"Box" Construction

DarkDwarf
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"Box" Construction

Post by DarkDwarf »

My team and I are trying to determine the best way to build our physical box. When I did this event in middle school, I found wood to be very tedious and messy, as it would often break apart which lead to less reliablity, especially the more screws that you put into it.

Here were the ideas I came up with for this year:
1. Metal "lock-in"s - not sure how to describe this. Essentially, a large hole on top of a smaller hole. You can "lock" components into the box by pushing down into the smaller hole.
2. Wood with small holds in it. I have this stuff in my garage. Basically, wood with a bunch of small holes in it, like a grid. This allows components to be easily placed into the holes, etc. - Pegboard

Any other ideas that you're willing to give up? I read the general questions thread, but I'm interested to see if anyone has any other ideas?
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by DeltaHat »

Wood is very reliable, but you have to do it right. Don't use screws without first drilling a pilot hole for the screw. Screws make very strong connections, so you only need one or two per joint. If wood and screws are sturdy enough to build a house, they are sturdy enough to frame a mission possible.
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Uncle Fester
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by Uncle Fester »

Wood "breaks into pieces", eh? Sounds like particle or chip board, and NOT wood. Stay away from that stuff-- it's evil, especially when fasteners get involved. Screws pull loose, the "woodstuff" warps, and once wet, it falls apart when it dries out afterwards.

I tell my kids too use 1/2" plywood, minimum, with 3/4" best, S1S (sanded one side, which is smoother AND higher quality). Base is SMALLER than 50 x 80. Back is same width as the base, and goes up just below the 50cm max. back butts against the base, and does NOT sit on it-- screws are horizontal so there's no chance of a ragged or protruding screw head gouging the floor or changing how the device sits. Sides are also just under 50cm high, and butt against both the base and the back; these screws go horizontal too. A piece of 1 x 2 goes across the front at the top to keep the open top/front from twisting or tearing apart.

I also tell my kids to always use screws TWICE AS LONG as the first piece it goes through, MINIMUM. So, using 3/4" plywood, they'd use screws at least 1-1/2 inches long. diameter of screw? Twice as big as the individual wood plys in the wood. As for location, TWICE thge thickness of the wood from the end. So, 3/4" ply means a #10 screw 1-1/2 or 1-3/4 inches long. ANY screw head OUTSIDE the box gets countersunk and is a flathead screw. This is so mobody gets clothes or flesh caught ton it. INTERIOR screws get round head simply because they're easier to reach.

Match the wood pieces to make sure they were cut right and fit, align pieces WITH A SQUARE, drill the holes, glue the joints, then add the screws. Easy.
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by cypressfalls Robert »

If you need to mount things inside your box; I find using styroform very easy to work with, and it holds stuff firmly
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by penclspinner »

cypressfalls_Robert wrote:If you need to mount things inside your box; I find using styroform very easy to work with, and it holds stuff firmly
Humm...We use smaller boards to construct platforms so that we could screw or hot glue pieces of equipment without destroying the platform.
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by aubrey048 »

I agree. I personally am probably going to build a wood box. I may use steel reinforcements in the corners. :?:
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by zcshiner »

Pegboard is a good idea. It has lots of holes to mount things and it allows wires or strings to pass through.
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by Gooblah »

From my experience in Division B:

Use pegboard with appropriately-sized holes to make levers tilt easily. A major problem we had was that dowels were the perfect fit - thus, they didn't rotate without some sanding, which tended to be uneven and a pain. Also, plan out how you're going to build each component. Things that seem simple like, say, a wheel and axle, can get complicated fast if you don't consider what materials to use, how to create the wheel, what the axle is going to be, etc.

It could have just been a lack of experience in such matters, but things like that bogged us down quite a bit. And plan ahead!

Anyways, a few questions:

I have a ton(!) of Lego Technic parts that I could see being useful for levers as such...I browsed through the Mission Possible galleries and found some pictures of this. How feasible is this?
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by 11madmic »

we used 1/4" plexiglass including all components to the box
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Re: "Box" Construction

Post by cypressfalls Robert »

how much did it cost?
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