Mousetrap Vehicle C

[DarkSparklyUnicorn]

So I’m trying out the half wingnut breaking system hit the problem is that my wingnut doesn’t flip. It just stays in the same position and I’m so confused on why. Any ideas?

The wing nut will flip when the car changes directions, first and foremost. Turn the brake wheels by hand to make sure the nut turns smoothly, and then reverse directions. The nut should flip if there are no obstructions. If there are no problems here, then try troubleshooting while the car is in a run. Although unlikely, make sure the brake wheels aren't breaking traction and not turning.

[DarthBuilder]

So I’m trying out the half wingnut breaking system hit the problem is that my wingnut doesn’t flip. It just stays in the same position and I’m so confused on why. Any ideas?

The wing nut will flip when the car changes directions, first and foremost. Turn the brake wheels by hand to make sure the nut turns smoothly, and then reverse directions. The nut should flip if there are no obstructions. If there are no problems here, then try troubleshooting while the car is in a run. Although unlikely, make sure the brake wheels aren't breaking traction and not turning.

Yeah, I understand that part. The thing is that when I actually try to reverse the car the wingnut won’t go with it it won’t move. The axle moves were rly fine but the wingnut stays there but I want it to “flip over”

[DarkSparklyUnicorn]

So I’m trying out the half wingnut breaking system hit the problem is that my wingnut doesn’t flip. It just stays in the same position and I’m so confused on why. Any ideas?

The wing nut will flip when the car changes directions, first and foremost. Turn the brake wheels by hand to make sure the nut turns smoothly, and then reverse directions. The nut should flip if there are no obstructions. If there are no problems here, then try troubleshooting while the car is in a run. Although unlikely, make sure the brake wheels aren't breaking traction and not turning.

Yeah, I understand that part. The thing is that when I actually try to reverse the car the wingnut won’t go with it it won’t move. The axle moves were rly fine but the wingnut stays there but I want it to “flip over”

Could you post a video of this happening? It is hard for me to think of more ways that the wing nut could be restricted without seeing it in action.

[retired1]

Read the earlier posts. I think that it said that the wing nut had to flat free until it reversed and the would move to become a brake. This will take a lot of trial and error to get exactly what you need.I think that this means your blocking beam for the wing nut tip needs to not be involved until you reverse. IE; the wing nut will initially just rotate with the shaft and them when you reverse it will track down the axle to become the brake.

[PM2017]

Read the earlier posts. I think that it said that the wing nut had to flat free until it reversed and the would move to become a brake. This will take a lot of trial and error to get exactly what you need.I think that this means your blocking beam for the wing nut tip needs to not be involved until you reverse. IE; the wing nut will initially just rotate with the shaft and them when you reverse it will track down the axle to become the brake.

I'm not sure I follow...
How will the beam suddenly stop the wingnut from rotating when it begins to reverse? I had initially thought this method would involve the wingnut being blocked by a dowel going one way, and when it reversed, it would slide along the other side of that dowel, on which there was some sort of "obstacle."

[DarthBuilder]

Read the earlier posts. I think that it said that the wing nut had to flat free until it reversed and the would move to become a brake. This will take a lot of trial and error to get exactly what you need.I think that this means your blocking beam for the wing nut tip needs to not be involved until you reverse. IE; the wing nut will initially just rotate with the shaft and them when you reverse it will track down the axle to become the brake.

I'm not sure I follow...
How will the beam suddenly stop the wingnut from rotating when it begins to reverse? I had initially thought this method would involve the wingnut being blocked by a dowel going one way, and when it reversed, it would slide along the other side of that dowel, on which there was some sort of "obstacle."

Yeah, that’s what I thought too. My main problem was just the wingnut tiself not flipping over when the car reverses. But I haven’t added the obstacle yet on it.

[Things2do]

Attempt to not clutter the thread with quotes and the like. (Click to Show Hidden Text)

[quote="PM2017"][quote="retired1"]Read the earlier posts. I think that it said that the wing nut had to flat free until it reversed and the would  move to become a brake. This will take a lot of trial and error to get exactly what you need.I think that this means your blocking beam for the wing nut tip needs to not be involved until you reverse. IE; the wing nut will initially just rotate with the shaft and them when you reverse it will track down the axle to become the brake.[/quote]
I'm not sure I follow...
How will the beam suddenly stop the wingnut from rotating when it begins to reverse? I had initially thought this method would involve the wingnut being blocked by a dowel going one way, and when it reversed, it would slide along the other side of that dowel, on which there was some sort of "obstacle."[/quote]That's the way I thought it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that didn't understand that...
I agree that a diagram or pictures would be helpful. Also, how would the wingnut spin with the axle in one direction, and then go down to stop on the way back?[quote="DarkSparklyUnicorn"][quote="DarthBuilder"][quote="DarkSparklyUnicorn"]
The wing nut will flip when the car changes directions, first and foremost. Turn the brake wheels by hand to make sure the nut turns smoothly, and then reverse directions. The nut should flip if there are no obstructions. If there are no problems here, then try troubleshooting while the car is in a run. Although unlikely, make sure the brake wheels aren't breaking traction and not turning.[/quote]

Yeah, I understand that part. The thing is that when I actually try to reverse the car the wingnut won’t go with it it won’t move. The axle moves were rly fine but the wingnut stays there but I want it to “flip over”[/quote]

Could you post a video of this happening? It is hard for me to think of more ways that the wing nut could be restricted without seeing it in action.[/quote]

[19sawickin]

This might be a stupid question, but one that's been somewhat of a point of contention between me and a teammate; Rule 3a specifies that "No part of the jaw/hammer may extend more than 1.0 cm beyond the base." To my teammate, this means that you're not allowed to have a traditional arm attached to the mousetrap and the string that wraps around the back axle. This seems a bit strange to me because that would mean that you would attach your string directly to the short mousetrap arm which would mean your vehicle travels practically nowhere.

To me this rule doesn't really change anything from last year - we're still allowed to attach a rod to the mousetrap correct? How have people been interpreting this?

[nicholasmaurer]

This might be a stupid question, but one that's been somewhat of a point of contention between me and a teammate; Rule 3a specifies that "No part of the jaw/hammer may extend more than 1.0 cm beyond the base." To my teammate, this means that you're not allowed to have a traditional arm attached to the mousetrap and the string that wraps around the back axle. This seems a bit strange to me because that would mean that you would attach your string directly to the short mousetrap arm which would mean your vehicle travels practically nowhere.

To me this rule doesn't really change anything from last year - we're still allowed to attach a rod to the mousetrap correct? How have people been interpreting this?

I agree this should not change much from last year. An arm would not be part of the jaw/hammer, but rather something attached to it.

This rule was written (along with the limitations on base size) to eliminate the use of some dubious "mousetraps" that were much larger than normal and were considered dangerous. However, as they were marketed/sold as mousetraps, last year's rules permitted them. One was actually used in the winning design at nationals.

[sciencecat42]

I bought some nylon lock nuts as suggested, but how do they work? I put a regular nut, wheel, then nylon lock nut at the end of the axle, but the wheel still gets loose. Am I using them wrong?

Also, our car doesn't go far enough. Are 2-3/8" wheels large enough? Since I don't want to drop $25 on the banebot wheels/hubs and I don't have a lathe.