Towers B/C
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Re: Towers B/C
<---CL
corner of load block
NOT TO SCALE angle iron Leg
steel bar
the dimension we're looking for
all dimensions in cm 0.3175 1/2 width of steel bar
3.536 one half the diagonal of the load block
-0.3175 0.449 diagonal across leg
-0.449
-0.071 0.071 diagonal across angle iron
2.6985 0.520 the diagonal across the leg+the angle iron
Also can we discuss this part a little bit? Some of the lines aren't there but you can refer to the excel sheet and you'll see it. Row 43 it starts. in general I'm confused about what this means.
1. What does CL stand for?
2. Is this the view from up top? Birds eye?
3. So the 3/32nd jig will look like a trapezoid from side view, with the top length being 2.65 cm?
Still trying to understand it, could you maybe highlight the most important info? If not I'll just keep looking.
corner of load block
NOT TO SCALE angle iron Leg
steel bar
the dimension we're looking for
all dimensions in cm 0.3175 1/2 width of steel bar
3.536 one half the diagonal of the load block
-0.3175 0.449 diagonal across leg
-0.449
-0.071 0.071 diagonal across angle iron
2.6985 0.520 the diagonal across the leg+the angle iron
Also can we discuss this part a little bit? Some of the lines aren't there but you can refer to the excel sheet and you'll see it. Row 43 it starts. in general I'm confused about what this means.
1. What does CL stand for?
2. Is this the view from up top? Birds eye?
3. So the 3/32nd jig will look like a trapezoid from side view, with the top length being 2.65 cm?
Still trying to understand it, could you maybe highlight the most important info? If not I'll just keep looking.
End of freshman season. Good luck to everyone! No state for us, but nevertheless great season. Regional was out of 12 teams. (CLC)
Mat Sci-> Second at regionals
RSensing -> First at regionals
Towers-> Third at regionals.
Mat Sci-> Second at regionals
RSensing -> First at regionals
Towers-> Third at regionals.
- Unome
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Re: Towers B/C
If I am understanding this correctly, each of the four plates will be 2.65 cm length at the top. From the top view, it should sort of look like the spokes of a wheel; in this way legs meet at 5.3 cm out (at the farthest point).hearthstone224 wrote:3. So the 3/32nd jig will look like a trapezoid from side view, with the top length being 2.65 cm?
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Re: Towers B/C
Absolutely correct on the top of plate dimension at 2.65cm. You get the Gold Star for todayUnome wrote:If I am understanding this correctly, each of the four plates will be 2.65 cm length at the top. From the top view, it should sort of look like the spokes of a wheel; in this way legs meet at 5.3 cm out (at the farthest point).hearthstone224 wrote:3. So the 3/32nd jig will look like a trapezoid from side view, with the top length being 2.65 cm?

And bottom of plate dimension is 14.5cm. And for C-Div tower, the height is 60.3cm
Hearthstone, don't sweat the detail; I just copied the stuff in the sheet I posted out of our.....larger spreadsheet set, so a.....few loose ends; I honestly just didn't want to take the time to....clean everything up.
So, you have the dimensions, which is what you need to build. If you want to take the time to study and think about what's in the sheet, you'll understand how the dimensions were gotten to, but you don't really need to.
Go for it....
Len Joeris
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins, CO
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Re: Towers B/C
Sorry Balsa Man/Unome but I just realized the pictures weren't showing up for me and I will look at the version with the pictures
Please disregard my other post with questions and look at this one instead.
Thanks for being patient with me. As of now, I do want to get started on jig construction and have about half the materials ready for purchase. However, I still need to ask about a couple.
In your explanation you said these things:
"Starting from having all the materials needed; 3/32nd plexi sheet for the panels, some ¼” plexi or other material for the base, the ¼” steel bar for the center, and small angle iron for holding/aligning the legs along the edges; also a GOOD square (I recommend a drafting triangle with the long side at least 12”, preferably 16-18”), and a plastic cutting tool:"
So for the plexi, Balsa man has provided me with the link. 1/4 plexi, I will use table surface. 1/4'' steel bar I still need to buy, can I get a link for that as well from home depot?
