Design Brief:To design a mouse/rat tap vehicle which will be able to travel a minimum distance of 5 meters. The vehicle may not be powered by anything other than the spring of the mousetrap. The vehicle must be self starting and self steering. The mousetrap spring cannot be altered or changed in any way.
Tools and Machines:Disk sander: Sands the edges smooth, and also removing small amounts of waste timber.
Scroll saw: Used to quickly cut timber into a shape.
Bench vice: Used to securely hold job in place when it is being worked onDrill Press:Drill different sized holes, can also make wheels.
Hot Glue Gun: Glues pieces of wood together and holds strongly and is fast drying.
Materials:1 100mm x 200mm rat trap2 350mm of 12mm thick timber2 10mm lengths of 7mm thick dowel4 150mm diameter wheels1 large piece of string1 160mm x 5mm piece of timberProcedure:1) Cut out the two pieces of 350mm of 12mm thick timber.
Use the drill press to cut holes 20mm from both ends and in the 6mm from the top on both ends. Do this for both pieces.
2) Using a hot glue gun, attach these 2 pieces onto the bottom of the mousetrap on opposite sides of the length of the mousetrap.
3) Cut out four wheels of 150mm diameter do this using the scroll saw and then disk sand it after to make the edges smooth.
4) Make a hole in the middle of the wheels using the drill press. Mark with a centre punch before using the drill. The hole made must be slightly larger than the 7mm dowel so that movement of the axle is not restricted in any way.
5) Insert the two 10mm lengths of 7mm thick dowel into the two holes created in the timber...