Swat Kats: 3d Turbokat Model Showcase

Gundam LED Lights

Bandai sells individual LED lights that work with some Master Grade Kits and Perfect Grade Kits. Though, for every gundam out there it may be difficult to develop a unique solution to get the head unit to light up. For those kits that do take the LED units though, I have come up with a design that will work.

The reason I choose to not import the LED light set is because they are expensive. I don't want to deal with sending them half way across the world when I can build them here AND have them in any color I want. With Bandai LEDs, you are stuck with orange or green, I think.

An example of LED light up eyes.

There are five parts to this device. The LED, the top plate, the batteries, then the bottom plate. I am using plates so that I do not have to solder to the battery. When the plates make contact with the batteries, they will help to complete a circuit. When you attach the negative LED lead to the bottom plate, you must ensure that that portion of the LED does not touch the top plate or a short circuit will result. Use electrical tape for this job.

It might be necessary to use a resistor in this circuit, due to the specs of the LED. If this is the case, the design will be moved into a new prototype stage which will accommodate for the resistor. Until the Jesta gets to my doorstep, I have no idea what the diameter of the LED unit is. I am guessing half an inch, but I want to measure just to be sure.

The drawing is not to scale. It may be that the batteries are way smaller than half an inch- and that may give me room for a switch.

Building My Model Building Station, Part 1

Moving across the country- I packed my supplies and left. I literally cannot do anything until I have a model building work station set up. This originally involved putting it in the living room- but the schematic for my apartment differed from what was advertised- so I have the room in my room to include my model building station.

For all of my furniture we have been using 2 by 4 wall STUDs. I figure it is such a common and strong material that I will continue with it. The model desk has to fulfill a couple of purposes.

1) Provide an area for me to build, sand and paint my models.
2) Provide adequate ventilation of paint fumes.
3) Protect from paint spillage.
4) Protect from water spillage.
5) Be comfortable to work at.

Item #1 is our primary goal. For item #2, a custom vent booth will be constructed in a week or two (no painting is required yet). #3- guard bars will be installed in determined locations to prevent paint jars from spilling over onto the carpet. #4 will involve putting down newspaper and getting a green workpad and #5 is addressed by making it wide enough underneath to fit my legs under, and high enough to match my desk at 29.5" off of the ground.

The lumber store sells Plywood in 4' by 8' sections. I like 15/32" thick plywood for two reasons. It is a prefect mix of affordability and strength in thickness- I would need to support something like 1/4" plywood.

If the top to my table is 60" by 26", we are going to have a lot of left over wood. Being resourceful is taking what you have and making use of it. My roommate and I are constructing an entertainment center for the living room- and we need plywood panels for the exterior. Turns out with some AUTOCAD calculations I can get five pieces out of one 4' by 8' section of plywood- four for the entertainment center and one for my desk. According to those same calculations, I will need four 2x4 STUDs at 8 feet long each.

This design for the station is based off of the design for my desk. It is open source- feel free to use it as you see fit. There are no dimensions on this diagram.

I have found through real life experience that the supports connecting the feet add a lot of stability to the desk. If you were really picky you could add a back support in the back- but my desk is sturdy enough that I don't believe it will be necessary as the load on this desk at any given time does not exceed 50 lbs (23kg).

This is the base design that will fulfill objective #1. To reach the others, modifications will be made to the desk at a later time, especially when the shelf unit for supplies and models is added. The world is your oyster so to speak when it comes to design- just make sure any structure you build can support the load you are putting on top of it.

Manual Paint Stand [Prototype 2.0]

For your consideration. Yes, I was lazy and accidentally crossed a dimension line with another dimension line. In a professional setting that and other things would be fixed. This is free domain: use it and modify it as you wish.

An Open Letter to the Japanese Government

Konichiwa,

My name is Robert and I am writing to you today in an open letter in response to the reactivations of your nuclear reactors in Ohi. While I consider myself an American citizen, I take the larger picture by realizing that I am a citizen of humanity, which is how I will address you kindly in this letter.

