My Projects: Catapult

 

As an Assignment for an general engineering class I'm taking we must participate in SUU's Engineering week starting tomorrow. This nationally recognized week is full of competitions around the country and our university is no different. There are categories for pine-wood derby cars, paper airplanes, model speed boats and my favorite the catapult/trebuchet comp.

 

The Rules: I chose the second competition which is purely for range. The contestant whose machine throws the golf ball the farthest wins. Catapults or trebuchets in the range contest may be built from any materials, but no chemical energy storage devices (batteries, explosives, etc.) may be included. Mechanical energy storage such as springs, elastics, compressed gas, and weights working in a gravity field are allowed. The devices in this category must have a footprint on the floor or ground no greater than four feet by four feet and must be no more than 4 feet high in any configuration. For trebuchets, the height envelope does not include the sling, but it does include the throwing arm. All shots will be made from the same location on the floor or ground. Contestants will have 2 shots for record. The longest shot wins. In the event of a tie, the winners will get one more shot and the longest wins.