Crane-o-Geddon

A lifting system comprised of a Bridge (the steel truss which spans between
the rails and which moves back and
forth along the crane rails) and the
Hoist (the electric motorized reel of
cable which lifts the product up and
down. The hoist usually can move left
and right along the bridge). Lifting
capabilities on bride cranes typically
range from 2 tons to over 200 tons.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Design and build a bridge crane using Popsicle sticks
which can hoist and carry a concentrated load along the length of the rails.

The participants have to build the bridge with a hoisting mechanism (Use of
motors is allowed). The bridge will be supported on the rails provided by the
organisers.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Bridge:

1. The maximum dimensions of the cross-section of the bridge can be

50mmx75mm.

2. The span of the bridge should be 700mm.

3. The rails will be provided with grooves of 30mmx30mm with a 25mm

depth for supporting the bridge.

4. The rails will be spaced at a clear distance of 640mm.

Material:
 1. Popsicle sticks/ ice-cream sticks of maximum 120mm length,
maximum 15mm width and maximum 4mm thickness.

2. Only synthetic white adhesive or single component cyano-acrylate adhesive

can be used to build the structure. Adhesives such as M-Seal are not allowed.

3. Motors, pulleys, gears, gear assemblies, cotton thread (maximum 2mm

diameter).

RULES:

A team can comprise of at most 2 members. Team members may be from

the different institutions. The team members must have identity cards.

1. The ice-cream sticks can be cut and trimmed to any shape and size.

2. Adhesive should only be used to glue together the sticks. Adhesives

should not be used to strengthen the surface.

3. Threads can only be used for the hoisting mechanism.

4. The bridge should be made of sticks and adhesive only.

5. The structure should not be painted, colored or coated with the

adhesive.

6. The motors should be placed on the bridge and should not be more
than 35mm away from the centre of the bridge.

TESTING:

1. The structure will be weighed excluding the hoisting mechanism. The

hoisting mechanism can be fixed during loading.
 2. The thread will be wound around a cylindrical object. It will be given
10-15 turns. The width of turns divided by number of turns must not be
greater than 2mm (maximum diameter of the thread).

3. Then the bridge will be loaded with a minimum concentrated load of

7kg at the centre of the span. Therefore the hoisting mechanism must
be placed suitably.

4. The structure must successfully lift the load through a minimum height
of 200mm and then along the length of the rails. The bridge will be
pulled manually with a cotton thread tied at the centre of bridge.

5. Participants will be given 3 chances to load the structure. The loading

can be increased by a minimum of 1kg. The upper limit being 15kg.

6. The wiring must not interfere while testing.

JUDGING:

1. Performance of the structure will be judged on the basis of the ratio of

maximum load carried successfully to the self weight of the structure.

2. Score I = (Load carried successfully/ Self-weight of the structure)

3. At the completion of task the height of the load will be checked. If the
height of load is less than 190mm from the ground the team will be
penalised.

4. Score II = (190 – Height of the structure from the base in mm) or

2*(185 - Height of the structure from the base in mm), whichever is
maximum.

5. Final Score = Score I – Score II.

6. Teams with maximum final score will be declared as the winner.

Non-compliance of rules and failure of the structure will result to
disqualification of the structure. If the hoisting mechanism fails the team will
be given only 15 minutes of rectify the defect.

Organizers reserve all the rights to modify any rule(s) at any point of time as
they deem fit. The decision of the organisers will be final and binding.

For any queries contact:

Karanpal Singh – 09041765269 Nonish Jain –

09041413279

Gurpreet Singh – 09914802583