Tips for my tower please

[soccerkid812]

yea just diagonals not horizontals and your diagonals would be flush with the one below them

are you saying it is better to take out the horizontal pieces on the chimney?

[yousef213]

yea just diagonals not horizontals and your diagonals would be flush with the one below them

ty any other tips?

I was thinking of making my base look somewhat like this

.. _....
_I_ I_
I_I_I_I
..I_I

where there would be 2 rectangles, each 4.5" x mabey 20"

So that I dont "waste weight" on the corners, and so the force has to travel less to get to the testing base.

Does anyone think that would be better?

[SLM]

- How doI reduce weight? (without completly changing my design)
-How do I increase strenth? (without completly changing my design)

Have you tested the tower? If so, are you satisfied with the amount of load it can hold? Based on the information that I could extract from the picture, I am failing to see how the tower can hold much load.

[yousef213]

- How doI reduce weight? (without completly changing my design)
-How do I increase strenth? (without completly changing my design)

Have you tested the tower? If so, are you satisfied with the amount of load it can hold? Based on the information that I could extract from the picture, I am failing to see how the tower can hold much load.

As I said it supported 13.8 kg and weighed 29.5g. So, what I am focusing on is reducing weight because it held a decent amount

[SLM]

As I said it supported 13.8 kg and weighed 29.5g. So, what I am focusing on is reducing weight because it held a decent amount

Was the tower tested at a tournament using a standard testing platform (with a 20 cm x 20 cm opening)? Or, did you test it using a platform with a smaller opening?

My concern with the tower is its supports. Where were the points of contact between the tower and the platform you tested it on? Just the four outer corners of the square base?

[yousef213]

As I said it supported 13.8 kg and weighed 29.5g. So, what I am focusing on is reducing weight because it held a decent amount

Was the tower tested at a tournament using a standard testing platform (with a 20 cm x 20 cm opening)? Or, did you test it using a platform with a smaller opening?

My concern with the tower is its supports. Where were the points of contact between the tower and the platform you tested it on? Just the four outer corners of the square base?

Yes, so what I am considering doing is making the base instead 2 21 cm x 4.5 cm rectangles connected in the xenter to make my frid. Thus it would have more support than just the corners. My concern is if it yould be to heavy. What do you think?

[SLM]

... Thus it would have more support than just the corners. My concern is if it yould be to heavy. What do you think?

The primary problem with the tower is its supports. To see why, let’s separate the vertical part (core) of the tower from the square base, and examine the base more closely. The applied load transfers to the base through the core as shown below.



So, if I draw a diagram of the base only, it is going to look something like this:



Here, the blue lines represent the existing members, the red arrows represent the forces that are applied to the base from the core, and the green triangles represent the supports (points of contact between the base and the testing platform ). The problem here is that there are no vertical (or close-to-vertical) members carrying the red forces to the green supports. The base consists entirely of horizontal members. Given the small size (3/32 x 3/32) of these members, they would have a very difficult time withstanding the loads and effectively transferring them to the support points.

Here is a suggestion for remedying the problem.

1. Have inclined members directly transferring the load from the core to the supports, as shown below.


2. Brace the inclined members to prevent instability (buckling), as shown below.


3. Eliminate most of the members in the lower part of the tower, except for the horizontal bracings at the base, as shown below.


The revised design should result in a stronger, and probably lighter tower.

[yousef213]

I dont think I follow with step #3. Are you suggesting I remove the core there completely or just stop bracing it under a certain point?

Btw thankyou for your other tips & diagram

[soccerkid812]

hes saying only keep the top 3 parts on the horizontal chimney and the red legs that he drew in.

[SLM]

hes saying only keep the top 3 parts on the horizontal chimney and the red legs that he drew in.

Exactly!

You can remove the lower part of the core completely without adversely affecting the ability of the tower to carry the load. The lower part of the core carries very little load and really has no functional use.