Thank you, this video has been the most descriptive and well explained way on how to create this mousetrap car, and it even gave me a little lesson on axis and how they effect the car. I also appreciated the equation on how long the string must be to reach a certain distance. Thank you for saving my grade! :)
Also, here is a tip that I didn't mention in the video. A few puffs of graphite lubricant (the kind used for locks) on the bearings and axles will reduce friction even more, giving you a longer coast at the end of the run.
not clear on what is the width and showing every part. I did the same thing it did not work did you use nail on top to join both together? I used glue it did not work.
We used hot glue to make all connections (the type of glue that comes in sticks and requires a small, electrical gun to apply). Things like elmers glue or liquid nails will not hold up.
If by 'jumping' you mean breaking free of the surface and 'peeling out' causing you to lose energy, then you have two options: 1. try to increase the friction between your rear wheels and the surface by coating the edges of the rear DVDs with electrical tape or a similar material. 2. decrease the diameter of your rear axle. This will reduce the amount of torque reaching the wheels and should give you a gentler acceleration that might keep your wheels from skipping (as a bonus, it will give you more travel distance under power!). good luck!
How could you modify this project by using 2 mousetraps that don't operate together? In other words one would start and the second would begin when the first was finished
Sir, what would you think will happen if we add a second lever arm on the other side of the mouse strap meaning two strings will rotate the rear axle. Will it affect the distance travel or not at all? How will it affect the whole car?
In a nutshell: 1. Low temperature hot glue to secure the frame and attach the axle/wheel bearings 2. 3/16" dowel rods for axles 3. Fender washers (8) as wheel bearings (be sure the opening in the washer is just slightly bigger than the 3/16" dowel rods) 4. Coat hanger for the mousetrap arm extension 5. Balsa wood rulers for the frame and the mouse-trap mount (we used these because it was what we had on hand, if I were to do this again I would probably use more dowel rods in place of the rulers to form a lighter frame). 6. Glide dental floss (the strong, flat type) as the drive-train 7. DVD's (4) for the wheels 8. Tan or Blue wire nuts (4) to serve as wheel hubs 9. Graphite lock lubricant to reduce friction between the axle and its bearings That is about it. You might need a small drill (for making axle holes in the frame) and/or saw (to cut dowels) to complete the project, but if you are clever you can probably find some easy ways to avoid needing those tools at all. Good luck!
hi Professor Davis, my mousetrap car wont move when put on the ground, or at least not move far. i dont understand, because my model is literally the exact copy of yours. I need to surpass 25 ft to gain full score, but i dont know why it isnt working, i sued lubricants and cds like you?were testing tomorrow, have advice?
Nevermind, after 3 hrs of experimenting i realized that the wheels weight was too heavy! it travels ~35 ft no problem, surpassing my needs. great video!
We have a project in my Engineering class that involves us making mousetrap racers and there is a competition to who can drive their car the furthest. My question is that if you keep on extending the coat hanger length, won't the distance traveled by the car be more and more, or is there like a limit to how long the coat hanger can be? thanks :D
Yes. The longer the arm is, the greater distance the car will travel under power. However, the longer the arm, the less torque it will deliver. Eventually it will not be enough torque to overcome the friction of the bearings and axles, resulting in a car that doesn't move!
The coat hanger must be exactly one half of the length of the floss making up the drive train. This way, you get maximum travel under power. Just use your axle and wheel circumferences to determine how much floss you need to get the desired travel distance for the car (see the video), then build your vehicle around that key dimension.
I assume you men the length, end-to-end? The axles are about five inches long (including the portion inside the wirenuts). This made the frame itself about four inches wide (ruler-to-ruler). The best choice for axle width will depend on the dimensions of the mousetrap you have, but we found that a frame narrower than 5 inches meant less stability when the car was in motion. If you are asking about the diameter of the dowels, making that choice is discussed in the video.
I used a piece of a wire coat hanger cut, straightened and secured by first using hot glue, then reinforcing the connection by wrapping it with electrical tape.
Why not just use a wheel bearing or drive train bearing for rc tenth scale race cars they are faster smaller but inside hole can come any size you want. I did it your way and my way and got to 90 feet using rc car bearings instead of washer bearings
because you are obviously thinking outside the box (good for you!). As I mentioned in the intro.... this was our prototype build with what we could find in our garage. I'm guessing most folks don't have tenth scale RC cars in their garage, either ;-)
We used a straightened coat hanger. Be sure to use hot glue to attach it to the arm of the mouse trap and consider using some sturdy tape to reinforce the attachment.
