Rube Goldberg
About Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg, or Reuben Garrett Lucius, was an inventor. Not only was he an inventor, but he was also a cartoonist, a sculptor, an engineer, and even an author. He is best known for a famous series of cartoons that showed complex machines put together to complete simple tasks. Reuben Garrett Lucius "Rube" Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.
He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways, similar to Heath Robinson devices in the UK, as well as the Storm P devices in Denmark. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948 and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award 1959.
Goldberg was a founding member and the first president of the National Cartoonists Society, and he is the namesake of the Reuben Award, which the organization awards to the Cartoonist of the Year. He is the inspiration for various international competitions, known as Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to make a complicated machine to perform a simple task.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg
He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways, similar to Heath Robinson devices in the UK, as well as the Storm P devices in Denmark. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948 and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award 1959.
Goldberg was a founding member and the first president of the National Cartoonists Society, and he is the namesake of the Reuben Award, which the organization awards to the Cartoonist of the Year. He is the inspiration for various international competitions, known as Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to make a complicated machine to perform a simple task.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg
OUR STEPS
Step 1: We start by rolling a ball down two inclined planes
Step 2: The ball rolls into a cup attached to one side of a pulley
Step 3: The other side of the pulley rises and hits the underside of a lever
Step 4: The lever tilts downwards and bumps a still wheel and axle onto another inclined plane
Step 5: Once at the end of the inclined plane, the wheel and axle hits a marble
Step 6: The marble is bumped into the our screw where it rolls down to the bottom
Step 7: The marble comes out and lands on yet another inclined plane
Step 8: At the bottom of the inclined plane is a cup attached to a lever for the marble to land in
Step 9: Once the marble lands in the cup, it triggers the lever to tap a golf ball
Step 8: This golf ball rolls down an inclined plane towards the end of our project
Step 9: The ball, once at the bottom of the inclined plane, hits a wedge
Step 10: In front of the wedge are multiple coins, which are pushed in by the impact from the golf ball
Step 11: The coins are pushed into the tip jar
Step 1: We start by rolling a ball down two inclined planes
Step 2: The ball rolls into a cup attached to one side of a pulley
Step 3: The other side of the pulley rises and hits the underside of a lever
Step 4: The lever tilts downwards and bumps a still wheel and axle onto another inclined plane
Step 5: Once at the end of the inclined plane, the wheel and axle hits a marble
Step 6: The marble is bumped into the our screw where it rolls down to the bottom
Step 7: The marble comes out and lands on yet another inclined plane
Step 8: At the bottom of the inclined plane is a cup attached to a lever for the marble to land in
Step 9: Once the marble lands in the cup, it triggers the lever to tap a golf ball
Step 8: This golf ball rolls down an inclined plane towards the end of our project
Step 9: The ball, once at the bottom of the inclined plane, hits a wedge
Step 10: In front of the wedge are multiple coins, which are pushed in by the impact from the golf ball
Step 11: The coins are pushed into the tip jar
Our Finished Product
About the Project
This project was a pretty great success. It worked 80-90% of the time. We often argued over how something should look or where it should go. The point of our machine was to push tips into a tip jar that was waiting at the end of everything. Making our Rube Goldberg machine took lots of time and effort, but we managed to pull through and create a very successful machine. The requirement was to use 5 out of 6 of the simple machines, but our group decided to use all 6. The 6 simple machines are the lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw, and pulley. In the picture above, you can see all 6 of the machines coming together to build our complex machine.
Working on this machine allowed me to learn a lot more about the simple machines, velocity, acceleration, and force. I will still need to work on all of these concepts and make sure I get down all of the formulas. These concepts will be very useful for the next four years of my high school career in STEM, as well as in my life after that. Overall, I enjoyed this project very much and am looking forward to all of the other projects throughout this year.
Working on this machine allowed me to learn a lot more about the simple machines, velocity, acceleration, and force. I will still need to work on all of these concepts and make sure I get down all of the formulas. These concepts will be very useful for the next four years of my high school career in STEM, as well as in my life after that. Overall, I enjoyed this project very much and am looking forward to all of the other projects throughout this year.