As a scientist for humanity, I believe nuclear power can be a safe and powerful way to provide the energy necessary for our economies and civilizations. With the revalation of the March 2011 disaster at Fukushima, I urge you as a scientist, engineer, and as a human being to learn from the lessons of the meltdown in order to make nuclear power safer for the people.

This will mean taking a greater responsibility in your work and analysis, by making sure secondary and tertiary measures are in place to prevent another meltdown, and to maintain proper reactor levels at all times. Unlike our government in the United States, I have faith that the Japanese government will honor these requests in the pursuit for safer energy productions tomorrow. The country of Japan has a strong and noble spirit for tomorrow's future. I know, and I hope, that the tragedies of yesterday become lessons learned tomorrow.

Please take care.

Robert

The Gasoline Problem, and How to Fix It

I won't start with a witty one liner such as "seen the gas pump lately?". We all know that gas has gone through the roof in the United States. Honestly, Europe is looking at us right now, scoffing at our cheapness (gasoline is $8 a gallon in Europe).

Inelastic demand means that a particular demand is less subject to change. In english, everybody needs an inelastic demand. To operate your home, car, or machinery, you need oil. Oil companies know you need gasoline. Gasoline is an inelastic demand.

Say that the demand from United States is represented as "500". At a certain demand, oil companies make a profit. It is supply and demand that will dictate the price of oil, and certainly, the value of the US dollar has a lot to do with it, too. Insert China: 2000, and India: 2000. These two countries alone have increased demand, raising prices on everybody. China and India aren't getting the "benefit" of cheap oil. They are paying for it, too.

Oil companies may say they have lower profit margins, but look how much product they are selling- TONS of oil. Their record profits stem from the thirsty demand of a little less than half the world's population, as they transition into more robust economies and industries. I am not here to point fingers at the consumers, or the oil companies. Can the oil companies afford to lower their profit margins? probably. But as the low hanging fruit begins to get scarce, companies need to dig farther down for oil, which costs more money. When you are moving that much product, it can get costly. SHOULD oil companies share their profits? It is kind of like the current tax system in the United States- I disagree with it, and lawmakers telling oil companies to "pay their fare share" and "setting" prices is tantamount to state control; socialism.

Everyone is hurting, and everyone feels bad about it, for sure. I don't think oil execs are in their back rooms counting the dough, either. At the same time, America needs to become more frugal and smarter with their oil consumption. It is time to stop being wasteful, and start being mindful. Do you know how much money can be saved if you use public transportation? If you are intelligent enough to do the math, find out how much you save. There is a fix to this problem; and the lack of progress makes me raise an eyebrow: electric charging stations.

When gasoline has competitors, it will weaken its grip as an inelastic demand. What if I told you that you can drive for $1.50 a gallon on electric power? And get over 300 miles to the tank? Look into the Chevrolet Volt. The answer to America's high gas prices is to stop paying so much for it. What do you mean by that? I mean start looking at cost saving alternatives. I recognize that there aren't many charge stations out there, and I raise an eyebrow at the oil companies for not investing in that technology (obviously, so they can keep their oil profits). If I need to drive farther out than my tank will let me (now a battery), I will rent a car.

This nation, which was built on cheap oil after the 1900s, needs to face the facts. We will always need oil, and taking our cars off of it will significantly reduce the costs on other oil products- such as home heating. It will clean our environment. It will allow us to spit clean stuff out of our exhaust pipes. If you can break with the norm of gas vehicles, seek out electric vehicles. I am VERY excited about the future of electrics and hybrids for the next 10 years.



There are naysayers out there: both cautiously skeptical and those that are misinformed. I would like to own an electric vehicle in the next 5-7 years. We need to focus on public transportation efficiency (high speed rail) and fuel efficiency. It is the only way to cut down our consumption, and the costs we take with it.

Nuclear Reactor Design Sparks Inquiries

Introduction
So... we know the situation in Japan. Nuclear reactors are failing after one of the largest earthquakes on record, followed by a Tsunami. The earthquake disrupted power transfer to the reactor pumps, and they went offline permanently. Emergency generators kicked in to keep the pump going, and those failed. Auxiliary power in the form of batteries was brought in, and those only lasted so long.

