Weekly Progress - Week 9

Almost finish constructing the toy. There're just some minor issues that we need to figure out. We found a small mini sized dummy that we are going to use.

Image 1: Dummy

Image 2: Sling using block

 Before, we had only had a string that was used as the sling but we found that to be unreliable. Instead of using string, we decided to use a block so that it will definitely propel the car forward 100% of the time. This was the result of many tests.

Image 3: Connected tracks

The two tracks are connected using magnets. Image 3 is an image of how the track would look like for head on collusion.

Weekly Progress - Week 8

We are in the final phase of making our toy. This week, we are going to put everything together and do tests. We have finished making one track. We put springs on the both edges and attach a string to the two. This turn it into a sling.

Image 1: Finished Track

Image 2: Sling

 We tested the sling and it worked very well. There wasn't anything that needed to be changed.

Image 3: Magnets glued to the end of track

We hot glued strong magnets to the width end of the track. We are going to use magnets to attach the two tracks to each other for head on collusion.

Image 4: Close up of a spring

The spring is nailed into the track.

Weekly Progress - Week 7

This week we spray painted the frame of the car black so that it'll be easier to decorate later on. We are thinking of using stickers to decorate the cars or allow others (players/users) to use the stickers to decorate the cars in whatever way they want.

Image 1: Frame and Chassis

We inserted the mechanism into the chassis. One chassis was made using 3D printing while the other one is made with metal.

Image 2: Inside Mechanism

Image 3: Mechanism in Car

For the track, we are going to make a sling using springs on the track so that we pull the car back and when we let go the car will be propelled forward.

Image 4: Track

The above image is a picture of the beginning progress of using springs to make the sling.

Weekly Progress - Week 6

This week, we received the 3D printed pieces but found that some pieces doesn't fit properly so we are going to reprint those. We also have the case/frames that we are going to use to fit car parts onto.

Image 1: Frames

Image 2: Doors

Image 3: 

Image 4: Hood

We put magnets on the car pieces. 

Weekly Progress - Week 5

This week, we worked on creating 3D models of the car parts and mechanisms we need for our toy to work the way we want.The models were created using Creo.

Image 1: Inside Mechanism

Image 2: Close up of Inside Mechanism

Image 1 and 2 are pictures of the inside mechanism that would make the button work. The button is in front so that when it is pressed, the doors of the car would open and the dummy would fly out of the car. This inside mechanism part would make what we want to happen happen. As you can from the above 2 images, there is a square hole. A little spring will fit into that space.

Image 3: Trap Door

 

Image 4: Trap; Door

The trap door is another inside mechanism created for the purpose of the toy. Some other parts we would create 3D models of are the interchangeable body parts of the toy cars including doors, hoods, roof, front and back bumpers. We also sent a request to get the parts 3D printed.

Image 5: Hood

Image 6: Trunk

Image 7: Different Trunk

Image 8: Side Door

We also changed our mind on what material to use to create our tracks. Instead of using styrofoam board, we decided a better material to use would be wood. We decided that styrofoam isn't as sturdy as we need it to be and the car wheels do not turn as well on styrofoam than as they do on wood. Coincidentally, Tim has the wood we need and he would bring that.

Another thing we decided to use was magnets. We will use magnets to keep our car together/attached. The magnets will hold the parts to the frame. Alex went and brought magnets and springs.

Weekly Progress - Week 4

The car we ordered online arrived this week. It was smaller than expected but that's fine since we are using this car to find out how some car mechanisms work.

Image 1: Nascar Toy Car

There is a button in the front bumper that when pressed, the car will break in half with the two car doors open. We decided we like the button mechanism so we are going to use it in our design. It will be slightly different though. In our design, when the button is pressed (some kind of impact), the doors of the car will open and the dummy will fly out.

Image 2: Top view of car

Image 3: Bottom view of car

We have taken apart the car and saw how the car works when the button is pressed.  We decided we like the button mechanism so we are going to use it in our design. It will be slightly different though. In our design, when the button is pressed (some kind of impact), the doors of the car will open and the dummy will fly out.

Image 4: Bottom pieces of car 

Image 5: Bottoms pieces together

This week, we went and brought two cars of the same size. We took them apart to use their chassis. The two chassis are identical . We are going to design the different car parts based off the chassis so that the parts will fit perfectly. 

Image 6: Top view of chassis

Image 7: Bottom view of chassis

As you can see from Image 7, the chassis is battery powered but we won't use that because it is unnecessary for our toy. Our toy will be pushed into motion by a spring mechanism. 

Weekly Progress - Week 3

This week we focused on material selection.

We determined which parts of the vehicle will be customizable by the user, and which would be fixed.  This is the list of fixed and interchangeable components:

Fixed:
- car frame / chassis
- wheels
- windshield

Interchangeable:
- front bumper / grill
- back bumper / trunk
- roof
- doors
- hood

In terms of material selection, it was determined that the main frame / chassis would be made from metal, and the rest of the parts would be plastic.

For the sake of efficiency and accuracy, we want to avoid relying on the 3D printer for all of our parts, especially because the main model is an assembly.

Instead, we have considered "reverse engineering" existing toy cars and combining the parts from several different toys to create our own unique parts that fit the model.

Thus, the next task will be to go toy shopping for various toy car models.  We have already ordered a few online off of Amazon and plan on going to a local toy store to find additional models.

