BCMM Gathering - 05-29-2016
Observations - by Jim Picton
Our May meeting got under way around 1:00 PM at Fred's place. This is our last get together until September. We take a bit of a breather during the summer to take some time off to do other things that interest us.
If anyone is visiting the Vancouver area there are always someone around to arrange for several of us to meet up for a spur of the moment gathering and to chew the fat.
If anyone is visiting the Vancouver area there are always someone around to arrange for several of us to meet up for a spur of the moment gathering and to chew the fat.
Meccano Challenge
This month's Meccano Challenge was to build a model to climb a ramp. There seems to be some confusion as to what is meant by a 'MECCANO' challenge. So, to eliminate the confusion in the future, the topic has put to the BCMM Committee to provide basic rules which when completed will be posted on this site.
I had built an adjustable stand for the ramp and we had several entries have a go at various degrees of angle. Keep It Simple seems to be the way to approach these contests as was proven by Brian's entry which climbed 30 degrees before it began to slip.
Fred's model may have done better had he made the battery compartment easier to get at as his model just ran out of poop after several attempts up the board. He later make modifications to the wheels by placing wide rubber bands on them just to see what it could do. The model climbed to 40 degrees before the batteries failed.
Dugan showed us what thinking outside the box is all about. His model was not finished but we all got the idea. It was a catapult type of rig that tossed a grapple of over the top edge of the ramp. The idea then was to engage a motor to retrieve the grapple to haul itself up the ramp. I would think this arrangement could climb straight up a wall.
I had built an adjustable stand for the ramp and we had several entries have a go at various degrees of angle. Keep It Simple seems to be the way to approach these contests as was proven by Brian's entry which climbed 30 degrees before it began to slip.
Fred's model may have done better had he made the battery compartment easier to get at as his model just ran out of poop after several attempts up the board. He later make modifications to the wheels by placing wide rubber bands on them just to see what it could do. The model climbed to 40 degrees before the batteries failed.
Dugan showed us what thinking outside the box is all about. His model was not finished but we all got the idea. It was a catapult type of rig that tossed a grapple of over the top edge of the ramp. The idea then was to engage a motor to retrieve the grapple to haul itself up the ramp. I would think this arrangement could climb straight up a wall.
The Competition
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Underway.....
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Static Displays
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Thanks go out to our host, Fred for laying out the coffee and goodies.
Everyone who brought along competition models and static displays.
Article, photos and ramp by Jim.