The longer you keep the core heated up, the harder it is to cool it down, it seems. The situation is grim in Japan- the heat is becoming so intense in the reactors that any water pumped in immediately turns into steam. Hydrogen explosions are occurring at the affected plants, and sensors inside the reactors are failing, likely because they are melting.

Nuclear meltdowns can have a catastrophic affect. Nuclear material is leaked from the reactor to the outside atmosphere, where it can be absorbed by plants, creatures and people. The result is usually cancer. Only a few meltdowns have occurred in recent history, citing Chenobyl (spelling?) and Three Mile Island.

My Assumptions
______________________________________________________________________
If naitivity and ignorance are thrown out the window, we can make a few basic assumptions.

1) Beaureacracy across the globe is corrupt in one way or another.

2) Nuclear reactor designs are not reviewed by watchdog groups or verified by government officials.

3) Nuclear energy is a somewhat regulated industry that provides a large fraction of America’s electricity.
4) Engineers and Scientists are often ignored when their input contradicts cost savings.
______________________________________________________________________

I have my assumptions, but first, let’s look at cold hard facts and data. The New York Times published an article on March 15, 2011 (today) that discusses how reactor designs in Japan have been questioned. I recommend reading this article here.

Background
Since the 1970s, there have been various warnings regarding General Electric’s Mark I reactor. Since that time, GE has stated that the reactor is safe and that it has never experienced a documented meltdown. Until now, of course.

The containment unit (CU) in the Mark I design has been described as “weaker” than alternative designs. “Cheap and Easy” was the name of the game in the 1970s. I’m not only describing nuclear reactors- this applied to homes and automobiles as well. In this day and age, the general public puts priority on safety. Marketing divisions of multiple automobile companies have acknowledged this and milk their product’s safety features.

Regulators have had problems with this reactor design early on. Through testing, they indicated that if problems were to arise in the Mark I, that it would be very easy for the situation “to go south and postal”. Regulators cited “unacceptable safety risks” to Congress in the 1970s. Like the Congress of today, their ears were probably full of gunk.

According to regulators and designers, a larger CU was necessary to prevent a rupture due to hydrogen buildup. A stronger CU would help to prevent a catastrophic meltdown, but at potentially higher costs. Regulators found no safety of operational benefits to the Mark I reactor versus competing designs other than the fact that money is being saved from the cheap purchase price.

Responsibility falls on the Industry; Engineers
Because of tradition and industry norms, the nuclear industry (and General Electric) ignored calls to design stronger CU. They argued that doing so would be the end of nuclear power. I believe this statement holds no water (no pun intended).

Now that the general public is concerned with safety in the design of basically everything, the nuclear industry is more concerned with the safe design of reactors. Still, dozens of Mark I reactors remain online in the United States. Our situation is quite different than Japans- we are not in an earthquake prone area. The current director at the Union of Concerned Scientists now says that “not banning them will mean the end of nuclear power”. How ironic.

Congress, and the nuclear industry, need to get their heads out of the sand. Engineers have been ignored on warnings ranging from the Ford Bronco disaster all the way the Challenger disaster. “We need to make these safety changes, but we are being ordered to start production because we can’t afford the time or the money to do so”. Many examples can be attributed to engineers and scientists who were complacent and not careful, but countless situations can be blamed on a lack of industry standards putting ultimate priorities on safety.

The Solution?
The immediate answer is to put restrictions on industry designs, but I have seen no evidence of the government moving to accomplish this. Until that time, it will be the responsibility of the engineers designing future plants to follow through on their ethical and moral concerns. Do the right thing, and object to shoddy design that can put people’s lives in danger.

Japanese Culture
Unfortunately, the culture in Japan is slightly different. Instead of blaming the manufacturer, the plant operators will be blamed for the disaster instead. They (the Japanese) need to not only analyze that potential source, but the fact that the designs may have been shoddy in the first place.

