Define the Problem
Generate Concepts
- We decided to modify the default design because it had a light 3 wheeled layout and room for breadboard. However, we did want to add 2 gear trains, and supply the power to both of the back wheels so, they would be able to push the car instead of being pulled. We did believe that the wheel sizes were efficient for both designs so we kept those the same.
- We also decided to use a series circuit design because we believe it will preform more efficiently then through a parallel circuit, based on data from the 1.3.1 activity
Develop a solution
FINAL DESIGN
CIRCUIT DESIGN
Construct and Test Prototype
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Evaluate Solution
- Through the process of creating our good car I have become more comfortable building with VEX and have also learned how to wire breadboards. Although I am not fully self sufficient it is very helpful to know how to wire the boards to make the power sources supply the energy needed to our cars. After this project I can now use this experience with wiring solar panels, hydrogen cells, and batteries in future projects.
- Our car won first place in our class race, and was the winning of the finalists race! I was very excited that our design was efficient and that all our hard work paid off!
- In the beginning we decided to use the default design and modify it. We first began by creating a wider base for the power sources to fit in, and so the front wheel could be in the center of the car. We also decided to add 2 gear trains to each side of the car, powering the back wheels. At first we tried to attach the motor to 1 small gear at the front of the train, but found that this made our car very slow. After realizing that the input gear needed to be larger we moved the motor to the larger gear and flipped it to the outer end of the axle, supported by a bracket.
- The major mistake we made was attaching our motor to a small gear. This decreased our gear ratio, which made our car extremely slow. However, when we corrected our mistake and applied the motor to the large gear our car was extremely fast. Also, I personally struggled with the circuit, and wiring but Noah was able to explain some of the mistakes I make and we created a functioning car!
- Although I did struggle I have now learned the basics of circuitry and once again familiarizing myself with the VEX materials has made me much faster with building and finding quick solutions to problems.
Present Solution
FINAL DESIGN
Electrical energy production using renewable energy sources is very efficient for the Earth, but not always the most productive. The solar panels and fuel cells produce energy, but the amount is very little compared to those of non-renewable. Also, for the renewable sources weather would need to be taken into account, because the solar panels uses sunlight to create energy, if it was cloudy it would be very difficult. The renewable sources are also much bigger and harder to design around than the batteries, which are easier to attach in a machine. This proves why we don't use renewable resources as much as non-renewable resources for electricity in the real world. Non-renewable resources are more efficient and reliable in the short term, but in the long run, we will wish that we had used more renewable resources sooner.
Extra Credit
Our car won first place in our class, and won in the finalist race!🥇 +6