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Alex-RCHS wrote:

PM2017 wrote:

4Head wrote: It doesn’t really matter. I just used back because it “felt” better.

I was about to say the same thing.

If your lever arm extends beyond the body of the car it may hit/interfere with the cup. To prevent this many teams have the winding axle in the back so by the time the lever arm reaches the front of the car the cup has already been dropped off.

What's the ideal length of a lever arm? Is there a formula?

Rêveur wrote:

Alex-RCHS wrote:

PM2017 wrote: I was about to say the same thing.

If your lever arm extends beyond the body of the car it may hit/interfere with the cup. To prevent this many teams have the winding axle in the back so by the time the lever arm reaches the front of the car the cup has already been dropped off.

What's the ideal length of a lever arm? Is there a formula?

I was going unde rthe assumption that you want to use just under the entire turnf of the lever arm to travel the 3(.05) meters forwards, and the 7(.1) meters back, so that you make the most out of the mousetraps.

Thoughts on using excessively large attachment holes to save weight, but still use it for attachment?

PM2017 wrote:Thoughts on using excessively large attachment holes to save weight, but still use it for attachment?

Most of the weight of the trap is metal, which you can't really alter, so drilling large holes is a bit useless.

antoine_ego wrote:

PM2017 wrote:Thoughts on using excessively large attachment holes to save weight, but still use it for attachment?

Most of the weight of the trap is metal, which you can't really alter, so drilling large holes is a bit useless.

Keyword: most.

Every advantage in this event is going to be small. Even a barely significant change is priceless once youve optimized all the other aspect of your vehicle, especially considering all these small changes added up will be quite dramatic

4Head wrote:

antoine_ego wrote:

PM2017 wrote:Thoughts on using excessively large attachment holes to save weight, but still use it for attachment?

Most of the weight of the trap is metal, which you can't really alter, so drilling large holes is a bit useless.

Keyword: most.

Every advantage in this event is going to be small. Even a barely significant change is priceless once youve optimized all the other aspect of your vehicle, especially considering all these small changes added up will be quite dramatic

This is an interesting idea, but what are you going to use to attach it? The rules specify that the holes must be for attachment purposes, not just to cut weight. Whatever you use to attach the car will add some extra weight, offsetting some (or most, or all if you use metal screws) of the benefits.

I did some quick calculations and assuming the wood of the mousetrap is .75cm thick and has a density of .75 g/cm^3, and you cut 1.5 cm diameter holes (that's pretty generous IMO) then you're saving 1 gram per hole at most, minus whatever you add to actually attach it.

Alex-RCHS wrote:

4Head wrote:

antoine_ego wrote:
Most of the weight of the trap is metal, which you can't really alter, so drilling large holes is a bit useless.

Keyword: most.

Every advantage in this event is going to be small. Even a barely significant change is priceless once youve optimized all the other aspect of your vehicle, especially considering all these small changes added up will be quite dramatic

This is an interesting idea, but what are you going to use to attach it? The rules specify that the holes must be for attachment purposes, not just to cut weight. Whatever you use to attach the car will add some extra weight, offsetting some (or most, or all if you use metal screws) of the benefits.

I did some quick calculations and assuming the wood of the mousetrap is .75cm thick and has a density of .75 g/cm^3, and you cut 1.5 cm diameter holes (that's pretty generous IMO) then you're saving 1 gram per hole at most, minus whatever you add to actually attach it.

I was going to drill out a 1 in hole, a 1/2 in hole, and two smaller holes, and use a hollow 3d printed cylinder (w/ no top or bottom, and with 0.05 in walls)

Alex-RCHS wrote:

4Head wrote:

antoine_ego wrote:
Most of the weight of the trap is metal, which you can't really alter, so drilling large holes is a bit useless.

Keyword: most.

Every advantage in this event is going to be small. Even a barely significant change is priceless once youve optimized all the other aspect of your vehicle, especially considering all these small changes added up will be quite dramatic

This is an interesting idea, but what are you going to use to attach it? The rules specify that the holes must be for attachment purposes, not just to cut weight. Whatever you use to attach the car will add some extra weight, offsetting some (or most, or all if you use metal screws) of the benefits.

I did some quick calculations and assuming the wood of the mousetrap is .75cm thick and has a density of .75 g/cm^3, and you cut 1.5 cm diameter holes (that's pretty generous IMO) then you're saving 1 gram per hole at most, minus whatever you add to actually attach it.

I was going to drill out a 1 in hole, a 1/2 in hole, and two smaller holes, and use a hollow 3d printed cylinder (w/ no top or bottom, and with 0.05 in walls)

PM2017 wrote:

Alex-RCHS wrote:

4Head wrote: Keyword: most.

Every advantage in this event is going to be small. Even a barely significant change is priceless once youve optimized all the other aspect of your vehicle, especially considering all these small changes added up will be quite dramatic

This is an interesting idea, but what are you going to use to attach it? The rules specify that the holes must be for attachment purposes, not just to cut weight. Whatever you use to attach the car will add some extra weight, offsetting some (or most, or all if you use metal screws) of the benefits.

I did some quick calculations and assuming the wood of the mousetrap is .75cm thick and has a density of .75 g/cm^3, and you cut 1.5 cm diameter holes (that's pretty generous IMO) then you're saving 1 gram per hole at most, minus whatever you add to actually attach it.

I was going to drill out a 1 in hole, a 1/2 in hole, and two smaller holes, and use a hollow 3d printed cylinder (w/ no top or bottom, and with 0.05 in walls)

Still saves about 4g in total, minus the mass of the cylinder. Whatever floats your boat lol

The back wheels of my car keep just lifting up slightly+not getting enough traction and so the car doesn’t move at all but the axle turns. Any solutions for this?
I’m using cd’s with balloons as the tires.