Citations

Zeller, Tom. "Reactor Design in Japan Has Long Been Questioned." Editorial. The New York Times. 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .

Parthenon Development

Back into Solidworks!

My, I get to go back into the world of Solidworks for an art project! This is a quick example of what I am working on: this little thing I made here is not for credit- I did a 1:1 scale of the Pantheon in Solidworks, and "Bob", my mannqeuin, will have 1000 dopplegangers I am placing all around the temple, providing pictures of cutaways and... bob is really there to show scale.

Let's go over how I made an aqueduct: it's a primitive way of transporting water through ancient cities (was it really primitive, or over engineered?).

Here, I am working on the arch work. This is easy to accomplish with solidworks- I work with arches all the time. A few mirrored sketch entities later, and it will be complete. NOTE: The top is not perfectly flat, and neither were all of the aqueducts. Aqueducts needed a gradient to help the water flow downwards, otherwise, what is pushing it?

The resulting extrusion. Note that I will fix the column widths later.

Seriously, I oughta complain to IT, because the computers in this lab have texture packs, and some don't. I found a nice texture pack for stone, so I will use that as a "skin" for my aqueduct.

Cutting out the notch for water to flow through. Back to what I was saying earlier. As a designer, I would rather gouge out the notch here on a gradient rather than build the structure taller/shorter to accomodate the water.

Showing the extrusion cut process for the channel/notch.

Fixed column width. For all intents and purposes, you can stop here.

But to show function, I added a square part (that was modeled transparent blue) to show where the water would flow. Cool, huh? Another interesting tidbit: People would actually steal water from the aqueducts by diverting the water through a primitive "pipe" or channel wherever they wanted it to go. Kind of like stealing cable.

Studying a Modern Engineering Disaster- The TransOcean Oil Rig Disaster

It happens for a variety of reasons: a catastrophe occurs and people begin asking a lot of questions. Regardless whether this was an engineering blunder or not, I always ponder how we can make our equipment safer and simpler. There shouldn't be any kind of pride in using a difficult piece of machinery- the goal is to acquaint humanity with machines in the easiest way possible. If the disaster was caused because of a failure of protocol, there is really nothing that can be done, or is there?


The TransOcean spill was blamed on multiple fail-safes failing at the same time. How did these fail safes "fail"? Did teams forget to replace the parts? Was the maintenance of poor quality? Did engineers design "crap?". As much as we would like to pin the blame on the end user, I would much rather attack the equipment instead. What can we do to make our equipment safer? Pride set aside, did we do EVERYTHING in our power, as engineers, to prevent this disaster?


Hopefully down the road we can all learn from this disaster. It's going to cost someone a job and some corporation billions of dollars, but we went wrong somewhere. Where did it go wrong, exactly?

Using the Law to Personal Benefit: The Spin on Toyota

We live in a day and age where people sue for outrageous things- a burnt lap from a hot coffee at McDonalds, or uncontrollable acceleration of Toyota vehicles. Are Toyota vehicles safe? the answer is probably a "yes".

The story of the California man who had to have his Prius stopped by a police officer's vehicle was bogus, and garbage. Toyota claims this because the timeline of events the driver gave did not match the tape footage, and actions claimed by the driver would have put him into more danger than he was. For example, he claimed that he bent over to pull the accelerator petal, then break. To do so, at 94 MILES AN HOUR, you have to take your eyes off the road, and your posture is not in a good position to drive. Engineers from Toyota, investigators from another engineering firm, and investiators from the NHTSA have analyzed the Prius in multiple tests (some seperate from each other, some together) and they have declared that it is impossible for the car to accelerate on its own.

Toyota did admit that the floor mats were not engineered correctly and could have been causing problems with the Prius's accelerator. Whether Toyota is liable for any damages will probably be done on a case by case basis, in court. I don't think a class action lawsuit will go anywhere; each situation was unique.

