Designers: Drew Blackwell, Justin Reed, Sam Johnson, Tim Mrozinski

Device Overview  A single domino is triggered thus causing a chain of collisions between five dominos.  The final domino collides with a trigger, which causes a rotating wheel to deliver a marble to a series of PVC pipes.  The marble rolls through an arrangement of pipes, and comes out to hit near the top of a secured hammer.  Once the hammer is activated, it falls and hits a balance held intact by a hinge.  The balance, having rotational velocity from the hammer, launches another marble, which is at rest at the opposite end of the balance, into a funnel.  Finally, the funnel guides the ball vertically and hits a Styrofoam board and knocks it over to reveal our banner.

Building the Project

Materials and Cost Overview  Item:Cost:  Funnel$0.50  Dominos$3.00  PVC pipe$5.00  Marbles$1.00  Hinge$1.50  Hammer$3.50  Aluminum catcher$1.00  WoodProvided  NailsProvided  AdhesivesProvided  Total Cost:$15.50

Calculations  Dominos: conservation of angular momentum  Down the PVC Pipe: Translational energy  Hammer: Torque  Marble Launched from Balance: Projectile

Summary and Design Issues  In the end, our project was a success, but it required much more testing and designing than anticipated.  The dominos worked smoothly with little design and testing required.  In contrast, the wheel was a difficult mechanism to construct. Also, we had to perform much testing so the wheel would deliver the marble to the pipes consistently  The pipe track did not need much testing, but moderate effort was needed to hold the track up at the right height.  The hammer hitting the balance took the most testing and designing due to the inaccuracy of the hammer falling and the marble launching. After much work, we were able to modify the system to obtain the precision needed.  Our banner display worked well since the marble could be delivered perfectly through a funnel every time.

Conclusion  We were successful in getting our project running efficiently.  Also, we adequately implemented four different laws of physics in the design (projectile, translational, rotational energy, and torque), and achieved the final goal of raising a banner.  However, we did not have a quick and easy build; the design looked simple on paper, but many tests and modifications had to be made.  From this project, we learned the importance of teamwork. Furthermore, we adapted successfully to flaws in our original design which allowed us to make the system work.