Other materials include...
-2 springs
-styrofoam board to make pieces for the track
-2' by 4' wood wall

Competitive Product Analysis

The following are products currently on the market that either have similar features or concept designs to our product, "Crash Course Factory."
A similar product to our project idea is Tyco’s “Crash Test Dummies”. The toy was created in 1992, and designed to target the aggressive and destructive behavior of young boys. The toy does serve an educational purpose by informing children and adults about the importance of wearing a seat belt in a car. The initial launch price of the car was $15 while the dummy character cost $6.
The toy functions as a destructible car with components that can break away from the main body of the car. There are a line of vehicles that can be purchased separately with varying break away parts. The breakable parts are able to be re-attached to the vehicle. The vehicle that is most similar to our project idea is the “Crash Car” which has break away wheels, windshield, and roof. The other function of the toy is the “Test dummy”. Depending on whether or not the Test dummy is buckled up or not, the test dummy with either stay secured in the car or ejected from the car. The car is propelled by the participant physically pushing the car forward.

Figure 1: Crash Test Dummies Toy Kit

The differences between Tyco’s, “Crash Test Dummies,” and our project idea are that the toy will feature interchangeable parts compared to proprietary parts, which would change how well the car can handle crashing. The second difference is that the toy will have a spring to launch the car instead of a person pushing. Tyco’s toy is designed specifically for user entertainment, fueling the destructive behavior of children. Our project idea will be designed with educational purposes in mind. It will show the importance of components on a car and the impact each component has on a car during a crash.

The other similar product that we found is called “Hot Wheels Criss Cross,” created by Mattel company. The toy targets young boys interested in cars and car collisions. The toy uses 4 separate tracks, where both ends of the track are connected to an intersection. At the center of the intersection is a rotating wheel (battery operated) that propels the car to the next track. Eventually two cars will meet at the intersection and collide. The collision causes both cars to be ejected from the track. After the collision, both cars will always remain fully intact. The toy involves no skill and is more visually appealing than interactive.  It is priced at $30.11 for the track and $0.99 per car.

Figure 2: Hot Wheels Criss Cross Toy Kit

The differences between “Hot Wheels Criss Cross” and the “Crash Course Factory” toy idea is that our toy design will have interchangeable parts that breakaway depending on how the car is put together and the impact from the collusion.  This is unlike the Hot Wheels toy that does not have interchangeable parts and does not break apart when upon collusion. The other feature of the “Crash Course Factory” toy is that it will have a safety measure and a mechanical launch. The safety measure will indicate how safe the car the user designs is when crashed. The mechanical launch system will use a spring that is manually pulled back by the user instead of an electronic system.

The similarities between the toys includes a track which the car runs on, however the track the “Crash Course Factory” toy can be constructed into whatever shape the players want it to be. Also, there will be a wall included in “Crash Course Factory” for the cars to crash into. Therefore, the car can collide with the other car or crash into the wall. We want to include as many realistic car collision scenarios as possible.

We have decided to buy a couple toy cars that are similar to our project idea in order to investigate the design methods. This will help us when we create our car frames and the parts. We ordered a couple of cars from Amazon.

Therefore, the projected budget is...

Category	Projected Cost
Competitive Toy Car Products (for understanding design methods)	$50
Materials for Car / Crash Dummy fabrication	$30
Materials for Track / Launch Mechanism fabrication	$30
Total	$110

Weekly Progress - Week 2

In week 2, we had to revise our initial design concepts in order to accommodate the 10-week quarter and also to increase the innovative aspect of the project.

After conducting some competitive product analysis, it was found that our initial "Demolition Derby" idea wasn't as original as we had thought.  A very similar product that involved the construction and deconstruction of crashing cars had already been done.

By suggestion of the professor & TA team, we now instead are doing an *educational toy car game that involves kids building and crashing their own cars as "crash test simulations."

The indicator of whether or not the car was built to safely enough will be whether or not a crash test dummy flies through the roof of the car upon impact.  Below is an initial design sketch of "Crash Course" (title is tentative).

Figure 1: Initial design sketch of "Crash Course"

Here is a couple images of the initial design of the 3D model created with Google SketchUp of "Crash Course". This will most likely not be what the final product will look like. The 3D model is purely for an idea of what we want to create. As you can see from the images, there are different types of cars. There is also a row of car parts. The images are showing that you can assemble different parts together to create many different types of cars (vehicles is the more actual term). Most likely the vehicles you see in the 3D model could be created from the vehicle parts we will make.

Image 1: Examples of some vehicles that could be created

Image 2: An example of a test dummy, an egg

Image 2 shows you an egg in the truck. The egg is an example of a possible test dummy for "Crash Course". If we are going to use eggs as the test dummy that tests the safety of the vehicle built, it is highly likely that we will not use real eggs but fake eggs that breaks depending on the pressure (impact) exerted on it. Another possibility is that we would use boils eggs or use a completely different test dummy instead.

Image 3: Spring mechanism

Image 3 shows a spring mechanism that will propel the car forward to crash into the wall. Again, this does not show the final product. This only shows the general idea of what we want to do. We have not yet designed the spring mechanism.

Weekly Progress - Week 1

This week we threw around some potential toy designs and eventually landed on a collision-based car game, tentatively titled, "Demolition Derby."

Figure 1: An initial design sketch of "Demolition Derby"

Some of the major design features include:

- customizable toy cars with interchangeable parts

- button-mashing wind up and launch

- winding, sloped race track with car crash platform

Another idea we had is called "Magnetic Maze Course".

Figure 2: An initial design sketch of "Magnetic Maze Course"

Some of the major design features include:

-magnetic car

-a maze with one course that reaches the exit

-using magnets to maneuver the magnetic car around the maze