Efficiencies

[lllazar]

Im pretty sure he/she means the base of the tower.

[sciolyswizzle16]

i meant the efficiency of the tower as a whole

[Littleboy]

What are some of the best efficiencies you guys are getting?
And if our base keeps breaking, what would be a good way to fix it?

They were talking about your second question.
As to your first, 40 should be very competitive.

[iYOA]

And if our base keeps breaking, what would be a good way to fix it?

we have the exact same problem. in general we are trying to make our top lighter because if the base breaks first, it means we have unneeded weight at the top(so ideally, a tower should have the base and the top simultaneously break?)

to make the base stronger, you might want to add one more truss on each face of the base, or make the main sticks on the base less slanted. You can do this by making the 4 main sticks on the top slightly slanted, and changing up your dimensions. That way, the top will have slanted sticks and the base will have slanted stick but the sticks on the base will be less slanted.

[SO4L]

I just tested my first 2 towers of the season at an invitational and they both held 15kg. The efficiencies were 14.5 million and 15.2 million. I think i have my design down, now I just need to experiment with different types and dimensions of wood.

[lllazar]

I just tested my first 2 towers of the season at an invitational and they both held 15kg. The efficiencies were 14.5 million and 15.2 million. I think i have my design down, now I just need to experiment with different types and dimensions of wood.

Competition for state But just out of curiosity, what dimensions of wood did you use for the base legs? I use 1/8 squared.

[SO4L]

But just out of curiosity, what dimensions of wood did you use for the base legs? I use 1/8 squared.

I use 1/8 as well

[Arthur]

what efficiency do you think would be needed to medal at states in pa?

[eta150]

what efficiency do you think would be needed to medal at states in pa?

Both divisions should have medaling begin at ~20 g/kg^2. The rules are tougher for C, but there are also usually better builders.

[lllazar]

Yes that sounds about right. With practice and good jig designs (and that is crucial) as well as good wood, whether it be balsa or bass, state medals should start around there. By that u mean top 4 i suppose?

[AlphaTauri]

PA gives out medals to Top 5 (and I assume most other states do the same thing).

[Littleboy]

Top six in Michigan state gets medals.

[fizwiz]

Top 6 in NY also.

[phillies413]

top 10 in delaware!

The irony, I know.

[bmbw123]

I'm sure this is a relatively stupid/simple question, but is there a certain way you all pour in the sand. If a lever system is used to let the sand fall in, would you want to go slow, then faster, then switch back to slow? Letting the sand in slow seems like it would make your tower sustain the weight for longer times, but faster streams seems a bit all of a sudden.

And if there is a manual sand system, then I would assume you would try to pour the sand around the bucket evenly, so there are no mounds, and try to do it as quick as possible?