The media puts "spin" on everything to attempt to gain more viewers. You really cannot trust the mainstream media to provide Americans with straight forward information. I will name names- ABC News and FOX News. I don't watch the news anymore on TV because of the potential for "spin", and it has gotten so bad that magazines and newspapers contain "the latest scoop". Save that crap for gossip magazines, or has everything become a gossip magnet lately?

I'll still read the local paper. At least it provides information of events happening around our area, with little or no spin. The media has fooled us again- all in the name of viewers and the "story".

From my facebook:

"I've driven a prius on two occasions- once to campus, and a few times while my truck was in the garage. I never had a problem with the vehicle, the floor pad, or the accelerator-in fact it was a joy to drive."

Moral of the Story: Don't Mess with the Amerians

I was eating breakfast this morning in the cafeteria when CNN had a "breaking news alert" saying that a tanker piloted by an American crew was hijacked by Somali Pirates. I said good luck to the pirates, because you don't mess with the US Navy- and either the Seals got to the pirates or the crew has balls (or acorns) of steel, because they retook the ship and disarmed the terrorists. Three are apparantly in the water with one captive- now THATs what I call running a ship! These pirates need to get their act together if they are going to appear professional- or mount some 50 cals on those tankers- pressure them to fire at you, then the navies of the World have to step in.





But why not listen to the Engineers? Throw in one of those handy USV crafts (Protector USV) to do the job! It's a somewhat expensive solution, but you do get more entertainment in blowing up Somali Pirates.

Data Studio

Data Studio is a program used by many Physics Departments across the country- and our Physics labs here at Penn State Use Data Studio. The program is very versatile in measuring resonance, temperature, forces, and so forth. Today we completed an experiment to calculate heat transfer from water to a certain metal. Data Studio allowed me to measure the time, temperature, graphs and even a table telling me the initial temperature, initial data and a nice graph and chart that can be printed. Data studio, in general has allowed me to complete more accurate experiments by using software that is accurate.

Inside Solidworks by David Murray

Inside Solidworks by David Murray allows one to sharpen and hone their skills in Solidworks and learn more advanced techniques. The book assumes that you know the basics of Solidworks and the book works with you on each project and offers advice as to where you may make mistakes. Although the book is written for Solidworks 2006, it should work with either SW07 or SW08. Our class is using Solidworks 2008. This is a great textbook and I highly recommend it- though the readings can be tedious they are informational and helpful.

FES from Venezuela: College of Engineering at Berks

Excerpt from Penn State Berks:

Barbara Lombardi, a materials engineering major at Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, Venezuela, is completing her summer internship at Penn State Berks, where she is working in the college's engineering laboratories. The internship began on June 7 and will conclude on September 9, 2008.

During the internship, Lombardi worked with ceramic gas sensors that detect the presence of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The goal was to learn how sensors are integrated into a system and to investigate the materials physics behind how the sensors operate and how they convert a physical parameter into an electronically measurable property.

Lombardi worked under the supervision of Dr. Dale Litwhiler, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State Berks. Litwhiler purchased the actual sensors and then he and Lombardi built circuits and developed software to control data acquisition equipment to create gas detection systems.

When asked about the practical applications of the internship, Lombardi explained, "This information is useful for monitoring the quality of air and it is less expensive because we construct it. If Professor Litwhiler can build a network of sensors, he can install them in all the classrooms at the college to monitor air quality."

During the internship, the role of teacher and student were reversed when Lombardi taught Litwhiler about ceramic gas sensors.

"I wasn't as familiar with the material physics of gas sensors, but through her work, she was able to explain to me how these devices work," comments Litwhiler. "It was a good way to share knowledge."

Litwhiler and Lombardi had a limited budget, so they improvised on how they tested the sensors, building test chambers out of coffee cans. They used their breath to test for carbon dioxide and car exhaust to test for carbon monoxide.

After Lombardi returns to Venezuela, she will complete her studies and plans to graduate in January 2009. She plans to either take a job in industry or pursue post graduate study in advanced ceramics, possibly in Italy where she has family.

