Journal entry #2 September 29th, 2017

 Over the past 2 weeks, we built our catapult for the pumpkin fling, and I am pleased to say we were able to win the competition for the second consecutive year. Our catapult featured several unique features that we think, were able to give us an edge over the competition. First, we had a 3D printed cup, we also had PVC pipe elbows taped on the main friction point to reduce friction and increase the power of the bungee cords. We used stakes to anchor the catapult to the ground to provide the most efficient transfer of energy; ideally, the arm would be the only part moving. In the video attached, you can see what the transfer of energy was better but not perfect, we later corrected this by anchoring the stakes at an angle. Finally, the biggest difference between ours and the competitors was the guide rails we had to keep the arm shooting consistently straight; they are highlighted in the attached image. Also, I uploaded the video to YouTube just in case it isn’t working natively. Also, I included footage of the Pumpkin Fling and some of our shots.

Journal entry #1 September25th, 2017