Finishing Up
In April, we finished the foundation of the final prototype by cutting out the holes in the plexiglass for the suction tube. We had to apply silicone onto the frame to ensure that the air would not escape so we could strengthen the suction power. Our prototype is only a 1/4 scale model so the suction power is already smaller, and we wanted to maximize the size and weight of the trash our prototype could collect. Our mentors helped us successfully attach the pneumatics so we could raise our storage container with both motors and garbage. The only thing left to do was attach another hinge so that the storage could lower more smoothly. Another thing that needed to be altered was the way our hinges attached to our storage door. The hinges need to be attached to the storage itself so that it becomes the pivot when the storage container lifts. As we went back to the structure of the frame, we noticed there were still holes and gaps. So we had to add more layers of silicon. By May we were done, but we went back anyway to make improvements.
In the middle of May, State Senator Liz Krueger came to our school. We presented our work to her as well as our classmates. It was exciting that people were taking interest in our work, and we were invigorated. After this event, we went right back to work. We wanted to improve our design even further. As the days went by, we got more press coming in. We were in the local newspapers! Working on the prototype was critical since we wanted something spectacular for the press. Next week we have the NYC Comptroller coming in to see our work after his office came out with an audit of the current MTA trash collection system and deemed it inefficient. This is a great opportunity for us to show the necessity of our improved system. This is all so exciting!
As the month comes to an end, we have been preparing for the presentation, creating a powerpoint, business cards, and a brochure. Each team has been working on their respective role. We are currently still experimenting with the suction power, and it has improved considerably since the beginning of the month. Our hope is that almost all garbage that is on the tracks can be picked up with just our prototype so there will be no question when a full scale model is built.
We all can’t wait for EurekaFest, which is coming up very soon! We feel ready and are looking forward to the end only to start anew and move into the next steps of our invention!
