2023 Competition
Operation: Zipline Delivery System
Introduction
Online shopping has hit an all-time high, and the age of mall shopping seems to be coming to an end. Because of this, your team has been sought out by a new mail delivery service. Zip-O’s mail delivery is a start-up that would like to use the convenience of ziplines to deliver packages ordered online from the post office to homes nearby. They are putting together a pitch for their stakeholders and would like to pair with a build team to help with the demonstration. They have tasked your team, among others, with building a mail carrier that can ride down their ziplines and drop packages to the houses in town.
Your task is to build a mail carrier that freely rides along Zip-O’s ziplines that have been provided and can deliver packages to predetermined destinations. The company has asked you to prepare for several different types of shipping, as everyone knows standard and express shipped packages are to be handled two different ways. They also asked you to equip your carrier with the capability of delivering multiple packages in one run. Your carrier’s capabilities will be demonstrated in three different rounds. The first will be standard shipping, a low “slow” zipline. The next will be express shipping, a higher and steeper zipline than previously. Finally, the last demonstration will show the capabilities of delivering multiple packages while on a singular route.
Click on each link to learn more about each competition round!
Design Requirements
Dimensions: The dimensions of the Mail Carrier cannot exceed one cubic foot. The carrier needs to ride below the zipline to accurately lineup with the targets. The Diameter of the zipline is 5/32”.
Weight: The weight of your mail carrier is not to exceed 25lb. The link to the cord used is below:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/550-PARACORD/459593415
Cost: Budget of $50. Provided materials are not included in this budget. Teams can scavenge for parts, but must account for half the cost of said parts for the project’s Bill of Materials (BOM).
Example: If a team scavenges an extra motor that cost $12 if purchased, the cost assumed would be $6.
Provided Materials:
Bearings (4)
Optical Sensor (1)
USB Cable (1)
Battery Holders (1)
Pulleys (2) You will be required to use the 2 provided by GDMS
Servo Motors (2)
Arduino Board (1)
Dropping Device: This device is at the discretion of the team, but is considered a part of the Mail Carrier and therefore can not exceed the cubic foot dimension. The package must be in freefall after ejection from the Mail Carrier. The Mail Carrier can not be loaded with more packages than what is required for each round.
Controls: The Mail Carriers are not allowed to be equip with a motor drive or braking system. The carrier is expected to ride freely along the zipline. Day of competition it is asked that each team bring with them a laptop or flash drive. If a laptop is not available, General Dynamics will have one that the teams will be allowed to use, but will also be shared among other teams in need. This will be for the purpose of programing the carrier with parameter information that will be provided day of.
Safety: Must pass the pre-competition safety inspection. For any questions or concerns be sure to ask first before incorporating something questionable into your design. Students will not be allowed to stand below the zipline, in case of falling objects.
Calculation of Final Score
The final score will be the sum of the total points from Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3, and the team with the highest score will be chosen to partner with Zip-O’s Mail Delivery for the demonstration. The poster board competition will be scored separately.
Poster Board & Presentation Competition
In addition to the performance test competition, a poster board must be created. This poster should be of professional quality, visually attractive, and demonstrate an understanding of the principals involved in the engineering design process. The maximum size of the poster board shall be no larger than one 3-Fold Poster Board or equivalent surface area of a 3-Fold Poster Board. A list of recommended criteria is given below:
1. Title
2. Team Name
3. Define the problem statement in your own words
4. Summarize the goal of the experiment and expected outcome (what can you achieve).
5. Describe your design process (Ex: brainstorming ideas/research conducted, assumptions, key decision areas, how final design was chosen, code excerpts, etc.)
6. Calculations (Show at least basic calculations that were used in the design process—for example, the overall reach of your crane)
7. Engineering Sketch or Engineering Diagram of your design.
8. Modifications available during competition (if applicable).
9. Budget and Bill of Materials (BOM).
10. Challenges faced during the project.
See Figure 5 for a Poster Board example. NOTE: the poster board does not need to be limited to this layout, teams are encouraged to be creative.
Teams are expected to utilize the poster while presenting a short pitch (5 minutes) to judges that all team members participate in.
Figure 5: Example Poster Board Layout
Competition Winners
There will be separate winners for both the performance test competition as well as the poster board competition. The scoring for each competition is completely separate and does not influence each other. The poster board competition and performance test competition will have prizes awarded for 1st . All participants will receive a certificate of participation.