| The basis of the vehicle is a “bow” like propulsion system where the mousetraps work simultaneously in the same direction saving energy that many vehicles require to trigger a second mechanism. The method for reversal is a screw on the drive shaft that permits us to counter wrap the pull string. This means on direction of propulsion on the way down and a stopping and reversing of direction on the way back. Bigger wheels are used to give us more wheel rotations per axle rotation without the friction of gears. The aluminum frame made it light and fast enough to turn in a good time but strong enough to withstand the force of our mousetraps and rubber bands (over 30lb on the return trip!). |
The Nights Who Say Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-z'Bang, zoom-Boing, z'nourrrwringmm
Team Members
Team Members
In alphabetical order:
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Adam Aaron... -
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Jeremy Ozer -
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Natty Zaharia -
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Aside form a large brass frame, all of our Phase 1 prototype features made the final cut, including big wheels, bow mousetraps, and clamps that make the rear wheels adjustable for steering. To polish it off, we added rubber bands to the mousetraps in the end to give them far more power than ever before. Since the rubber bands tend to be at high tension and have a low lifetime, we developed a modular system, allowing them to be easily replaced before they wear out. Oddly enough the method also resulted in 2X the power for each of our rubber bands. With our car, we are most proud of the fact that there is a part of each and every team member in the car and not a single member did any less than the others.
| Early Cars - | There were several early prototypes built as proof of concept. Although these cars did not function well, they showed us the magnitude of the challenge we faced. |
| Phase 1 Car - | This car had a soldered brass tubing frame, which was very stong, and almost as light as aluminum. The frame was large, which allowed for lots of experimentation with different configurations. Our phase 1 car could make it over 35 feet with only one mousetrap, although quite slowly. It was also the first car to be able to successfully go 25 feet. |
| Phase 2 Car - | This car introduced the modular Aluminum L Beam frame and the slightly smaller 9" wheels. Using 2 moustraps, it could complete the course in about 6 seconds, but had serious stearing problems due to the small rear axle, and the fact that the pull of the mousetraps and rubber bands would actually pull the adjustable front axle out of its clamps slightly. |
| Phase 3 Car - | This car is very similar in construction to the Phase 2 car, with fixes for the issues that the Phase 2 car had. The longer frame and rear axle allow for more precise steering, and the fixed front axle makes it impossible for the mousetraps to move it. |
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Above View of the Phase 3 Car |
View of the Propulsion module |
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The car fully dissasembled into modules during maintenance |
Winding up the car can be a challenging two person job with over 30lb of force in the propulsion module! |
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Natty updating the jornal with the latest ideas and specs |
Some of Natty's excellent sketches to work on during the next design day |
Some of our best times in the Phase 2 car were around 10 seconds, but the car lacked consistency on the course for staying inbounds. As for our phase three car, the car has times in the area of 12 seconds but is 100% reliable on staying in bounds. The mousetraps are somewhat flimsy, but are modular, as well as many other units in the car to allow easy replacement and repair. The rubber bands, which often break, are easily changeable. Also, the fishing line is designed to break if too much tension is applied as to not bend the frame under the force of our vehicle’s propulsion system. We can redo the rubber bands and lines in under a minute, due to our modular system.
| Prototype | Time |
| Phase 1 | 12 seconds (one way only) |
| Phase 2 | 7 seconds (unreliable) |
| Phase 3 (Final) | 7-12 seconds (100% reliable over 9 trials) |
Adam - The hardest part of the project was getting the most possible power out of the mousetraps and rubber bands without making the system unreliable. Between the pin on the axle and the rubber bands on the mousetrap, I think we nearly optimized the power producible by the system. We did need to sacrifice some speed for reliability, but we still feel our car is competitive for the grand prize.
Jeremy – For me, the hardest part of the project was getting started. Once we got going, things started to fall into place, but until we started, we were very much overwhelmed by the number of things that we COULD do, and not having any idea of what would work, or work well.
Natty - I believe the hardest part of the whole thing was coming up with the basic design in the very beginning. It actually took the least amount of time, but I had a whole bunch of ideas that were all far too complex. Then one of us came up with a brilliant idea that looks nothing at all like our car does now, but that idea started everything moving and began the evolutionary process that got us to our final product.