When asked why she decided to travel all the way to Penn State Berks, Lombardi stated, "I wanted to improve my English and have the opportunity to conduct research. In the school I attend in Venezuela, they do not do much research."

The internship also had benefits for the college. Litwhiler will be implementing the air quality monitoring system on a trial basis in some of his classrooms this semester.

Solidworks 2008

Solidworks 2008- new at Penn State Berks.

Doing some basic commands in Solidworks.

All the buttons are now condensed and easier to find. Takes some getting used to, though.

This morning was enjoyable in that Penn State has updated their Solidworks program to the 2008 version. I got the privilege of using it this morning and I wanted to post about it. Solidworks is a CAD program (Computer Aided Design Program) where one can create parts, bodies, etc. I have created things from doggy doors to workbenches to television sets.

This edition of Solidworks is a lot cleaner, is sharper looking, and the buttons are easier to find. The edit sketch or edit feature button can be selected right away from a window menu above a said section in the command manager. Even nicer- they cleaned up appearances/textures/colors of parts- they are all now in one button, which brings up another small window. Click on the box you want- color the body, a face, etc and it will do all the work for you.

Initially I didn’t like this new edition because I am used to Solidworks 2007, but after giving it an hour I like the new edition (I still need to find out where things are!). I am taking the EGT 201 course at Penn State, or Advanced Spatial Analysis. Now we are given something and are told to put it into Solidworks.

Back In Again- Reporting from Penn State

As I thought, University Park has not turned my internet on yet so I am forced to remote post (I carry the word document on my flash drive and do the classic copy/paste into blogger) until I can get internet access back in my room (via ethernet).


Things are going alright for the time being. I like my suitemates; they are very considerate and are rational like myself. They are freshman though- which is fine- I applaud their sincerity and I wish every other student here would follow their example. My roommate is cool too- though I have not seen much of him lately. He was not back in the room last night so I am a little worried about him.


I have managed to get Cable TV working and thanks to my mother I have a small 13 inch TV hooked up in my dorm room- she gets the job done. I put out my Mighty Muggs (recently got Jango Fett and General Grievous) and my Tallgeese III as well. I was an idiot and locked my keys in my cupboard today- thankfully housing had a pair of bolt cutters (it makes me cringe that these "high quality" padlocks are snipped in a second).


I am thrilled to be back on campus and to continue my research. I am looking forward to diving into Penn State's databases, but unfortunately my article writing takes a back seat to classwork and freetime. In short, I need to do my Physics homework before writing articles about things that interest me- that will probably be a thing I can do on the weekends.


In physics we are covering waveforms (easy) and in Strength of Materials we are starting axial loads and analysis of internal forces on a member/body. In Product Design (quickly becoming my favorite) we are learning machining processes and in a few weeks welding (I can't wait). Processes including using a milling machine, lathe and grinder- basically stuff that can remove fingers. My education from high school (3 years woodworking and a year of manufacturing techniques) helped to establish an overall foundation in machine safety- don't be stupid.


Not suprisingly almost every face in all of my classes are ones I have seen before at some point. As EMETs and METs move on with their education, classes become smaller and topics are more thorougly discussed. It's good to eat at the cafeteria again and it is amusing to watch the nervous freshman. I am so happy to be back on campus and I can't even begin to ponder going home again for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Another Modeler's Merkava Tank. I would love to give mine a flat coat of desert sand and then weather it with my pastels- I have the right ones for the job.

I would love to do this camo job on my M113- Personally the Browner shade is too vibrant here, but does the job, though.

*Sighs* I have picked up a few more models to add to my evergrowing stash (CURSE SALES!). I bought an M113 Personnel Carrier today at HobbyTown USA (Vietnam era armor) and the other day at Trains and Lanes I picked up the Israeli Merkava and the M4 Sherman "Jumbo". All were on sale. The Israeli Markava should be a fun and easy build (albeit time consuming) and so should the Sherman- but I want to do a camo job with the M113. I just bought a Pegasus ME-262 Messerschmitt too! *sighs* looks like thats getting pushed back, too. I will also be making progess on the Enterprise when I can get the time in.

