Tag: Phase II

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Communication ECA Phase III Class 6: Pneumatics: Scissor Lift 20180411

The theme of today is scissor lift. The scissor model composes pneumatic components including cylinders, pumps, air valves, air tanks, and manometers. In the process of building models and conducting tests, the students got a deeper understanding of the design philosophy and working principles of the pneumatic system, which built a solid ground for the next following more advanced pneumatic application models. This section is a good illustration of the air storage system in the pneumatic system.

The STEM information behind this section is the application of pneumatic systems. The cylinder piston rod output forces can be calculated by multiplying the air pressure to the piston area. All the students finished the model and the experiments. They are ready for the next more advanced pneumatic systems.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 6: Click-Clock 20180411

The topic of today is the Click-Clock that uses a pendulum system to keep tracking of time. A pendulum is a mechanism with a string hanging from a fixed spot with a weight at one end that can swing back and forth. The click clock model we built today is exactly the same mechanism as the grandfather clock. Today, engineers also use them for detecting earthquakes and helping buildings resist shaking. Engineers use pendulums to measure how fast a bullet is flying and to help robots balance.

The STEM information of Click-Clock is the physics rules of the pendulum. The pendulum’s period is only affected by the length of the string, and the mass of the bob as well as the swings through angle (smaller than 57.3 degrees) don’t affect the period of a pendulum. This unintuitive fact was verified by the students’ three test, they were amazed by the beauty of physics.

The model is relatively complex for some student even though they worked as a team. Students with different level should be considered. The swinging part is the most troublesome to cause model building failure.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 5: Tower Crane 20180404

The topic of today is the Tower Crane. A crane is generally equipped with ropes or chains that can be used both to lift or lower loads and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more pulleys to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of freight, in the construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.

Two students first built three models with different pulley systems, then they conducted loads lifting experiments by using the built models. The speed and capacity of three tower crane models were compared. It’s clear to the students the crane who could lift heavier load had a lower speed. The STEM information behind this section is the mechanical advantage of pulley mechanisms. All students finished the model and experiments, they enjoyed the class.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 4: The Letter Balance 20180328

The topic of today is the lever study using a letter balance model. The students first built a letter balance model, then they conducted the experiments to weigh various amount water to feel the level balance rule. The STEM information behind this section is the level balance. The level model composing of a four-bar mechanical mechanism, which is one of the most common and important mechanisms in industry. It will be discussed more in the following classes.

Due to an unexpected situation, the students were encouraged to design their own solutions to measure objects with different weight quantitatively. They all successfully solved the problem innovatively.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 3: The Windmill 20180321

The topic of today is the windmill. The students built a windmill to learn the energy conversions between wild energy and rotational energy by the blade mechanism. Windmills were used to mill grain, pump water in the history, but the majority of modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate electricity, or wind pumps used to pump water. In the class, we used a weight as water to mimic the pumping water process. The STEM information behind this section is the energy transformation as well as force and motion concepts.

All students finished the model and conducted tests with a different level, they enjoyed the class. The ability level of the students vary, thus it needs to arrange them wisely to make sure all of them can at least finish the model building part.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 2: The Walker 20180314

The model building of today is the Walker. The students built a big cricket (a legged robot) to learn the basic knowledge of mechanical balance and friction. The legged robot is comprised of four legs with a wheel at each end, it can walk with different leg lengths. The walk motions are power by one electrical motor. The motor axis kinetics are transferred by a worm gear, and then to the legs. The STEM information behind this section is the basic mechanical mechanism and concepts including a worm gear, static friction and geometrical balance of machines. All students finished the model and conducted tests by changing the legs’ length to compare the walking speed and balance.

The students had a lot of fun after finishing the model building and lab tests. They used their robot as battle robots to compete with each other. Even though we are still trying to teach the students more STEM, it works better if we can teach them with fun.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 1: LEGO Digital Designer: Screw 20180307

Phase II is the middle-level class of Play2Learn Education Lego Challenge Program. In the next 8 weeks, the students will have good opportunities to learn and practice the basic mechanical mechanisms including lever, wheel and axle, pulley, wedge and screw.

We started the Phase II by the LEGO Digital Designer (LDD) class. The main reason is we would like to teach the student the skills to use the LDD so they can have more time to do their own Lego designs. The LDD program allows users to build models using virtual Lego bricks, in a computer-aided design like manner. We taught the students the basic skills to use LDD, such as how to pick parts, how to save the file, how to rotate part, etc. The students get familiar enough with it after some instructions and practice. They were then requested to build a screw model in LDD following a step by step booklet. The STEM information behind this section is the computer-aided designs, which is common in industry designs every day. All students got a good practice with LDD, and they were ready to design their customized models.

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PBP Phase 2: Final Class

Today we had a mostly free build period as the class went wild with their ideas in Lego digital designer. The ideas and designs presented by the students were all excellent and they built some truly impressive creations. As for the free build what ended up happening is that most of the students attempted to build a massive wall across the room. The kids definitely seemed to have fun in phase 2 and we hope to see them again in phase 3!

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PBP Phase 1: Class 7: Crane

Today we built the Crane and learned a bit more about the block and tackle which we had covered in previous lessons. The kids were determined to lift as much as they could today. Next week we will be building objects that the students designed in lego digital designer. Please help the students clean up after class. 

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PBP Phase 2: Class 6: Lego Digital Designer

Today we started the kids on Lego Digital Designer (LDD) a 3D Computer Aided Design program that allows kids to design lego sets without having to purchase lego directly. The students initially had some problems locating the parts however they quickly started to grow accustomed to the menus and as it is their first time working with the program it will take time to get accustomed to it. 

Next week we are building a crane

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