While the mechanism of the product works, it doesn’t work for its purpose. The main problem is that any type of string or rope inserted through the wheels stops the motors, meaning the resistance is too low. Sadly, it is a problem I can’t fix as it is a problem with the materials given and used, and not the mechanism itself. However, I am quite proud of the circuitry and base we’ve successfully made throughout this project, and if it were to work then we would be done after inserting a string and adding the final directory part. I would improve the materials we use and ensure that it works with the string prior to building, and also use parts that were meant to be together, as the skewer we had to use due to the wheels being too large caused the wheel to spin slightly slanted. This project is quite environmentally friendly as we mainly used wood for the base, which could be reused if needed. The potential customer if the product had worked would have been fascinated with the capabilities of the product, and could even learn physics from it after searching up the scientific concepts involved online. Our product could be used to create future scientists and help spark their interest in different scientific toys. Finally, our product met the criteria as even if the purpose didn’t work, the mechanism converted chemical energy stored in the batteries to electrical energy to mechanical energy that made the wheels spin, the wheels spinning also create sound and thermal energy in the process.

This video was taken after we finished the initial layout of our product, and there were some circuitry logistics I was confused about. In order to connect two motors to one battery pack, there must be two negative circuits to connect to each motor, however, the battery pack only had one. I discovered this by observing the diagram above on how to create a circuit with a switch and two motors.

Mr. Hussack helped us build a small prototype of the circuit to test if the circuit would actually work, and the concept was plausible with the materials provided. In the video, it could be observed that the circuit does indeed work, but requires tying two negative circuits with the battery pack negative circuit in order to have enough for the two motors. In conclusion, the prototype circuit was a massive success and gave us the green light to move forward without any worries about circuitry. However, this new discovery meant that there was an increased amount of parts to solder, as I needed to solder the circuits together to ensure that they were secure and electricity could flow well throughout the circuit.

It was actually Hajin’s suggestion to solder all the circuits together after he saw the prototype where we tied the wires of circuits together to connect them. He thought that soldering would not only make the circuit more stable but it also increased the neatness and aesthetic appeal of our product. Discovering that we need a new circuit system completely changed how our product looks on the backside, making it vastly different from the initial sketch we had beforehand, however, this could also be seen as an improvement to the string launcher since now the circuit is actually possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The initial sketch for the string launcher is shown above, we figured out how to build the mechanics through a DIY video discovered on Youtube. The build required techniques such as soldering, drilling, and laser cutting, and a proper understanding of circuits as we needed to connect two motors to just one battery pack, the motors also spun in different directions depending on which side was positive and negative. I already knew soldering from a circuits class in seventh grade, and laser cutting I could learn by asking one of the design teachers that worked with us during the project.

Our task is to create a product based on one of the four criteria: a toy that converts energy, utilizes a renewable energy source that converts to electrical energy, a device that transfers energy, or a device that can be used to learn physics.

I considered the four options and chose to make a toy that converts energy as it is most appealing to my interest. I recently saw a product named “string launcher” online and instantly thought of it when faced with the criteria; it was perfect- a toy that converted energy in the order of chemical, electrical, mechanical to kinetic, it transferred energy in the process, and it could even be used to learn physics. However, this toy wouldn’t be suitable for kids too young as they might be confused about how to set up and use the string launcher, which negates its effects as a physics concept tool (although that is not the criteria I have chosen). Furthermore, three-year-old kids might eat the string thinking it was spaghetti.

Other products I considered were a basketball launcher, chemical energy to elastic energy to kinetic energy, which I thought was too generic as I already had a project where I had to create one back in middle school. A marble run, gravitational energy to kinetic energy, I personally thought the idea of a marble run was genius but then the string launcher captivated me even more, I also thought the marble run was too simple and I could create more in the time provided. A frisbee launcher, chemical energy to elastic energy to kinetic energy, which I thought was too difficult and the materials would be a hassle to find online. Therefore, I chose to make the string launcher which was already my initial idea anyway.

Writing after I finished all the building, some pros and cons about the product have to be addressed. The product is very unique and many seemed interested after watching some demonstration videos online, all the materials required could also be accessed at school and it didn’t require incredibly advanced techniques in the build process. However, the product was still quite difficult to build as it required a basic understanding of circuitry, and all measurements had to be incredibly precise, or the mechanism wouldn’t work. In addition, the most difficult part is that there is a time frame we have to complete the product, so there aren’t a lot of chances for failure.