EPro8 Challenge

last term the entire Intermediate did the EPro8 challenges with the idea we would eventually choose 4 teams of 4 to enter into the inter school competitions and we have got there !
We chose our 16 with a few reserves just in case so now we meet as a group and have a few practice sessions together as they are from different class groups
we had heaps of fun last term - learnt heaps about lots of things and learnt to work with people we hadn't worked together before

If you haven't heard about it or want to know more Google it and have a look at the website and related articles

Here is a few pictures from last term

Term 3 - new term - new group of engineers

The holidays are long gone and the tractor has progressed well !
Last week was the first session with the new group of engineers - some returned from last term and we have some new ones as well.
The ideas are running thick and fast and the tractor is beginning to take shape. The seat has been changed and the transport tray has been welded together.
Thanks to Zane who helped me with the construction last  Thursday after school.
we have got to the sanding of the frame and theres a few welds we need to fix but we are on track
The roof is done and welded on - now we need to sort the wiring for the solar panel before we put the roof cover on !
Next Tuesday its sanding and cleaning the tractor ready to apply Rippo to the entire framework. Then its undercoat then top coat - for the next two weeks
The trailer designers spent last tuesday measuirng the trailer and making the floor for the trailer - we used 16mm plywood so now its fitted we take it apart - sand it then Rippo it ready for undercoat and top coat
We will have to weld on the trailer coupling onto the transport tray too !
This week was a fantastic learning curve for everyone - words like alum key, ratio, sprocket, gearing, chain, volts, resistance, capacity, were used in the design and construction.

What we need to do this week ???
- measure and cut the roof  "lid" from flat iron
sand the frame
sort out wiring before we paint
lights for trailer and tractor
gears, sprockets and chain purchase
positioning of motor etc and weld frame

and the list goes on !!!

pictures soon

Week 6

Week 5 and 6 came and went and we had done lots to the tractor...
The whole thing is totally striped down with just the frame and tyres - one of the tires kept going flat so we had to get a new one - another $89 and we were left thinking that's more for a car tyre and there is less rubber, so where do they get that price from....

The painting has begun but needs lots of sanding and re doing so thats a work in progress.

We have divided off into teams with different groups doing different things

One group of girls have gone off on a totally different tangent and are designing a trailer for the tractor - after all how can you cart stuff round without a trailer !

Other groups are looking at lights - electrics - wiring - transport tray - tractor blade - mudguard design - steering - seat design - safety roll bar - electric motor and solar panel design and fitting so there's lots to do.

As the children come up with designs and measurememnts we work out what is needed and then I get the steel - they cut some of it up and then I weld it up for them.

The trailer goes back to school on Tuesday so the girls can set it out and clamp it ready for welding - the others who designed the roll bar etc need to look at bracing and come up with a plan, the seat designers need to drill holes for the bolts for the seat and the painters need to sand down the bonnet redy for its last coat of paint. At the same time they need to work out how to connect the bonnet to the tractor - and make it with a flip top lid so we can access the batteries. The boys doing the wiring must get the wires down the roll bar before we weld the last bits on too !
LOTS TO THINK ABOUT !

Here's some pictures to look so you can see the latest progress on the tractor - it is now starting to take shape and everyone is excitied !

Mrs Buckley has already booked in a trial ride when its finished !

 The painters hard at work with the yellow paint - its already been nick named the bumble bee for obvious reasons !

 The trailer design team take their job very seriously and have devised plans and measurememnts ready for the kitset trailer

 The seat design was a hard one as we had to work out what height and where it has to be positioned on the deck

 Totally stripped down and with additions all ready - here you can see the seat frame and the roll bar

 Steering column is welded in place and the first part of the rear mudguards is welded i there too

 Did we tell you about the transport tray too with a towing ball ready for the tractor

 This is the yellow colour - hence the name bumble bee

The wheel with the knobbly tyre is off an old rotary hoe - nothing is wasted here and lots of parts are recycled ! Our trusty welder is there too

Week 6

Week 5 and 6 came and went and we had done lots to the tractor...
The whole thing is totally striped down with just the frame and tyres - one of the tires kept going flat so we had to get a new one - another $89 and we were left thinking thats more for a car tyre and there is less rubber so where do they get that price from....

