Grab some attention with this robot claw that works using the science of hydraulics, made with syringes, paper fasteners and zip ties.
Type ticketed (10 per session)
# Deliveries 4
Duration 30 min
Participants construct a hydraulic claw from pre-cut cardboard parts, syringes and fixings. No tools or glue are required, other than side cutters. The design involves using hydraulics, linkages and levers to make a useful tool.
5 min: Show the participants a completed claw, and demonstrate how to use it. Discuss how hydraulics make the device work, and elicit other examples from group members. Emphasise that hydraulic systems rely on containing a non-compressable liquid (and so avoiding bubbles is important), and why industrial machines use oil rather than water (because the much high vapour pressure of water, it tends to form bubbles by cavitation when in use and this reduces the transfer of force)
15 min: lead the participants in assembling the claw (the sequence is important - follow the guide in the file below)
5 min: troubleshoot as necessary (avoid bubbles and leaks, the mechanism might be stiff to start, and if this does not improve, try loosening the paper joiners to allow free movement)
What other examples of a hydraulic grabbing device have you seen? (excavators, robots, tree harvesters etc) Why use hydraulics? Explain how one-way valves make a car jack possible, and a how the force applied by your arm is transmitted throughout the liquid. What about nature? (Spiders legs and squid)
For each participant
Assembly instructions: cardboard_claw_assembly_instructions.docx
Cutfiles: cardboard_claw.zip
Created by Emma Che Raethke on 2018/09/07 15:22.
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