Engineering some Really Annoying Problems with the Enterprise

Unfortunatly I don't know where my camera is, so I won't be able to take too many photos at the moment. (August 2008 update- I am going back and fixing images where I can -Rob).

I want my 1/350 Tamiya USS Enterprise to have sound- and for a while now I have been fiddling with a sound box. Sitting there waiting for it to dry, I had an ingenious idea. I cut a book sock book cover in half and inserted the speaker into it. I pulled the material behind the speaker and used a hair tie to tie it back. BADA BING- I now have a speaker with a proper amplifier and baffle. She sounds great. I made a "control panel" for the speaker by drilling a hole into balsa and drum sanding the said hole. The Ipod sits to the right (attached with tape for the time being) and the entire setup sits snug into the Enterprise. Better yet- it is 2 inches off the bottom of the hull, meaning there is a smaller chance of something frying due to water intrusion if there is mild flooding.

Since super glue has been working so nicely for me, I super-glued the steering mechanism permanently to the Battery and electronics housing so the unit is one piece. I did this because fiddling with two seperate units is time consuming and annoying- the wires from the steering to the electronics are taped to the side of the battery housing, and not only that- the steering mechanism is centered perfectly (the rod is, anywhoo) for the rudder system. For the rudder system, I will implement my roommate's adjustment system for the push rod- adding even more customization and ease to the build- if something isn't turning correctly then I can simply adjust the rod to whatever length I want it to be at. I have a guide for it- I can just look in the Missouri and see what he did.

Here is the big cojone- I solved the prop shaft to motor shaft connection problem. Heat shrink tubing really wasn't working too well- so I looked into getting tube stuffing because it was recommended by R/C Naval Combat enthusiasts. Instead, I tried a what if, "what if I put the prop shaft into the square tubing?" and as I did I began to laugh maniacally and I used the spoonerism "WHO SAID I COULDN'T FIT A SQUARE PEG INTO A ROUND HOLE?" (it was the other way around). As luck would have it the motor shaft fit too. I got all excited and ran upstairs for a battery to test it out. I was on a fast paced course and I was getting near the last hurdle, then:

brickwall. ouch.

The entire system worked isolated from the body (hull, [ Gosh I sound like an engineer ]), but only for 10 seconds. The motor slowed down and called it caputs. I did a few more tests, this time with a half of another prop rod. The system worked perfectly isolated outside the hull. From this I can write the following equation:

[ LengthX=Torque1]

where X is proportional to the mass of the prop shaft material. The motor shaft is approximatly 1:10 the length of the prop shaft and it appears to be made out of aluminum or some steel alloy. I think the motor is trying to spin this thing, and it certainly isn't spinning inside the connector- it is stopping. I think I worked the horse too much and it got tired and called it caputs. The solution is to make X smaller or get a motor that will generate more torque to equal Torque 1.

where [Torque1=Torque2]

and

where [Ttotal=Iα]

where Torque 1=torque of the motor, Torque 2=torque of prop shaft, Ttoal= Torque 1+ Torque 2, I=moment of inertia, α= angular acceleration.

So now we are back to a Physics I problem.

Torque= (moment of inertia)(angular acceleration). From this equation, it can be assumed that the longer the distance (moment arm), the greater the Torque necessary has to be. When torque 1 was exerted, it attempted to spin the connector and the prop shaft, creating torque 2. However, torque is influenced by (moment arm)*(force). It will require a greater force to move a heavier object (the brass rod). The mass of the brass rod is directly proportional to the length of the rod- the shorter the rod, the less torque necessary to rotate it.

Thus, since the DC motor barely changes speeds on a Nicad battery source, the shorter the material means less mass- which in turn means that the prop will spin faster. So with this in mind, we can conclude that:

[The mass of the prop shaft is directly proportional to the torque and angular speed of the motor.]

