Representation of the project:
Collaboration, critical thinking, and organisation were essential parts of this project. Within this engineering challenge, we were given the task of creating a small building that was “earthquake-resistant” and would remain intact after being shaken. We were given the following parameters:
-Buildings had to be made only of the materials provided blutack and spaghetti)
-We had a budget of $60 to spend on materials with one spaghetti costing $1 and blutack costing $1 per gram.
-Buildings had to have a minimum height of 60cm, a maximum base of 30 cm x 30 cm, and a flat platform on the top that is at least 5 cm x 5 cm.
Overview of the engineering process:
We started the engineering process by defining our problem, generating ideas and researching. We also started drawing up diagrams of our design. We created this design with the help of our research which allowed us to understand what specific design features would help us in seismic waves. Our diagrams were detailed; they included labels and explanations for why we wanted to use certain features. Once we had finished our diagrams it was time to begin construction; we gathered the necessary materials and finished building the tower. Sam and I tested the first prototype before making some changes to account for how top-heavy it seemed and how fragile the base was.
If I were to change the process, I would likely have researched more thoroughly. In the end, only one of our spaghetti tower’s features likely had any impact whatsoever, the triangles. In the planning stage, we hoped that stacking several layers (increasing the height) would help the tower to sway, rather than shake. In practice, this did not seem to help and the one design feature that we had left to rely on was the triangles which could carry some weight. In saying this, I would aim to do further research on actually beneficial design features and incorporate them into our structure.
Collaboration:
I felt collaboration was a bit of a struggle during this investigation in some respects. The role given to us was fulfilled quite well in this investigation. I feel that I did well as a project manager and reporter since I strive at organising and setting deadlines. Sam also did particularly well as a speaker and equipment manager since he is a more outgoing and talkative person. Our struggles lay in the amount of work that we each received and that we each felt that the amount we had was overwhelming. Naturally, this resulted in some complications but we were sure to find solutions that would help us balance our work more.