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I'm using CD's as wheels, but when I did my calculations, I got the result that my bar would need to be around 60 cm long to travel all 14ish meters. Am I doing something wrong, or do I actually need that long of a bar?

What kind of design are you using?

If you have 2 mousetraps in opposing directions, then the bar only has to be 30cm to travel 7m in each direction.

ktrujillo52 wrote:What kind of design are you using?

If you have 2 mousetraps in opposing directions, then the bar only has to be 30cm to travel 7m in each direction.

Oh, I'm using the 2-mousetrap powering with fancy winding, so you have two bars each 30 cm, so I guess it makes sense if I have one that's 60.

ktrujillo52 wrote:I put this little circular thing in on the base in front of the axle so that it would wind straight. You could use a piece of a straw but the string would probably cut through it.

wouldn't that still be loose even with a straw? how does that get me a consistent wind every time?

winneratlife wrote:I'm using CD's as wheels, but when I did my calculations, I got the result that my bar would need to be around 60 cm long to travel all 14ish meters. Am I doing something wrong, or do I actually need that long of a bar?

use thinner axles
and that is split with 2 mousetraps

fgdownsups wrote:

winneratlife wrote:I'm using CD's as wheels, but when I did my calculations, I got the result that my bar would need to be around 60 cm long to travel all 14ish meters. Am I doing something wrong, or do I actually need that long of a bar?

use thinner axles
and that is split with 2 mousetraps

Any thinner and I'd have to worry about the CD's staying locked. I'm using the dual mousetrap powering, so I only get 1 bar. Actually, I realized that 60 cm was the length of the string, so I just moved my mousetraps to the end far from the driving wheels and made the bar around 40 cm. Should work fine

fgdownsups wrote:

ktrujillo52 wrote:I put this little circular thing in on the base in front of the axle so that it would wind straight. You could use a piece of a straw but the string would probably cut through it.

wouldn't that still be loose even with a straw? how does that get me a consistent wind every time?

bump
also, has anyone tried to take out a mousetrap spring and wind it a couple of times to get more power?

has anyone tried to take out a mousetrap spring and wind it a couple of times to get more power?

Even one turn is really hard, although it increases the power significantly. I doubt you can get more! I also suspect that today's mousetraps would have problems with self-destruction. At one time they were commonly used in Mission Possible. As time passed their use dwindled as they could no longer be depended on to stay together.

If the rules have any hint that the mousetrap should be "unmodified" it would also be a rule violation.

fleet130 wrote:

has anyone tried to take out a mousetrap spring and wind it a couple of times to get more power?

Even one turn is really hard, although it increases the power significantly. I doubt you can get more! I also suspect that today's mousetraps would have problems with self-destruction. At one time they were commonly used in Mission Possible. As time passed their use dwindled as they could no longer be depended on to stay together.

If the rules have any hint that the mousetrap should be "unmodified" it would also be a rule violation.

Which it indeed says.

...So...
A couple nights ago I took my vehicle over to my school to test it (I don't have seven meters in my house). I reversed fine, but it refused to go straight! Does anyone have an easy way to make sure your axles are lined up so that the car goes straight?

P.S. I ended up scoring around 70 in the test according to the rules. Is that good?