Design Process

Design on Bridge Designer

2. We drew out our design

We spend some time playing around with the bridge designer and discuss about how are we going to build our bridge. We came up with different ideas and try it all once and we came up with this first scratch design

We added some design because we think its gonna make the bridge more stable, after that we measure and calculate out every part of the bridge so later on we know our material requirements

3. Then we used TinckerCAD and ModelSmart3D to stumulate our design online.

3D model of our bridge

ModelSmart 3D

4. Building the bridge deck

We used wood stick and wood plank to build the bridge based on our previous digital design

5.Building the Pillars

Then we divided into two groups. One groups worked on bridge piers, and the other group worked on other structures of the bridge because we almost ran out of time

6. We put all structures together and tested it.

We faced some challenges as we're putting it together because we found out some issues such as parts not being straight, big gaps between components, etc. To combat this, we used wooden sticks to straighten everything out.

Video of our bridge

Project Reflection

This week, we as a group were much more collaborative as this project was more hands on and required many people to work on it. As this was a faster week, we did struggle in a few areas. The first struggle was getting the final digital design completed as we kept debating on different models to use. This was primarily the case when working on Bridge Designer as we had to keep extra factors in mind such as cost. At some points, we prioritized cost over safety. However we realized this and quickly switched our focus.

Another part of the project which we struggled in was putting all the components together in the final physical build. As we had run out of resources, we could not make our bridge flat. We had to use balsa strips to try and make a pathway. However, this meant we could not attach our trusses properly.

The biggest issue we faced was the lack of stability in the bridge. This is a factor we had not considered during the design phase. The instability is something that is difficult to replicate on computer and can only be tested in real life. As our pillars were attached to the main structure by a wooden strip, it made every movement of the cart unstable. As seen in the video, left side slips first leading to the collapse of the bridge. This is the lack of stability being displayed.

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