The Process Of Building A Trebuchet

Trebuchet Reflection

In the process of building a trebuchet you undergo many steps and challenges. Some of the steps include making a prototype as instructed. Another, step is the design challenge, which is when you come up with your own design on a trebuchet and getting a successful launch. Some of the challenges include seeing what you did wrong and how you can fix it. Another, challenge is, seeing which design will work the best.

Prototype Materials

When you are making the prototype as instructed you will need various materials. These materials can vary depending on how you are instructed to do it. However, one way you can make this is by using twelve wooden dowels, eight craft sticks, sixty rubber bands, one wooden

skewer, tape, a drinking straw, three-inch by four-inch piece of mesh fabric, a twenty inch string, scissors, a cork, binder clip, three paper clips, a cardboard sheet, resealable bag, material(s) to use as a counterweight. Once gathering your materials you must see what you have to do and then start building. A lot of steps are included and you must make sure you follow them properly.

Prototype Steps (structure)
The steps used in creating the prototype were complicated.

The simple steps were laying out your prototype and seeing where the items go. You must then build your trebuchet how instructed. You can use rubber bands to reinforce the corners to build a triangle. After you make one triangle use the measurements to construct an equilateral triangle. Then use three dowels and six rubber bands to create a base that connects the two triangles. On each side connect one craft stick to support the dowles. Use a rubber band to connect the wooden skewer along the dowel until it is four inches off the end of the dowel. Unfold a paper clip until it is straight and use tape and attach to the end of the long arm and make sure one inch is of the wire expands past the dowel and slightly bend upwards. Then use the straw and cut two three inch segments and place on the ends of the skewer. Then rest the skewer in the cradle of the apex of the triangle. Place a piece of cardboard on top of the dowels to create a platform. Cut the corners off of the mesh fabric and cut your string into two ten inch segments. Tie an end of the string to the throwing arm of the trebuchet one inch from the end of the string. Take a resealable bag and gather your counterweight(s) and hook a paper clip through each arm of the binder clip and thread the end of each paper clip through the holes in the plastic bag. Clip the counterweight(s) to the throwing

arm.

Firing a Trebuchet Steps
Make sure that all of your team members are observing what happens.

Take your trebuchet to the designated area you are told. Place the looped end of the sling over the firing pin on the throwing arm you have made. Place your cork/ object being fired in the sling basket. Pull the cork and mesh basket down to the opposite end of the platform until the firing pin is just above the platform with the cork and sling resting on the cardboard platform. Make sure you are not around anyone and then release the cork and the sling basket. Measure the distance the cork traveled and record the distance.

Prototype Success and

Challenges
The prototype successes were a launch and having a nice secure base after working on it. The launch did not go very far but after facing many challenges we finally had a successful launch. Some challenges were building the structure and getting it to not be lopsided. It also needed a lot of rubber bands. You have to make sure the rubber bands are secured tightly. After we had securely tied our rubber bands we then had to make the counter weight. Another challenge was the counter weight. We had to find the right amount of sand to use for our counter weight. It was either too heavy or too little.

Design Materials
For the design challenge we used the exact same material just with a little more rubber bands added to make sure everything was secured tightly and the right way. After doing that we then used the same structure as in the prototype design since we thought it worked best when firing with the new sling. When we used the same base we had to make sure that the design trebuchet was even and secure so it would not break when we used it. Also, when using the same material we must make the rubber bands did not break. However overall most materials stayed the same.

Design Steps
When you are making your design you can use the same base and materials as your prototype. It is up to you what materials you use. For my design we used the same exact base and structure. The only thing different was we had a different sling. We cut the sling into a oval. After we did that we then taped the whole sling. After the the sling we then thale it to our throwing arm. On the very top of the sling we added a lot of tape to make a wall like structure so the cork wouldn’t fall out.

Design Challenges, Obstacles, and Successes
Some of the challenges were seeing which type of sling would work best. Another one is seeing which trebuchet design will work best. Some obstacles were not having successful launches every time we fired. We had to try and find the exact right spot to fire from sometimes and we couldn't always guarantee that it would exactly work. The successes were having a launch that went more than one meter. We had a launch that even went more than two meters! Using this design we had more success when launching rather than using than using the prototype design.

Results
The outcomes of our prototype design were not having a lot of success when launching. It took a while to even build the structure and base. When firing the sling always got caught on the firing arm. The outcome of our design was positive. We had many more successful launches with this design. We got farther when we used the design challenge then when we used the prototype. With the prototype we got the cork to go about 65 centimeters. Yet when we used the design we had the cork go 247 centimeters. The results affected our design on each step because