The painting has begun but needs lots of sanding and re doing so thats a work in progress.

We have divided off into teams with different groups doing different things

One group of girls have gone off on a totally different tangent and are designing a trailer for the tractor - after all how can you cart stuff round without a trailer !

Other groups are looking at lights - electrics - wiring - transport tray - tractor blade - mudguard design - steering - seat design - safety roll bar - electric motor ad solar panel design and fitting so there's lots to do.

As the children come up with designs and measurememnts we work out what is needed and then i get the steel - they cut some of it up and then I weld it up for them.

The trailer goes bak to school on Tuesday so the girls can set it out and clamp it ready for welding - the others who designed the roll bar etc need to look at bracing and come up with a plan, the seat designers need to drill holes for the bolts for the seat and the painters need to sand down the bonnet redy for its last coat of paint. At the same time they need to work out how to connect the bonnet to the tractor - and make it with a flip top lid so we can access the batteries. The boys doing the wiring must get the wired down the roll bar before we weld the last bits on too !
LOTS TO THINK ABOUT !

Here's some pictures to look so you can see the latest progress on the tractor - it is now starting to take shape and everyone is excitied !

Mrs Buckley has already booked in a trial ride when its finished !

 The painters hard at work with the yellow paint - its already been nick named the bumble bee for obvious reasons !

 The trailer design team take their job very seriously and have devised plans and measurememnts ready for the kitset trailer

 The seat design was a hard one as we had to work out what height and where it has to be positioned on the deck

 Totally stripped down and with additions all ready - here you can see the seat frame and the roll bar

 Steering column is welded in place and the first part of the rear mudguards is welded i there too

 Did we tell you about the transport tray too with a towing ball ready for the tractor

 This is the yellow colour - hence the name bumble bee

The wheel with the knobbly tyre is off an old rotary hoe - nothing is wasted here and lots of parts are recycled ! Our trusty welder is there too

Week 3 - Dead Ant !

Week 3 saw a big jump in progress and looks - now its starting to lokk like its down to bare frame
A little to go yet but getting there
And its a bit dirty still so there's big hints going round about the water blaster again !

A pictures worth a 1000 words so look at these

And the wheel is off and gone to the tyre fixer to get fixed !
The girls were so patient in getting the tyre off but we got there

This week they learnt a whole lot of new terminology apart from the usual "TOOL WORDS"

Words like curclips, gear puller, gearbox linkage, reciprocating saw, all added to the vocabulary mix when we wanted something done but it was great fun and they were here at school this morning at 7:30 - in old clothes - ready to "attack" the mower before school

We definitely have some budding engineers, mechanics and designers in this group and its going to get better !

 We discussed drilling out the rusty screws and tried but the screws were too hard and the new steel drill just "tickled it !"

 Some of the girls said they would rather do the taking apart of the mower than the painting so we swapped people round to the new jobs

 motor cover with its first coat of paint

 Dead ant impersonation with a wheel off !

This is what we wanted to get to - the chain and sprocket so we can see where the motor is going to go

Week 2 progress

Our work so far is progressing well
Just waiting for more comments

Pictures below tell the story

Today at options, Charlotte and I continued trying to take the wheel off. We took turns hitting the back of the wheel with a hammer while the other one of us turned the wheel. We made little progress as it seemed as if the wheel was completely embedded inside, but we still managed to loosen it a bit more. Like they say: “slow and steady wins the race.” Afterwards, everyone got a turn to wash the now-bare mower with a water blaster. The sound was deafening. I’m guessing that the mower was completely soaked with water afterwards.

-Kelly

WATER BLASTING WAS REALLY FUN. I REALLY ENJOYED IT. OUR PROGRESS SO FAR IS GREAT AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE END RESULT. -ASHLEY

Progress for week 2 and we have got lots done ! This week we learnt about cleaning it all up - hence the course on WATERBLASTER 101 !