Post 3 - ITT - Egg Drop

The egg drop.

In a group of two we had to design and test an egg drop. Our goal was to see how high we could drop the egg ad it would still not crack/ break. to start we had a mini egg drop and then we did a larger improved one.

One of the main technological concepts of this project was the crumple zone, this is the part that crumples under impact and reduces shock, this is very important in keeping the egg safe. Another concept is impact area, this helps the egg by spreading the impact over a certain area and doing less damage to a particular spot. The last concept is aerodynamics, by making the egg drop as un-aerodynamic as possible, it will help the egg by slowing down the egg drop. 

My learning goals from this project were to learn how to use all the tools and how to make something that wont actually fall apart after five minutes. I think that I have achieved those goals.

This is our final project, after the mini egg drop, we could use our own materials. Te decided to use i cardboard box which contained the egg, filled with foam, which was in a lunch box that was filled with foam and cotton wool. All the foam and cotton wool gave it a very good and large crumple zone, it had a large impact area and had bad aerodynamics so it fell slowly.

I think our project went well, it didn't get the best height, but it survived a one story drop. It was designed well, its only downfall was the corners of the egg drop had way less padding than the rest. It had good technological fundamentals but lacked the finish of a well tested product.

When we redesigned for our second egg drop, we pretty much scrapped the first one as it failed miserably. We took our time while designing so we had a solid idea. Our first design didn't have a top or really any sides so we changed that by fully enclosing it. We chose a lunchbox because it was light and provided good protection.

The main technological resources were the foam in the box, the cotton wool and the lunch box, these all created crumple zones that absorbed the energy from the drop, they also increased the internal impact area, further lowering the energy transferred to the egg upon impact.

I think our biggest challenge on this project was making a big turnaround from our mini egg drop to our final, our mini wasn't thought out at all we just put it together, so we needed to change that.

The way we overcame our biggest challenge was we actually sat down, brainstormed ideas, then picked the best and designed properly for it. When we came to building, we methodically went through and made sure everything was the same size, shape and that it fitted together properly. This all payed off and out final egg drop turned out great.

Post 2 - ITT - What is Technology?

What is technology?

Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. A lot of people when they think of technology, they think about computers, phones etc. but in reality, technology is far more widely spread.

There are three main areas of technology, the first being physical technology, which deals with making products. The second area is Information/communication technology which is technology which was designed to handle and exchange data. The last main area is Biotechnology, this is technology that helps to advance agriculture and things to do with living organisms.

There are two types of systems, closed and open systems. A closed system has feedback from what you are giving, an open system does not.

 Eight resources of technology.

Matrials

Energy

Systems

Tools/Machines

Time

People

Information

Capital.

Eight steps of Problem solving.

1. Identify the problem.

2. Collect  Information.

3. Develop criteria. 

4. Generate possible solutions. 

5. Analyze possible solutions.

6. Choose best solution.

7. Use solution.

8. Re-evaluate and retry if necessary.