I'm assuming I'll need like 5 of the 3/32nd plexiglass to be safe, would that be a nice number to assume with? (I kind of converted the cm needed in the diagram which was 14.5 cm at the long end of the trapezoid (bottom side glued to base), 2.65 long at the top side and then the longest measurement of 60.3cm long which is about 24 inches, so one panel will need about one of these pieces). Here is the link:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-20-in- ... /202038049
But anyways, that's that. Angle iron needs to be 61.343 for each panel and then we have 4 panels so 61.343*4 = 245.372. A question though, can I connect pieces of angle iron together? Like 4 14'' strips can I connect them with each other somehow? It won't exactly fit the length of the diagonal perfectly.
Next item is drafting triangle which I don't understand the role of. What are drafting triangles used for, what are they?
Tool I got.
Thanks! The pictures are a lot more helpful now that I have them.

Thanks for being patient with me. As of now, I do want to get started on jig construction and have about half the materials ready for purchase. However, I still need to ask about a couple.
In your explanation you said these things:
"Starting from having all the materials needed; 3/32nd plexi sheet for the panels, some ¼” plexi or other material for the base, the ¼” steel bar for the center, and small angle iron for holding/aligning the legs along the edges; also a GOOD square (I recommend a drafting triangle with the long side at least 12”, preferably 16-18”), and a plastic cutting tool:"
So for the plexi, Balsa man has provided me with the link. 1/4 plexi, I will use table surface. 1/4'' steel bar I still need to buy, can I get a link for that as well from home depot?
I'm assuming I'll need like 5 of the 3/32nd plexiglass to be safe, would that be a nice number to assume with? (I kind of converted the cm needed in the diagram which was 14.5 cm at the long end of the trapezoid (bottom side glued to base), 2.65 long at the top side and then the longest measurement of 60.3cm long which is about 24 inches, so one panel will need about one of these pieces). Here is the link:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-20-in- ... /202038049
But anyways, that's that. Angle iron needs to be 61.343 for each panel and then we have 4 panels so 61.343*4 = 245.372. A question though, can I connect pieces of angle iron together? Like 4 14'' strips can I connect them with each other somehow? It won't exactly fit the length of the diagonal perfectly.
Next item is drafting triangle which I don't understand the role of. What are drafting triangles used for, what are they?
Tool I got.
Thanks! The pictures are a lot more helpful now that I have them.
End of freshman season. Good luck to everyone! No state for us, but nevertheless great season. Regional was out of 12 teams. (CLC)
Mat Sci-> Second at regionals
RSensing -> First at regionals
Towers-> Third at regionals.
Mat Sci-> Second at regionals
RSensing -> First at regionals
Towers-> Third at regionals.
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Re: Towers B/C
Google" "home depot 1/4 inch steel bar"hearthstone224 wrote:Sorry Balsa Man/Unome but I just realized the pictures weren't showing up for me and I will look at the version with the picturesPlease disregard my other post with questions and look at this one instead.
Thanks for being patient with me. As of now, I do want to get started on jig construction and have about half the materials ready for purchase. However, I still need to ask about a couple.
In your explanation you said these things:
"Starting from having all the materials needed; 3/32nd plexi sheet for the panels, some ¼” plexi or other material for the base, the ¼” steel bar for the center, and small angle iron for holding/aligning the legs along the edges; also a GOOD square (I recommend a drafting triangle with the long side at least 12”, preferably 16-18”), and a plastic cutting tool:"
So for the plexi, Balsa man has provided me with the link. 1/4 plexi, I will use table surface. 1/4'' steel bar I still need to buy, can I get a link for that as well from home depot?
I'm assuming I'll need like 5 of the 3/32nd plexiglass to be safe, would that be a nice number to assume with? (I kind of converted the cm needed in the diagram which was 14.5 cm at the long end of the trapezoid (bottom side glued to base), 2.65 long at the top side and then the longest measurement of 60.3cm long which is about 24 inches, so one panel will need about one of these pieces). Here is the link:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-20-in- ... /202038049
But anyways, that's that. Angle iron needs to be 61.343 for each panel and then we have 4 panels so 61.343*4 = 245.372. A question though, can I connect pieces of angle iron together? Like 4 14'' strips can I connect them with each other somehow? It won't exactly fit the length of the diagonal perfectly.
