Do-It-Yourself Engineering

353 Pages·2017·36.2 MB·English

by  Stephen Ressler

Topic Subtopic
Master the principles of engineering through fascinating do-it-yourself projects Science & Mathematics Engineering
with a registered professional engineer.
Do-It-Yourself
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“Pure intellectual stimulation that can be popped
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“Passionate, erudite, living legend lecturers. Academia’s u
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—The Los Angeles Times f Course Guidebook
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“A serious force in American education.” g
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—The Wall Street Journal e Professor Stephen Ressler
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r United States Military Academy
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Stephen Ressler is Professor Emeritus from the United States Military Academy at West
Point, where he taught for 21 years. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering
from Lehigh University and is a registered professional engineer in Virginia. Professor
Ressler served in a variety of military engineering assignments in the United States, Europe,
and Central Asia. He has focused his scholarly work and professional service in the area of
engineering education and has won numerous national awards for engineering education
and service.
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Course No. 1144 © 2017 The Teaching Company. OI1144A k
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STEPHEN RESSLER,
PH.D., P.E.,
DIST.M.ASCE
Professor Emeritus
United States Military Academy at West Point
Stephen Ressler is Professor Emeritus from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where
he taught for 21 years. He earned a bachelor of science degree from West Point, master’s and Ph.D.
degrees in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, and a master of strategic studies degree from the
U.S. Army War College. Professor Ressler is a registered professional engineer in the commonwealth of
Virginia. He is also an amateur artist and craftsman who created all of the physical models and most of
the computer models and graphics used in this course.
Professor Ressler served for 34 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and retired at the rank of brigadier general in 2013. He served in a variety of military engineering
assignments in the United States, Europe, and Central Asia, including 21 years as a member of the
West Point faculty. At West Point, Professor Ressler taught courses in engineering mechanics, structural
analysis, structural design, construction management, professional practice, and civil engineering
history. In 2007, he deployed to Afghanistan to develop a civil engineering program for the newly
created National Military Academy of Afghanistan in Kabul. In that capacity, he designed the civil
engineering curriculum, hired the first cohort of Afghan faculty, and developed 2 laboratory facilities.
Professor Ressler has focused his scholarly work and professional service in the area of engineering
education. He has written more than 80 scholarly papers on teaching techniques, faculty development,
curriculum assessment, engineering outreach to primary and secondary schools, engineering
accreditation, and information technology. Professor Ressler’s work has earned 9 Best Paper Awards
from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and 1 from the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Professor Ressler was the creator and director of the West Point Bridge Design Contest, a nationwide
Internet‑based engineering competition that engaged more than 50,000 middle school and high school
students between 2001 and 2016. He is also a developer and principal instructor for the Excellence in
Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Teaching Workshop, a landmark faculty development program
sponsored by ASCE. The workshop has provided rigorous teacher training to more than 500 civil
engineering faculty members from more than 200 colleges and universities over the past 14 years.
Professor Ressler has won numerous national awards for engineering education and service. From
ASCE, he received the President’s Medal, the ExCEEd Leadership Award, and the John I. Parcel‑Leif
J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award. ASCE also named him a distinguished member in
2005. From ASEE, Professor Ressler received the George K. Wadlin Distinguished Service Award, the
Professor Biography i
Distinguished Educator Award, and the Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award. In 2017, he was named
a fellow of ASEE. Professor Ressler also received the Society of American Military Engineers’ Bliss Medal
for Outstanding Contributions to Engineering Education, the American Association of Engineering
Societies’ Norm Augustine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communications, the
Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware, and the EDUCOM Medal for
application of information technology in education.
Professor Ressler was named one of Engineering News‑Record’s Top 25 Newsmakers who served
construction in 2000. In 2011, he received ASCE’s highest award—the Outstanding Projects and
Leaders Award, which is presented to only 5 of ASCE’s 140,000 members each year.
Professor Ressler’s other Great Courses are Everyday Engineering: Understanding the Marvels of Daily
