley goes off
  10. Catapult is released

5 simple machines

  1. Lever - steps 1 & 2
  2. Inclined plane - step 3
  3. Screw - step 5
  4. Pulley - steps 7 & 9
  5. Wheel and axle - steps 3 & 8

4 energy transfers

  1. The squirrel runs into the marble, transferring the it's energy to the marble
  2. When the marble falls into the cup, it transfers the pulley's potential energy into kinetic energy
  3. As the weight falls, it transfers it's own potential energy into kinetic energy and increases the catapult's potential energy
  4. As the catapult is released, it's potential energy becomes kinetic energy.

Our final task was to catapult paint onto a piece of wood that we had mounted to the board. The end goal relates to our topic, Bob Ross, in the regard that it involves paint.

RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE

To the left, you see our Rube Goldberg machine slideshow. It includes a record of construction, calculations for each of the 11 steps, our three elements of design, and some more information. We organized our information using this slideshow, and used it in our presentation, allowing the audience and judges to easily access all of the information we gathered.

Below you will see a video of our machine working successfully, but it does not fling paint onto the wood because we did not load the catapult with the paint. Later, when tested with paint, the machine completed the task, but made quite a mess.

Content

Velocity - The speed of something in a given direction

Acceleration - A vehicle's capacity to gain speed within a short time

Force - Strength or energy as an attribute of physical strength or movement

Work - The exertion of force overcoming resistance or producing molecular change

Potential Energy - The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors

Kinetic Energy - Energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion

Mechanical Advantage - The ratio of the force produced by a machine to the force applied to it, used in assessing the performance of a machine

Calculations for each of these topics can be found in the slideshow above.

IMG_2113.MOV

During this project, I felt that I was very productive. I always had something to do, or would find something to help out with if I didn't. I learned how important it is that everybody in a group do their part; especially if only a short period of time is given. This also means that it is important to collaborate and communicate with your teammates. One thing I could've improved on is my focus. Though I always had something to do, I wasn't always working as efficiently as I could be. Especially in the first three weeks; but after doing a reflection on our work so far, I realized this and I feel that I did a good job of changing that. Another thing I could have worked on based on my collaboration grade from my teammates is empathy, as well as communication.

To the right is our blueprint for the machine. It is drawn to scale with labeled measurements. It helps to visualize the process our machine follows and the steps we took to construct it. You can see each part and how it works.

The machine is started by tilting the first lever upwards. This tilts the second lever, creating a ramp for the car (squirrel) to travel down. When the squirrel reaches the bottom, it knocks the marble onto a ramp and into a screw. The screw releases the marble into a cup connected to a pulley which, when activated, spins the wheel and axle. The wheel and axle then knocks down a weight on a pulley, which releases a wedge and sets off the catapult.

Here are the links to my teammate's websites: