Popsicle Stick Tower

[EricH]

Originally Posted by merybar

Any ideas?

See the references to 233. Looking at their robots should help. (Not the motion, just the metal.)

[dtengineering]

Can you cut the popsicle sticks?

What determines the winning structure? Greatest weight held? Lowest mass of the structure?

Build prototypes, talk to your woodwork teacher (or read up on line) about making successful glue joints in wood, and think triangular.

Jason

[merybar]

No cutting is allowed. Winner is determined by highest weight and tie breaker is lowest mass.
I have prototyped a design and it holds 90 pounds.

[IBdrummer]

Yea, the triangles really work wonders, but if you end up having extra ps's then you should add more to the bottom.The trick with most pattern structures is to make sure the openings are smaller on the top to increase stability and overall strength

[Rick TYler]

Are you allowed to cut the popsicle sticks? Does the load move? How big is the load? Do you have support the load in a horizontal plane (can the weight move around, or is it suspended)?

Remember that these sticks are made from wood, and wood is extremely strong in compression, just like trees are. Those 250-foot redwoods and Douglas firs are just great big round popsicle sticks standing around. So, make sure you use the sticks like trees -- keep them standing up as much as possible. If you could glue together six sticks together in a long triangular solid structure (picture three sticks glued together in a triangle along their long sides -- it would be as long as a single stick, and only about a half-inch across) it would easily hold 10 pounds, but it would also fall over. That's why I wanted to know how big the weight is. Gluing up a web of that many popsicle sticks on end would probably hold you 10 inches off the ground, as long as you could keep it from tipping over and make sure the force goes along the wood and not through glue joints.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Are you allowed to cut the popsicle sticks?

Question answered...

Originally Posted by merybar

No cutting is allowed.

[Cooley744]

triangles and have supports going throughout the tower like if you were looking at an arial view with no top it would look like this: X

[Ljohn2040]

Try to match your popsicle sticks lengths, eliminate those with warps, cracks, etc.
Assuming there will be some sort of board supporting the weight on the top, make absolutely sure each corner of your structure is the exact same height so that no one corner is supporting more load than another.

Also, google Odyssey of the Mind, they have a similar competition with balsa wood, the structures hold an incredible amount of weight, see the link below.

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/wf20.../bdsc_0141.jpg

[alex1699]

wow now im going to go get some stick and glue.. lets have a contest.... and see who can win.. first to hold the front of a car with a video wins..

I've built a Popsicle stick bridge that held 500+ pounds... The key is I beams. Start by making as many of them as possible, then build your triangular structure out of said I beams.

[TubaMorg]

A nice strong structural shape is an arch. I didn't see any rules against using water. Build a perfect arch template then soak your popsickle sticks in water to make them more flexible and fit them over your template. Clamp them in place and allow them to dry. Maybe double layer of overlapping sticks for each arch. When dry glue them together. Use sticks on base to keep the legs from spreading apart. Make several arches and frame them together with adequate platform to support the weight.