There is a loophole here. Although length is a major factor, we can make it an insignificant factor. How? By using a different material. Aluminum (or an aluminum alloy) has been known to compete directly with many steels. The point here is that aluminum is MUCH lighter than brass- which is a combination of zinc (roughly 40% zinc) and copper. Copper has corrosive resistant properties, but the mass of bronze is too much for these motors to handle. Thus, I need to get my hands on some aluminum or a lighter material, somewhere. I am also thinking about trying tubing instead of solid rods- but tubing has a greater chance of corrosion and damage when I attempt to repair it. Tranes and Lanes along with Hobbytown USA should have a good selection of lightweight tubing and rods.

Aluminum is so light that it will make length negligible. I will update when I try some things out. Actually- I just thought of something. It could be that the motor is spinning inside the square connector, but it is slowing down due to the load because the motor is trying to turn inside the tubing- but the friction is too great for it to accomplish (that is why I chose it). I am going to get some of this tube stuffing stuff since the motor shaft has points of contacts all around the inside of the tubing, meaning that there is no mechanical energy lost in trying to rotate inside the tubing.

Hey, what I said above still applies though- but I thought that the brass could turn with the motor. Maybe I should do both!

What can I do with 20 tons of glue and 814,000 Toothpicks?

This 0__0

Understanding What Really Happened to that Crane in New York

This has been in the news recently that a crane "collapsed" in New York while on a construction site. I believe the mass media has mis-interpreted the situation and has quite a few facts wrong. As an engineer, I am going to put my two cents in here.

A crane is known as a cantilever- an edge or beam that sticks out from a base. Some news agencies are reporting that the crane fell, and some are reporting that the crane snapped "in half like a toothpick" and I am more inclined to believe that the crane actually did not fall onto a building, because witnesses claimed that the crane snapped. When that crane snapped, it took a few pieces of the building with it. So why did this happen?

A cantilever's beam supports a certain amount of weight, and the base to the cantilever is secured and is engineered to support a certain amount of weight. Let's arbitrarily play with numbers here and say that the maximum lifting weight for the crane is about 500 pounds- which means the crane cannot lift anything more than 500 pounds. As the crane extends towards the sky, the same weight will produce more stress on the members of the base. The problem is very simple- and it is a problem of momentum and torque. When a crane lifts an object, there is considerable stress on where the crane broke in two. If you catch my drift and know what I am talking about here- the crane lifted more than what the maxiumum capacity would allow. The incident was caused by the workers failing to follow proper precautions when operating the machine. In short, it is the operator's fault. When weight is lifted by the crane, that weight wants to cause a rotational motion with the cantilever- but the supports in the base will not let it.

Even if the crane did "fall" on a building, the cause is the same- they were lifting something heavier than the recommended maximum lift capacity. I am not inclined to believe that the crane fell unless they were lifting some ridiculously heavy material and were not set up properly, thus causing what is known as impending motion- and eventually tipping.

The media, as usual has blasted this and has not understood the situation in it's entirety. I think the mayor also is out of line citing that what happened is "unacceptable", and I think he should speak his mind rather than trying to appease the public by giving them an answer they want to hear. Instead, he could have said he would investigate into the practices of workers and worker safety. A lot of the time the problem is caused by a problem "down the line", which means it could have been a supervisor's order to lift more than what was recommended, if that is the case then that person is at fault and could face charges.

A "collapse" is comletely different then something snapping in two. Case and point: a collapse is the fall of a structure to the ground. Since weight produces a rotational motion about some point on the crane, in which that point is the point where the most rotational force is applied, then a cantilever can never "collapse" unless the base was poorly constructed. Reports cited that the cranes were inspected- and I say that there was a 0% chance of the crane being defective. I've said before that inspection can be at fault here, but after looking at the crane I would say inspections prior to this incident were probably spot on.

Folks need to get their facts straight before blowing things out of proportion- goes to show how accurate the media really is. I will keep an eye on what the safety report finds- and I bet a ham dinner I am right, or close.

edit- I get my ham dinner and turkish delight! There was a bribery scandal with one of the supervisors (or inspector?) on duty that passed things along to get things done. Regardless, the crane collapsed having a weakpoint and lifting too much......