Construction Day 1

Today, our group decided to meet up at James’ house to start with the construction of our rollercoaster.  Our initial plan was to cut 5cm by 50cm strips of cardboard and use stainless steel wire to support it. Our vehicle was designed by Kevin which consisted of LEGO pieces. He designed it specifically which allowed us to slot the cardboard strips between the wheels and upper body of the car. After shaping the zinc plated wire into our roller coaster design, we decided to put it to test. Unfortunately, there were many flaws in this particular design. The zinc-plated wire was rather rigid and unable to hold in place. We as a team made assumptions and came to the conclusion that this occurred due to the elasticity and thickness of the wire. It was extremely tough and rigid and could not be supported by anything to keep it upright. Furthermore, the vehicle was having trouble running along the cardboard which resulted in a loss of energy, hence could not go up hills.

Zinc Plated Wire

Double-decker LEGO car designed by Kevin

(The cardboard slots in between the two layers of wheels)