Group Members: and
Engineering II – Design Loop Problem #4 Egg Vehicle Crash
Identify the Problem (Day 1)
Design a safe vehicle that will successfully transport an egg through a crash. The vehicle will be powered by a CO2 cartridge 25 feet into a concrete block. The car will be attached to a fixed route system with fishing line.
Design Requirements
 You will work with a partner to design, build, and test your vehicle.
 A pine block will be provided for the cartridge, the block may not be modified
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The vehicle body and restraint system must be securely attached to the pine block.
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The final maximum size is 5” high x 5” wide x 10” long.
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Maximum weight = 100 g (NOT including the egg and CO2 cartridge)
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2 eye screws MUST be mounted, inline, under the body ½” off the floor
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Egg visibility is a minimum of 180 degrees
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Construction paper must be used to cover the entire frame of the vehicle.
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The CO2 power plant hole must be 1 ¾” to center from the floor.
Materials:
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Scrap pine wood sticks
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2 steel axles
 4 plastic wheels
 1 straw
 hot glue
 1 foam block
 6 cotton balls
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2 eye screws
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1 Dixie cup
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1’ of string
4 washers
Plastic bag construction paper
Pine block power plant
Gather Information: (Day 2 and 3)
Research 3 Safety Restraint Systems
Generate Possible Solutions (Brainstorming): (Day 3 and 4)
Use graph paper or AutoCAD to design a 3 View drawing of the vehicle. The drawing must have labels
and dimensions for all materials on the vehicle.
Pick the Best Possible Solution (Day 4)
Save the AutoCAD drawing to your home directory or put the graph paper in your binder so it can be attached to the analysis report.
Developmental Work, Prototyping: (Day 4 through 9)
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Construct the vehicle using the drawings and the materials provided.
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The CO2 power plant hole must be 1 ¾” to center from the floor.
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There will not be any practice runs.
Testing: Competition (Day 10)
The car will be wrecked into a concrete block and must survive. There will only be one test.
1

The Problem
You are the newly hired Automotive Engineer for DHS Motors Inc, a space aged car design company planning to build and sell the safest automobiles on the road. The CEO of the company, Mr. Mitchell, has hired you to design and build their companies first commercially available vehicle developed to assure the safety of its passengers during any impact situation.
The automotive industry is constantly striving towards a higher level of safety in today’s automobiles. Each new model line must pass through rigorous testing and standards. Perhaps the most important testing that occurs is the crash test. Vehicles are crashed into walls or other cars to determine if the occupants would survive a real life crash, and the types of injuries they could incur.
Your Challenge
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To design and construct a vehicle using appropriate materials that will safely carry an uncooked egg (driver) over a given distance without causing injury (cracked egg) or death (broken egg) to the driver upon impact with a barricade (concrete block).
• If the egg (driver) survives first crash test with no injuries then vehicle and driver will be tested on the rollover ramp. If the driver survives the rollover test without injury or death, that student will receive Extra Credit.
Criteria & Rules of the Challenge
• Vehicle needs to be designed based on your research or real world-automobile safety features.
• The vehicle must have 3 components to qualify for testing: o Frame with bumpers (suspension optional) o Interior (seat, seatbelts, protection suit, etc.) o Body (hardtop or convertible)
• The vehicle must be no longer than 15” in length including all bumpers and safety equipment.
• Vehicle must have some type of a front bumper system.
• The vehicle must have wheels supplied or approved by instructor. Also the wheels must run on the outer edge of the ramp.
• The vehicle must fit within the limits of the ramp supplied by the instructor.
• The vehicle cannot be powered by any other means except for the incline it rolls off.
• The vehicle must carry an uncooked egg (driver).
• The egg must remain securely in the vehicle at all times.
2
• Egg will be placed vertically in vehicle.
• Egg cannot be glued or taped in the vehicle.
• Egg must be removed from car (after instructor approval) within 15 seconds after crash.
• No peanut butter or other food items are to be used.
• The driver/passenger must have an unobstructed 180 degrees field of vision out the front and sides of the vehicle.
• One-half of the egg must be visible.
• Egg must be restrained by a seatbelt or seatbelt system.
• Egg must be removable, interchangeable and not hard-boiled.
• Vehicle must obtain a certain MPH determined by the instructor on test day.
• Remember, the vehicle’s condition is not the important factor in assessing its success, as is the case in a real accident. The condition of your passenger, or egg, will be assessed immediately following the impact. NOTE: Students may have no interaction with the vehicle until the instructor has been able to determine the passenger’s physical conditions.
• The teacher will supply eggs at the time of the competition and each egg will be returned to the teacher at the end of the class period. If egg breaks while testing, student must clean up egg before final grade is given. Failure to follow the above rules will result in a letter grade of “F”.
Material

Students must use only the material supplied by the instructor. Students can use their own material with instructor approval. The following is a list of appropriate material(s):
• Sintra (frame rails and suspension components)
• Matte Board (seats, body, and/or frame components)
• Thin Clear Plastic Sheets (window material)
• Rubber Bands (any size or length)
• String (any size or length)
• Plastic Wheels (provided by instructor)
• Cotton or Cotton Balls
• Straws
• Any type of Fastener
• Springs (purchased or hand-made)
• Syringes
• Rubber
• Styrofoam (internal or external use)
• Plastic
• Sponge (internal or external use)
3
Please provide a minimum of three design concepts using the graph paper blocks below. Please sketch these designs to scale, considering that each block is equal to
1”. Also provide 3 views for your design where possible and appropriate.
Design Concept #1
Design Concept #2
4
Design Concept #3
Design Concept #4
Which is your best design? Please explain why you believe this is the best design.