Thank you, this video has been the most descriptive and well explained way on how to create this mousetrap car, and it even gave me a little lesson on axis and how they effect the car. I also appreciated the equation on how long the string must be to reach a certain distance. Thank you for saving my grade! :)
Glad you found it helpful! Good luck with your project!
Also, here is a tip that I didn't mention in the video. A few puffs of graphite lubricant (the kind used for locks) on the bearings and axles will reduce friction even more, giving you a longer coast at the end of the run.
ChemSurvival oh perfect, I made a rough copy already but my final car will include that!
ChemSurvival thank you you saved my grade I think with graphite
Alec Decowski Do your own work stop stealing off other people
Any chance you can give us a step-by-step on how to build it?
For real
i̶t̶s̶ e̶d̶i̶t̶h̶
😂
For those who need it, this video helped me when making my car! th-cam.com/video/kPAyIXwryaI/w-d-xo.html
Great video! I have watched your Great Courses videos for chemistry and the periodic table. Thanks for sharing!
not clear on what is the width and showing every part. I did the same thing it did not work did you use nail on top to join both together? I used glue it did not work.
We used hot glue to make all connections (the type of glue that comes in sticks and requires a small, electrical gun to apply). Things like elmers glue or liquid nails will not hold up.
Thank you for this video, I'm doing this project in my engineering class
Glad it helped. Remember, this was a prototype. There is lots of room for improvement, so take it to the next level! Good luck!
My group needs to make ours go 80ft. Does that mean our base should be 20in and our string be 40in? Also, how long should the coat hanger arm be?
Nicola Simmons don’t know.
hope your group passed LMAO
Heheh
Thanks this is awesome you saved my grade
hey, I created a slightly different car similar to this one. my back two wheels are jumping, think you might have the answer?
If by 'jumping' you mean breaking free of the surface and 'peeling out' causing you to lose energy, then you have two options: 1. try to increase the friction between your rear wheels and the surface by coating the edges of the rear DVDs with electrical tape or a similar material. 2. decrease the diameter of your rear axle. This will reduce the amount of torque reaching the wheels and should give you a gentler acceleration that might keep your wheels from skipping (as a bonus, it will give you more travel distance under power!). good luck!
It might not be attached well enough
How could you modify this project by using 2 mousetraps that don't operate together? In other words one would start and the second would begin when the first was finished
My project is to make a car that moves 10 ft. I am gonna crush this so hard
I only need one meter mwahahahaa
I need 45 feet rip
15 meters is 100% for us
@@ericwan6645 Ouch..
We're lucky, 16 ft for us 😅
Great video. Great thorough explanation
@ChemSurvival Hi how long exactly does the cut coat hanger need to be? Also where is it getting attached?
Also what attaches to the mouse car?
How did you attach the hanger?
How did you connect this all to the mouse trap? Like the coat hanger and all that?
hi, bei 3:15 wie sind Sie auf 12 inches travel/1foot travel gekommen? danke im Voraus
How long does the back axel and front axel have to be HELP
For my project we are using rat traps on carpeted floor. Would the racer do worse because it is on the carpeted floor?
probably since there would be more friction
Seems like a good use for AOL disks. :)
Sir, what would you think will happen if we add a second lever arm on the other side of the mouse strap meaning two strings will rotate the rear axle. Will it affect the distance travel or not at all? How will it affect the whole car?
Zaeh Dilidili don’t know
From where TF I have to have all that items
Is there anyway you could give me a list of what materials you used?
In a nutshell:
1. Low temperature hot glue to secure the frame and attach the axle/wheel bearings
2. 3/16" dowel rods for axles
3. Fender washers (8) as wheel bearings (be sure the opening in the washer is just slightly bigger than the 3/16" dowel rods)
4. Coat hanger for the mousetrap arm extension
5. Balsa wood rulers for the frame and the mouse-trap mount (we used these because it was what we had on hand, if I were to do this again I would probably use more dowel rods in place of the rulers to form a lighter frame).
6. Glide dental floss (the strong, flat type) as the drive-train
7. DVD's (4) for the wheels
8. Tan or Blue wire nuts (4) to serve as wheel hubs
9. Graphite lock lubricant to reduce friction between the axle and its bearings
That is about it. You might need a small drill (for making axle holes in the frame) and/or saw (to cut dowels) to complete the project, but if you are clever you can probably find some easy ways to avoid needing those tools at all.
