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have another string on the bottom of the box that is pulled but by a wider pulley and therefore faster.

Or last year, we built a grain elevator, like this but much simpler, just a rubber band on two hubs with a cup attached
http://www.inficad.com/~gstewart/largeg ... iagram.jpg
it scooped out of one container and then dumped into another

you could also make a hole in the bottom of the lower container, have the string to which it is attached be anchored above the second container, and have it start spilling the second it begins to raise, just have it be over a funnel or bowl to make collecting the spillage easy, and also make sure you have excess granules so you can afford to spill half the payload and still trigger the next task.

My last suggestion would be to have the string pull the bottom container onto a flat area where it tips sideways, and have the bb's run down a track into the final container.

thanks. I won't have to skip that event.

Do you guys think that we should try to squeeze in every task or do a few but make sure they work.

Because so far my team stopped using anything with the gears and the thing where we have to turn the screw.

Finally do you guys have any idea for the final task.

We had an idea to lift the 9V battery first, hit a switch for a motor, and then the motor would slowly raise the 10 dominoes.

Is that legal, and if you have any other ideas please reply.

It is definitely best to get the most reliability you can, regardless of number of tasks. Once you get the reliability so it works every time, then add in another module or so, and keep going.

Soooo..... I need Ideas for the final task. None of our Ideas have worked with the supplies we have. Our motors and springs aren't strong enough, any ideas??????

How do I lift the container containing the granular material at higher elevation? what is the best approach? Please advice.

So my team is looking to build a box that has screws/nails that extend through the box. Does anyone know if the measurements include anything that sticks out the back of the box or is it just the interior? It's our first time in the competition and the team is getting worried that the extra half inch of so will mess up what they want to do. Thanks.

Yes, the screw ends and anything else that sticks out counts.
It's also not very safe to have screw ends exposed.
Try using small bolts and nuts or just use non exposed fasteners.

One other thing I have seen is teams using boxes that look like a T when viewed from the top down.
This gives space on both sides to use for machine / task space.
Peg board is also useful for the walls because it already has holes to mount machines / tasks.

Lastly I would recommend you get started soon. Mission is not something you can leave to the last minute.

If you reduce the size of the box slightly so that the nail ends and all fit in the imaginary box size, it's fine. But again, screw ends are dangerous.

We always build the box 1 cm smaller in each dimension. Also we always screw or nail from the outside and into the box when fastening around the edge of the box. And never let the sharp end of the screw protrude out of whatever you are fastening. Buy a lot of different length screws and use the appropriate length for each job.

All the ideas people have suggested are good ones - building the box slightly smaller to allow for protrusions should be the first thing you do.

Definitely make sure nothing sharp pokes out.

You can also cut screws down if needed (if you can't find one short enough to work). Just make sure that you don't leave any jagged edges protruding.

You can also countersink screws if you are afraid of the heads sticking out too much (though most screws are pretty flush with the material you screw them into.)

One thing that has casued us problems in the past (we've caught it in time, but it would have been an issue) is using tape (like duct tape) on the outside and having the edges come up over time, unintentionally adding to the dimensions.