Life; Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon; and Understanding the
World’s Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Professor Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Project Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
GUIDES
Project 1 Golf Ball Launcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Lesson 1 » Why DIY Engineering?
Project 2 Cardboard Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Lesson 2 » Exploring the Science of Structure
Lesson 3 » Design and Build a Cardboard Tower
Project 3 Beam Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lesson 4 » Bridging with Beams
Project 4 Suspension Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Lesson 5 » Make a Suspension Bridge
Project 5 Concrete Sailboat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Lesson 6 » Design a Concrete Sailboat
Lesson 7 » Set Sail!
Project 6 Radio-Controlled Blimp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Lesson 8 » Make a Radio-Controlled Blimp
Project 7 Rubber-Powered Airplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Lesson 9 » Exploring Aerodynamics
Lesson 10 » Build a Model Airplane
Lesson 11 » Take Flight!
Project 8 Rubber-Powered Helicopter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Lesson 12 » Build a Model Helicopter
Table of Contents iii
Project 9 Camera-Equipped Rocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Lesson 13 » This Is Rocket Science
Lesson 14 » Build a Rocket
Lesson 16 » Let’s Do Launch!
Project 10 Electric Launch Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Lesson 15 » Make an Electric Launch Controller
Project 11 Ballista, Onager, and Trebuchet . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Lesson 17 » A Tale of Three Catapults
Lesson 18 » Build a Ballista, Onager, and Trebuchet
Project 12 Hydraulic Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Lesson 19 » Design a Hydraulic Arm
Project 13 Water Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Lesson 20 » Make a Water Turbine
Project 14 Gear Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Lesson 21 » Design a Gear Train
Project 15 Wooden Pendulum Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Lesson 22 » Make a Mechanical Clock
Project 16 Electric-Powered Crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
Lesson 23 » Design a Motor-Powered Crane
Project 17 Tribute to Rube Goldberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Lesson 24 » Creative Design: A Tribute to Rube Goldberg
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317
Appendix A
Structural Testing Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
Appendix B
Cutting Patterns and Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322
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DISCLAIMER
This series of lessons includes a variety of demonstrations and hands‑on projects intended to increase
your understanding of math, science, and engineering. These demonstrations and projects are performed
by an experienced professional and involve extensive use of tools, equipment, and materials that can be
dangerous if not used with extreme caution.
WARNING: THE DEMONSTRATIONS AND PROJECTS PERFORMED IN THESE LESSONS
CAN BE DANGEROUS. ANY ATTEMPT TO PERFORM THESE DEMONSTRATIONS OR
PROJECTS ON YOUR OWN IS UNDERTAKEN AT YOUR OWN RISK.
The Teaching Company expressly DISCLAIMS LIABILITY for any DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS that result
directly or indirectly from the use of these lessons. In states that do not allow some or all of the above
limitations of liability, liability shall be limited to the greatest extent allowed by law.
Table of Contents v
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PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
This guidebook provides comprehensive descriptions for each of the 17 do‑it‑yourself projects presented
in this course. Each of these descriptions includes the following:
} problem definition
} references
} design concept
} detailed design (models, experimentation, and analysis calculations)
} final design drawings
} materials list
} fabrication and assembly procedure
} testing procedure
In addition, the PDF version of this guidebook includes full‑size cutting patterns and layout drawings
for all relevant projects (See Appendix B).
Throughout the course, Professor Ressler makes extensive use of SketchUp software for 3‑D modeling
and design. The free version of this software—called SketchUp Make—can be obtained from
http://www.sketchup.com/. If you would like to learn how to use SketchUp, it is strongly recommended
that you work through the tutorials provided at https://www.sketchup.com/learn.
Professor Ressler has provided his SketchUp 3‑D models for all 17 course projects on his personal
website at http://stephenjressler.com/diy‑engineering/.
The projects in this course require basic‑level woodworking and metalworking skills. The following
major pieces of shop equipment and tools are used (though not all are used for all projects):
} table saw
} miter saw or radial arm saw
} bandsaw or scroll saw
} drill press (with sets of twist drill bits and Forstner bits)
} sanding station with belt and disk sanders
} spindle sander
} shop vacuum
} benchtop vise
} clamps
} various hand tools (see individual project descriptions for specific requirements)
If you attempt to do any of the projects presented in this course, please pay careful attention to the safety
overview presented in lesson 1 and all of the specific safety advisories presented throughout the course.
Project Descriptions 1
2