Good luck!
hi Professor Davis, my mousetrap car wont move when put on the ground, or at least not move far. i dont understand, because my model is literally the exact copy of yours. I need to surpass 25 ft to gain full score, but i dont know why it isnt working, i sued lubricants and cds like you?were testing tomorrow, have advice?
Nevermind, after 3 hrs of experimenting i realized that the wheels weight was too heavy! it travels ~35 ft no problem, surpassing my needs. great video!
i hate snakeu Howd you do it
Can you give a material list for stuff like the nylon string thing
Davis this video saved my lige
lol 8:30, he just looks into the camera
We have a project in my Engineering class that involves us making mousetrap racers and there is a competition to who can drive their car the furthest. My question is that if you keep on extending the coat hanger length, won't the distance traveled by the car be more and more, or is there like a limit to how long the coat hanger can be? thanks :D
Yes. The longer the arm is, the greater distance the car will travel under power. However, the longer the arm, the less torque it will deliver. Eventually it will not be enough torque to overcome the friction of the bearings and axles, resulting in a car that doesn't move!
What did he use for the axels?
Dowels
I just used the skewer ones you would use for a Shiskabob
If you are doing a speed car for a short distance, why not place the car upside down so the spring makes the catapult and launches the car
@ChemSurvival what are the specific
materials used?
Idk
Does anyone know how long he made the coat hanger?
The coat hanger must be exactly one half of the length of the floss making up the drive train. This way, you get maximum travel under power. Just use your axle and wheel circumferences to determine how much floss you need to get the desired travel distance for the car (see the video), then build your vehicle around that key dimension.
ChemSurvival thank you so much! I’m doing a similar design and I’m totally gonna crush the guys in my auto class
What is the with of the front and back axle
I assume you men the length, end-to-end? The axles are about five inches long (including the portion inside the wirenuts). This made the frame itself about four inches wide (ruler-to-ruler). The best choice for axle width will depend on the dimensions of the mousetrap you have, but we found that a frame narrower than 5 inches meant less stability when the car was in motion.
If you are asking about the diameter of the dowels, making that choice is discussed in the video.
What material did you use for the lever and how did you attach it to the mouse trap?
I used a piece of a wire coat hanger cut, straightened and secured by first using hot glue, then reinforcing the connection by wrapping it with electrical tape.
@@ChemSurvival thanks g u a homey lmao
@@officixlprez1754 werd B-)
Thank you so much!!! cheers from britian!
What a pity you haven't used metric for the calculations.
This thing is very well thought out
I am confused I have this assignment for S.T.E.M I'm in yr7 and I would like some basic explaination
Joey Alfie What are you confused about?
I just don't understand how you put the stick that comes from the mousetrap
How long was the lever arm
about 12.5 inches.
12.5 inches. Just enough to give us the 25 inches of travel that we calculated was necessary to reach 50 feet under power.
what is the width of the mousetrap car
Jack Weichandt good answer
A bigger axle gives u more torque.. I made one that travel 50+ feet, pulled 35 lbs, and had the fastest speed
Dental floss thats genius
Sick car bro
Your video is great, I personally despise this stupid project I cant stand it
Josh P
Same man i hate my science class
This is mine Joven
Yes
its annoying because ours has to reach 100 feet to get a good grade r.i.p
Why not just use a wheel bearing or drive train bearing for rc tenth scale race cars they are faster smaller but inside hole can come any size you want. I did it your way and my way and got to 90 feet using rc car bearings instead of washer bearings
because you are obviously thinking outside the box (good for you!). As I mentioned in the intro.... this was our prototype build with what we could find in our garage. I'm guessing most folks don't have tenth scale RC cars in their garage, either ;-)
cool
Thank yo
Nice job dude you're kill dude good stuff
Are you my teacher
Who made this you! or your daughter!
You
Lol griddy
Thank you ._.
Where coding, sir ?
veHICLE lol
Walter
hi nathan
Cool video nigga
I did it myself with the Stodoys plans. I think this is the best way to find out how to build it.
Has anyone ever told you you kinda look creepy
What did he use for the lever??
We used a straightened coat hanger. Be sure to use hot glue to attach it to the arm of the mouse trap and consider using some sturdy tape to reinforce the attachment.
ChemSurvival thanks!
@@SwimmingPodcast Glad to help! I hope that you can build a car that beats my prototype! Good luck!