Storm the Castle B

[chalker]

ok i was wondering, when you launch the projectile, do you have to get it to stay in the box or can it bounce out???

Rule 5.a.iii explains the scoring related to that issue.

[LKN]

Alright I am in NC - Div C, we still have storm the castle. No one on my team, V and JV has done it before. I plan on jumping in to posting here often. (And yes, I have read through this year's resources and wiki)

For the pin mechanism that adjusts the angle, what is the best way to build an adjustable pin on the treb arm? I am thinking somehow making a pin that can be rotated with tick mark guides then pressure-tightened/screwed on to perform the launch. I am planning on building a FAT treb. Any ideas?

For the sling, just stick with leather material? Suede? I also saw (online) a jean pant pocket used, that was an interesting take.

Wheels. I read that rollerblade wheels are too heavy and use too much friction. Does this sound right? What kind of "Bearings" work best? Like giant ball-bearings?

[Canesmadscientist]

Im kinda new here and this is my first year doing science olympiad. Well I have to do Storm The Castle and im in the process of building a F.A.T. I just have a question or two. Do the supervisors give you the projectile and c.w. or do we have to construct them? and also, when were testing, we test weights from .5 to 2.5 KG and projectiles from 20-60g and chart it and then we look at that chart and determine the distance we want our target at competition? Thanks for answering guys.

[LKN]

The Supervisors give you the counterweight, you don't know what weight til you get there. There is a range in the rules, a lighter CW .5-1.5kg and a heavier CW 1.5kg-2.5kg. This makes the event: Can you be given random CW and mass and be accurate with your launch?

[foreverphysics]

The Supervisors give you the counterweight, you don't know what weight til you get there. There is a range in the rules, a lighter CW .5-1.5kg and a heavier CW 1.5kg-2.5kg. This makes the event: Can you be given random CW and mass and be accurate with your launch?

Yes. You just have to know in what position to put your trebuchet (or at least, that's what I've learned from working with them). It requires hours of testing to get it all accurate though.

[Canesmadscientist]

Thanks guys. And would someone please explain how to make sure a f.a.t complies with the energy rule, because i am extremely confused

[chalker]

Thanks guys. And would someone please explain how to make sure a f.a.t complies with the energy rule, because i am extremely confused

We've got an "Energy Rule Tip Sheet" on the official website that should help you: http://soinc.org/storm_the_castle_b

[Canesmadscientist]

Im aware, its that webpage that i dont understand.

[quadmaster]

At (north carolina) division C regionals we only will have 25 meters of space, and our simulations so far show that we will overshoot that if they give us anything more than the minimum 1.5 kg counterweight and maximum 60 gram projectile in the high range. What's the best way to adjustably limit range? So far we're thinking a sliding weight on the throwing arm that can be pinned at different distances from the axle, this works well in simulation but I wanted to check if any veterans here have a better solution.

If it helps, we are building a FAT style trebuchet, after we realized the extra efficiency and drop of a MURLIN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If-OdYjH ... re=related) would just make us overshoot more.

Also, are we allowed to use a laptop computer to predict our range if we don't impound it?

[Friedoyster3]

The other thing you could do is adjust the pin angle. The thing is that this would basically just lower the trajectory arc of the launch which may not be helpful if you are attempting to make it inside the target. So you could do this with the pin or you could, like you said, adjust where the CW on the arm and/or adjust where the axel is on the arm.