Our original brainstorm design that we selected was in a triangular shape with an equilateral triangle truss system. We decided to change it after attempting to lay out our design since we would have to glue the craft sticks at an angle. Instead, we changed to a rectangular shape and to be more creative, we glued the two truss pieces together. We also decided to not put our truss system in the back to conserve materials and be more efficient.

Our crane held 3,443 grams. It snapped at the place the crane connects to the tower. This is because one of our supports. It was adding pressure to the area instead of releasing it like we had planned. The wood started cracking here after a very small amount of weight.

If I were to redesign my crane boom, I would not have supports directly under the crane touching the tower. Instead, I would put the supports inside the boom. We should have stuck with our original triangular design. This we learned was a better approach.