Next item is drafting triangle which I don't understand the role of. What are drafting triangles used for, what are they?
Tool I got.
Thanks! The pictures are a lot more helpful now that I have them.
Google "drafting triangles" Used for two things, a) to be able to place/draw your top of plate and bottom of plate lines perpendicular to the edge of the sheet you're cutting plate from, and b) to hold/align plates vertical to the base surface
I don't think you will want to glue the plates directly to the top of a table. Per earlier post, use a piece of 3/32nd.
Angle iron- per earlier post, you do not want angle iron along the entire length of the leg edge. Per earlier post, if you'll please read it carefully, there need to be gaps in the angle iron, and clearance cuts in the plate at the points the ladders connect to the leg.
Len Joeris
Fort Collins, CO
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Re: Towers B/C
I was wondering what a decent weight for a tower would be under the 2016-17 parameters..If anyone could help give me an idea/range for weight, that would be great! Also, what power scores are considered decent?? Best of luck to all! 

- Unome
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Re: Towers B/C
This depends greatly on where you're competing. From what I've heard from others, towers scores will probably be somewhat lower than bridge scores at lower-level competitions, but more similar at higher levels.choiireneus wrote:I was wondering what a decent weight for a tower would be under the 2016-17 parameters..If anyone could help give me an idea/range for weight, that would be great! Also, what power scores are considered decent?? Best of luck to all!
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Re: Towers B/C
The weight that your tower should be at will depend on how much you want it to hold. You can either build a tower that weighs only a few grams and hold less than the full weight or, as most do, you can build it a bit heavier and hold the full 15 kg (10ish grams is pretty good to my knowledge, although I don't have a lot of experience).I think someone said to expect decent towers to score around 1100 as their weight-held to weight ratio, although I'm not sure what you mean by the "power score".choiireneus wrote:I was wondering what a decent weight for a tower would be under the 2016-17 parameters..If anyone could help give me an idea/range for weight, that would be great! Also, what power scores are considered decent?? Best of luck to all!
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Re: Towers B/C
"Decent weight" means different things to different folk, of course. As noted, depends on where you're competing, how you're approaching (ultra lightweight carrying only partial load, or at a weight that should carry close to full 15kg). Also depends on ....how high you're shooting- medal at Nationals, or or a mid-pack finish at Regionals. Also depends on whether you're talking B-Div or C-Div, and also depends on whether you're building to get the 29cm circle bonus.HandsFreeCookieDunk wrote:The weight that your tower should be at will depend on how much you want it to hold. You can either build a tower that weighs only a few grams and hold less than the full weight or, as most do, you can build it a bit heavier and hold the full 15 kg (10ish grams is pretty good to my knowledge, although I don't have a lot of experience).I think someone said to expect decent towers to score around 1100 as their weight-held to weight ratio, although I'm not sure what you mean by the "power score".choiireneus wrote:I was wondering what a decent weight for a tower would be under the 2016-17 parameters..If anyone could help give me an idea/range for weight, that would be great! Also, what power scores are considered decent?? Best of luck to all!
From the analysis we've run so far (and only testing will tell how good the analysis is), for towers getting the 29cm circle bonus, at the upper end I expect to see a few B-Div towers getting into the 7 1/2gr range, and C-Div about a gram and a half heavier. At a full 15kg carried (so, scored at 17gk carried), that would mean scores at 2266, and 1888 for B and C, respectively. Be interesting to see how it unfolds as the season progresses.
Len Joeris
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Re: Towers B/C
I've already seen a few C towers carrying the full load at 9 grams... I think as the season progresses, we may see teams pushing the envelope (and safely factors) and getting C towers down to 7.5 to 8 gram ranges, picking up the bonus, and carrying full load. I think there may be a few special B towers that will do the same in the 6 gram range.
Dan Holdgreve
Northmont Science Olympiad
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