Last year, Random had a very cool Lego Brick car. It was very authentic-looking and very slow. This year Random's goal was to have a car that didn't finish last in every race! Physics time! I sat down with Random, and we talked about what could make the car accelerate, what would make it slow down, and what would keep it going. We picked where the center of gravity should go, and how to get it there - we also picked the best spot for the wheels. Last, Random listed out everything we needed to do to finish the car:
So, we worked hard on a car, only to discover at the last minute that it had been ASSIMILATED!!!!
Random's been watching a lot of Star Trek: Voyager lately, and he decided that his Pinewood Derby car needed to be a Borg cube. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but ALL of our tools are in Michigan! How do you build a Borg Cube wooden car with only a drill and plastic picnic cutlery?!Xerox to the rescue! My job is tight! ... off the hook! ... "money!" (as the cool kids are apparently saying now). We have an amazing prototype shop and the engineers can use it for personal projects. So I took the Pinewood Derby kit to work on Saturday, and carved it up on a 3-axis mill. I cut it to shape, drilled new axle holes, bored out some pockets for weights and electronics, cut up some scrap sheet steel for weights, and cut a scrap circuit board to fit on top.
Here's all the bits:
We all decided that any Borg Cube worth its salt needs a creepy green glow. So I sat down with the kids and we talked about circuits, batteries, parallel vs. series, etc. Random and Savannah drew up a circuit diagram and I soldered together some thin batteries, a high-intensity green LED, and a switch to give the car "Sweetest Ground Effects." We assembled everything and glued it together with some major adhesive.
We ground all the axles and wheels (to reduce friction), and Amanda glued them in. Amanda and Random did some great painting and dry-brushing and we had our intimidating Borg Cube!
So it looks good, but can it race? Here's the first race of the evening:
So Random won nearly all of his races and he had a great time!
One more Pinewood Derby down. I wonder what we'll do for next year?!
6 comments:
Wow!!! That is Awesome!
The Scouts at Dover Air Force Base would have been amazed! It might have been seized - since it looks like something to do with out national security. Way to go Troy..mm..I meant to say Random!
Lynette
The first year that Christopher built a derby car I had to be out of town. We had been working on his car but it needed more weight. A friend helped him by adding a spark plug to the car so it stuck up a ways, but it was heavy..too heavy. So he lost every single race. He got a trophy for "Mr Try Hard." Then he accidently dropped the car and the spark plug broke off. He then was beating every body.
The next year, and from then on, we always went for looks. And I must say, Random should have won the "Boys Choice Award." We did that by letting each boy vote on two cars as their favorite. This let every one vote for their own and the other one they liked. The most valid award available.
Random - congratulations on an EXCELLENT car!
Amanda,
You have been TagGed!
Check out my tagged blog on March 24th
:)
Lynette
Wow Random you and your family did a great job on your derby car. Loved the video and your face was priceless V for Victory.
Congrats
Christine (Sis Shelton)
You've added fuel to my need for a Cubemobile that I can drive down the streets of Bend OR. I shall go forth and assimilate me an old VW and see what I can do with it. No windows, all digital cameras for total surround visibility on the LCD dash display. Surely a Borg Cube, although not too aerodynamic, would incite incredulous stares of amazement as I gunned the all-electric drive train and blew the insidious gas-guzzling Hummers off the street and into the past. Kinda like a time warp, I guess. The future is cubular! Square is back!
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