Week 5

In the prior week we started to experiment with the Knex to see which pieces can be put together to form triangles. Using actually pieces that have preset lengths limits the number of shapes that can be made and limits the angles they can be set to.
In the coming week our group will each try to build our own basic design. We will judge the designs based on the price that the bridge costs and the amount of weight it can hold.
Major accomplishments of the week include a general understanding of how we can use the Knex to make basic shapes needed to create a truss design. We have already seen that we don't always need the largest connecters and this will help cut cost when the cheaper versions of connecters can be used.
Issues that may arise will include being unable to make the bridge exactly 24 inches. We may not be able to make such intricate designs that we were easily able to do in WPBD. We must not also factor the third dimension of the bridge into the Knex design that was ignored in WPBD. We will have to experiment with the third dimension aspect to find both a design and length that will give optimum performance.
Some similarities between using Knex and WPBD  include that they both give a side design view that doesn't hinder the designer in anyway. The difference though is as I already stated in possible difficulties section, the third dimension now must be considered for the design. WPBD also allowed pieces to be anyway length to a certain point and you could create triangles with any angle, the Knex limit you to triangles that form to the connecters so you don't have as much freedom in your design as you did in WPBD.

Robert Weldon - Group 10