Reflection on Construction
Materials Bought and Budget
Choice of Construction Methods
Since wood was used for the majority of the trebuchet, each segment was drilled to provide firm joints. Every piece of wood was measured and re-measured to be sure accurate dimensions were taken before cutting. Additionally, to figure out the angle to cut the supports for the swing arm, trigonometry was used as well as a couple back up methods, such as overlaying the item to be cut next to the adjacent pieces to be sure everything was precise. If we were to do this project again, we would probably know better what materials to use as well as have more of the wood pieces cut at Rona's since although having an electric handsaw was convenient during the building process, it was not quite as accurate as a table saw would have been.
Choice of Construction Materials
Wood was used for most of the trebuchet because it was cheaper and lighter than metal. Bristol board was used for the glide track along with the cut outs from the swing arm, creating a smooth and reduced-friction surface as well as more cost effective and easier to make than a wood plank cut with an inlet. Paint was used to make the trebuchet more visually appealing as well as advertise our group website. For the release system, in accordance with the proposal, four eye hooks (to provide stability) were used, two drilled to the swing arm and two to the base and worked well to control the trebuchet arm during firing and changing the masses out. After dismissal of the first two counterweights used it was decided that to provide the mass without having a great amount of height for the counter weight,
removable dumbbells would be used. It would have been better to buy the same kind of wood for everything so that the budget would have been easier to tally and extraneous leftovers could be used.
removable dumbbells would be used. It would have been better to buy the same kind of wood for everything so that the budget would have been easier to tally and extraneous leftovers could be used.