Rube Goldberg Machine
- A complicated devise that achieves a simple task in a complex, over-engineered manner
In our Rube Goldberg Project, our ending task was to activate an easy button. The requirements for this project was to incorporate 5 different simple machines, have at least 10 steps, along with a minimum of 4 energy transfers. Our 5 different types of simple machines were listed as multiple inclined planes, two pulleys, a wedge, and finally a motorized wheel and axle. We included many dominoes into our machine which exceeded the necessary amount of energy transfers by a wide margin. Some other energy transfers we had, without the dominoes, were the yellow ball falling into the pulley and the black marble rolling off the inclined plane. We also passed the amount of required steps. The steps of our Rube Goldberg Machine are seen as followed.
1). Ball rolls down inclined plane
2). Ball falls into pulley
3). Pulley lifts wedge releasing the black marble to roll down the inclined plane
4). Black marble rolls down another inclined plane to hit a soccer ball
5). Soccer ball rolls down plane and down a slide
6). Soccer ball hits a train of dominoes rising up stairs
7). Last domino hits a lever (mini yellow bucket) to dump a silver marble down a track
8). Marble rolls down red slide
9). Marble rolls through an angled pathway
10). Marble hits another set of dominoes to activate the golf ball
11). Golf ball rolls down an angled inclined plane to a mini set of dominoes along with two 0.1kg weights
12). Last weight hits a sensor
13). Sensor activates and automatic wheel ad axle which is attached to a pulley
14). Pulley lifts tape that pressed down on the easy button to announce, "That was Easy!"
1). Ball rolls down inclined plane
2). Ball falls into pulley
3). Pulley lifts wedge releasing the black marble to roll down the inclined plane
4). Black marble rolls down another inclined plane to hit a soccer ball
5). Soccer ball rolls down plane and down a slide
6). Soccer ball hits a train of dominoes rising up stairs
7). Last domino hits a lever (mini yellow bucket) to dump a silver marble down a track
8). Marble rolls down red slide
9). Marble rolls through an angled pathway
10). Marble hits another set of dominoes to activate the golf ball
11). Golf ball rolls down an angled inclined plane to a mini set of dominoes along with two 0.1kg weights
12). Last weight hits a sensor
13). Sensor activates and automatic wheel ad axle which is attached to a pulley
14). Pulley lifts tape that pressed down on the easy button to announce, "That was Easy!"
There is tons of physics that is apparent behind our steps to the Rube Goldberg Machine. There are 5 major physic concepts and equations that played an important role in our project. First we calculated the potential energy of the ball rolling into the pulley. To solve for potential energy, you multiply the mass of the object by the acceleration due to gravity and finally by the height of which it falls. So in this case the yellow ball weighed a total of 0.01403kg, multiply that by the acceleration due to gravity, 9.8m/s², and by the height of 0.4m. In result, the potential energy is 0.0055J. Joules (J) is the scientific unit for potential energy. Second, we calculated the velocity of the black marble rolling down the inclined plane. To solve for velocity you divide the distance (0.21m) and the time it took the marble to roll down the ramp (.51s). The marble resulted with a velocity of 0.4m/s. Third, we also calculated the force of the soccer ball hitting the first domino as it came out of the slide. To find the force of an object, you multiply the mass by the acceleration. In result, the soccer ball had a force of 0.073N. Force has a unit called newtons which originates from the creator, Sr. Isaac Newton. A concept used in our project was a theory called toppling. Toppling is clearly relevant in our machine from the three setts of dominoes that contain this concept. Toppling is defined as when the center of gravity of an object is outside the area of support creating it to fall, but when the center of gravity is above the area of support, the object remains standing. Lastly, we calculated the mechanical advantage (MA) of the two pulleys. Both pulleys had a mechanical advantage of 1. The mechanical advantage of a pulley is solved by counting the number of strings used, not including the one being activated. Many physics equations and concepts have been used throughout our project.
There have been many successes and setbacks in the process of creating our machine. One, success that my group and I both agreed was key, was our time management. In the majority time spent on our projects, my group and I were ahead of the others which represented how well we were on task. Another achievement that we were extremely proud of was our teamwork and collaboration skills. The three of us worked well with each other by showing great appreciation towards all of our crazy and creative ideas. Of course there were setbacks, that are almost inevitable to avoid in a group project. One setback we had was coming up with a solid idea to transition from the red slide to somehow activating the pulley. It took a lot of brainstorming and experimental checks to finally achieve that one solid idea. A second obstacle we had to overcome were all of the little tweaks that continued to occur. Our major struggle was making a smooth pathway for the silver marble to get through without constantly getting stuck. A minor tweak we had to make was scraping the idea of using dominoes to start the machine because of their inconsistency.
All of the accomplishments, but specifically the setbacks, helped me gained new skills and taught me new lessons that will definitely benefit me in the future. For example, as my group and I were brainstorming some frustration occurred which made it difficult to come up with a strong idea quickly. This taught me that patience needs to be used rather than frustration to solve an issue. I also gained more knowledge in how to properly use hardware tools. Even though I was a little apprehensive about using them, I was proud of myself for what I did achieve with the tools.
I also recognized some aspects that need improving such as taking more initiative in the leadership role, and having a better form of confidence for me and my group members. In some cases I wish I would have taken more ownership of the situation, instead of allowing my group members to decide what to do for me. Confidence in my abilities is something I definitely need to improve on so my group members can trust me more and so I can prove to myself what my real potential is. I will always continue to make improvements to better my group members and also me as a person.
I also recognized some aspects that need improving such as taking more initiative in the leadership role, and having a better form of confidence for me and my group members. In some cases I wish I would have taken more ownership of the situation, instead of allowing my group members to decide what to do for me. Confidence in my abilities is something I definitely need to improve on so my group members can trust me more and so I can prove to myself what my real potential is. I will always continue to make improvements to better my group members and also me as a person.