Popsicle Tower By:Jun
IDENTIFY the NEED
The challenge of this assignment is to build the Popsicle tower, which are thin structures that are taller than they are wide. We are asked to have a group of four or five to do this task. Our main goal is to let the tower hold ten textbooks. We need to have sketches, Google Sketch-up sketch and the model of the tower. The materials that we are given are;
• 60 Popsicle sticks
Wood Glue
Tape
RESEARCH the NEED/PROBLEM
What are the three main types of towers and how do they differ?
1. Transmission- Tower is really thin and sharp
2. Cooling- very wide and flat tower
3. Church- it is thicker than transmission but thinner than cooling.
What are some constraints you must consider while building a tower?
1. Tower should stand straight
2. Balance in the bottom must be stable
What is the major cause of damage to a tower?
Precipitation and corrosion
How can one create structural support for a tower?
One can build structural support by creating the base. Just like Eiffel tower, four leg base is the best for stable building.
What are some famous towers and challenges faced while building them?
Eiffel tower, building in high elevation harmed workers’ working habits. Getting imports from other countries were hard
How can you build your tower to withstand a heavy weight?
I will try to make the tower as flat as possible.
What are the three main types of towers and how do they differ?
1. Transmission- Tower is really thin and sharp
2. Cooling- very wide and flat tower
3. Church- it is thicker than transmission but thinner than cooling.
What are some constraints you must consider while building a tower?
1. Tower should stand straight
2. Balance in the bottom must be stable
What is the major cause of damage to a tower?
Precipitation and corrosion
How can one create structural support for a tower?
One can build structural support by creating the base. Just like Eiffel tower, four leg base is the best for stable building.
What are some famous towers and challenges faced while building them?
Eiffel tower, building in high elevation harmed workers’ working habits. Getting imports from other countries were hard
How can you build your tower to withstand a heavy weight?
I will try to make the tower as flat as possible.
SKETCHES
SELECT the BEST POSSIBLE SOLUTION
In these three designs, each of the designs have their own advantages and disadvantages. Taking an example of the second sketches above. The surface of the tower is stable but the fault of this tower is that the leg and the stance is unbalance, which causes the collapse of the tower. I chose the first sketch because the tower is balanced by the diagonal line in between the stands.
PROTOTYPE
TESTING RESULT/IMPROVEMENT
During the experiment, our group was not really sure about the good result because the balance of the tower was not stable and the glue was quite weak. However, we got the opposite outcome than we expected; we were able to hold ten textbooks without a collapse.
To improve our Popsicle tower, we should know the basic knowledge of the tower; the height should be much higher than the image shown. Also, we could add more space of width in order to be more balance and stable. Finally, we could make stronger base to hold the balance of the tower.
To improve our Popsicle tower, we should know the basic knowledge of the tower; the height should be much higher than the image shown. Also, we could add more space of width in order to be more balance and stable. Finally, we could make stronger base to hold the balance of the tower.