Tower Project Testing Results

On May 31st of last year, former Principles of Engineering student Jayden Silva designed and built a stage that weighed 9.9grams and held 36lbs of force before failing. For almost a year Jayden held the record. That was until today. No matter what the remaining towers test at, we will have a new total weight leader. Lets start with the second tower tested.

Tower #2 - Take a close look. The first internally braced tower.

 

This student went with internal bracing and the results proved out the design. At 9.7g, the tower held 25lbs before failing. 

Tower #1 prior to testing.

The tower which got everyone talking was #1. Weighing in at 15.3g, this is the tower that set a new record of 65lbs of applied force. We still have two more towers to test so we will not announce the winner just yet but the bar has been set pretty high and it will take another well designed tower to beat our new all time leader.

Can this new record be broken? Stay Tuned.

Attention all Seniors taking Engineering classes

Tomorrow, May 25th, is the last day for regular type classes for Seniors. If you are unsure as to your current average, make sure to see me. Remember, if you have maintained an 88 or higher in any of my classes, the final is optional. If you would like to take the final in an effort to potentially raise your grade, you are more then welcome to try with the knowledge that even if it doesn't work out your grade will not suffer.

Good Luck to all Seniors.

Construction Career Day Information - May 2nd

To all students attending the Construction Career Day

1. Please report to the main entrance (right outside the Cafeteria) between 7:30AM and 7:45AM. Don't be late or you may be left behind.

2. Arrive in proper clothing. Anyone showing up without the proper attire will not be allowed to attend the field trip. Bring rain gear because being wet for an entire day will ruin your day not to mention your health.

3. Bring food in case the food provided by the construction site does not meet your needs. We will not be stopping on our return trip.

If you have any questions regarding anything concerning the field trip see either myself of Mr. Griffin to get your answers. 

Construction Career Day Permission Forms are Due

To all students who have earned their Construction Permission Form:

If you have not returned your Construction Career Day Permission Form, please get it signed by the appropriate parent or legal guardian and return it ASAP.  If you cannot attend please let Mr. Falcon know so he can invite someone else who can attend.

Remember, the field trip is Next Week. So lets get those forms returned quickly.

Thank you.

Balsa Wood Bridge Compeition - 3rd and final testing result.

We had two bridges tested on the final day of this project. The first bridge tested was designed and built by Ladymire Ortiz Gonzalez. Her bridge weighed 16.2 grams and held 10 lbs of force. We need to look back over previous bridges built because Ladmire may have build her bridge with the lowest budget ever. For those of you not familiar with the project the students are rated on two things: Efficiency AND Total Costs.

So keeping your costs down are vitally important to a good project.

     Our next bridge tested was designed and built by Travis Le. His bridge weighed in at 15.1 grams and his bridge held 7 lbs of force. Interesting enough we are going to check previous bridges to see how close his bridge came to being the lightest Truss Bridge ever built.

  Stayed Tuned, when all results have been calculated, we'll post the winner. 

Balsa Wood Bridge Competition - 2nd Test results

Our second bridge to be tested was designed and built by Jonathan Beaudry. His bridge weighed 19grams and held 15lbs of force before failing. As a point of interest, this was the first ever K-Bridge design attemped for the principles of Engineering Class. Because of the extension given due to MCAS, expect 2 more bridges in the next few days.

 

Balsa Wood Bridge Competition - 1st Testing Result

Our first bridge to be tested for the second semester in the Principles of Engineering class was designed and built by Emily Ferreira. Her bridge weighed 19.4 grams and held 12lbs of force before failing. If everything works properly, video of the test should be posted by tomorrow. 

Bridge Project Extension

Notice to all Principle of Engineering students, the original due date for the Balsa Wood Bridge Project was this Friday, March 23, 2012. As you can see from the pictures below many students are very close to completing their projects on schedule.

The First K Truss to be attempted.

 Unfortunately MCAS testing has caused a number of students to miss class. Because of this an extension has been given.

Putting on the final parts

The new due date for the Balsa Wood Bridge project is Wednesday, March 28th, 2012.

Finally our first bridge to be tested should occur tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan we should have both pictures and video of the results. Stay Tuned. . 

Construction Career Day Update

Three Points of information.

1. We should have a final date and participation numbers in the next 2-3 weeks so keep an eye on this site for more info.

2 IF there is a limit to the number of students who can attend from Durfee High School priority will be given in the following way.

•  Students who have never attended before.
• Seniors
• Juniors
• Grades (if needed)
• Attendance (if needed)

3. Please keep in mind that any student limit imposed on upon Durfee High School will include Mr. Griffin's Construction Classes.

As always, when information becomes available I will post it here as soon as I have it.

Bridge Project ends next Friday

Reminder for the Principles of Engineering Class

The Balsa Wood Bridge project ends March 23, 2012. That's next Friday. Make sure you plan accordingly. 

Also once you conclude your project, which means project report is complete and on the server, you will work on your OSHA 10 certification. 

If you have any questions or concerns, see me ASAP.

Final Design Process Testing

Our final stage to be tested was built by Ladymir Ortiz Gonzalez. Her design included square columns supporting an octagon shape. Testing went well and the stage held 95lbs before failing.

 Great Job to all students who completed their stages. The student's next project will involve improving written and oral communication and will finish before Winter Break. Upon returning, the Balsa wood bridge project begins. 

More Stage testing results

The next stage to be tested came from Jonathan Beaudry who pushed the boundaries a bit by going for a height of 3 inches instead of 2. Because of the X2 multiplier gained by his height he reached a held weight of 30lbs.

Travis Le provided the second stage of the day and came away with very good results. His stage held a total weight of 95lbs for the required time.  

First Stage Tested for Design Process project

Our first stage tested was designed and built by Emily Ferreira. She went with triangular column support system at a height of 2inches. Her stage held 70lbs for the required 5sec before failing.

To the remaining student, keep in mind all reports and testing data is due Friday, Feb 10th.  

Egg Drop - Surprising Testing results

Our first tester on Day 2, who also went with a cone design, was Zadan Ly. Once again the results mirrored Day 1's result with a broken egg. Next up was Luis Torres who decided to use popcorn as his internal cushion.


 

As you can see from the above picture the results didn't pan out but the class appreciated the tasty snack that followed.  But the most surprising of all results had to be from Anthony Amparo. To say that Anthony went with the simplest of designs would be an understatement. His design was that of an egg carton. A plain old carton and it worked.

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Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the other great designs due to half the class being absent. So congrats to Anthony, Well Done.

Egg Drop - 1st result

Our first design to be tested came from Joshua Leite. It weighed in at 138.1 grams and took 1.19 seconds to cover the 30 ft drop.

 Unfortunately, the cone design did not prevent a sideways landing. Stay tuned for all the remaining drops tomorrow.