Table of Contents
What You Need: Wooden snap-back mousetrap. Duct tape. 4 eye hooks. Wooden dowel that fits inside the eye hooks. Heavy cardboard. Large and small rubber bands. Foam board (usually found at a craft store) String.
How do you make a rat trap car go far?
Mousetrap cars will go farther if the spring has more distance from the back wheels. Create traction on the wheels. Add rubber bands, or tape around the wheels to give them better traction. The better the wheels can grip the floor, the farther the mousetrap car will go.
What are the best materials for a mousetrap car?
A mousetrap car can be made from cardboard or balsa wood with CD’s for wheels and axles of wood or brass tubing. Power to drive the wheels is provided by a mousetrap to which a wand and string is attached to the snap arm.
What wheels are best for a mousetrap car?
Use thin, light wheels. Old CDs or DVDs work fairly well for this purpose — they’re large, thin, and extremely light. If you have access to old vinyl, these also work extremely well, though they may be too heavy for the smallest mousetraps.
How long should the lever arm be on a mousetrap car for distance?
For maximum speed, position the mousetrap 2 1/4 inches from the drive axle and cut the lever arm to a length of 4 1/4 inches. The lever arm can be cut using a dremel tool or by using a fine tooth hobby saw. The lever arm should always be “just” long enough to reach the drive axle or performance will be compromised.
How do you make a mousetrap car move with string?
The most basic design for propelling a mousetrap racers is to tie one end of a string to a mouse trap’s snapper arm and then attach the other end of the string to a drive axle. By turning the drive axle the string is wound around the drive axle causing the mouse trap’s spring to compress and store energy.
What is an axle hook on a mousetrap car?
An important part of a mousetrap vehicles propulsion system is the axle hook. If the string does not properly release from the drive axle the string will rewind around the drive axle and cause the mousetrap car to come to an instant stop.
Why is my mousetrap car not going straight?
If your mousetrap car does not travel straight energy is also being wasted to over come the force of friction turning the vehicle’s wheels. If a mousetrap vehicle is not traveling straight then there is one reason and one reason only: the front and rear axles are not parallel to one another!Jan 21, 2012.
How does a mouse trap car work?
A mousetrap car works on the principle of a lever. One end of the lever is connected to a spring. When a force is used to pull up the other end of the lever up, the spring tightens, storing energy. When the lever is released, the stored energy in the spring is transferred back to the lever, and the end snaps back.
How long should my mouse trap car be?
The ideal size for an ultra big wheel on a long distance mousetrap racer seams to be somewhere between 10 and 15 inches. And the ideal size for a drive wheel on a speed-trap racer seams to be between 2 and 3 inches but no more than 4 inches.
What makes a mousetrap car go faster?
A speedy mousetrap car will have smaller wheels (faster acceleration), a shorter lever arm (increased torque, but smaller travel distance), a larger axle (increased acceleration) and will generally be smaller to decrease air resistance.
Are Bigger wheels better for a mousetrap car?
By changing the size of the drive wheel(s) you can speed-up or slow-down your mousetrap vehicle. Larger drive wheels will have a greater travel distance per each turn compared to smaller drive wheel.
Should the string be tied to the axle Why or why not?
The string must not be tied to the axle. If the string is tied to the axle, it will begin to rewind itself and will cause your car to come to a sudden stop. In order to achieve maximum performance from your mouse-trap car, it is important that the pulling string does not slip off the drive axle prematurely.
How do you fix this mousetrap car suddenly stops or slows quickly?
Axle Points Test spin your mousetrap racers wheels in order to see how friction-free they spin. If the wheels stop spinning fairly quickly then you will need to find ways to reduce the axle friction. Try using graphite powder or even replacing bushings with ball bearings.
Do snap mouse traps work?
Traditionally, snap traps have been popular for killing mice and rats swiftly. If you’re trying to bring down the population of house mice and deer mice in your area, snap traps can work especially well. When used correctly, the quick trigger system of a snap tap can help manage large infestations.
How much string is needed for a mousetrap car?
The length of the string is about 25″. Therefore the string can be wrapped around the dowel 25/0.785 = About 31.8 times. So the minimum distance travelled will be the number of times the string can wrap around the dowel multiplied by the circumference of the wheels, which is 31.8 x 14.92 = 474.456″, or about 39.5ft!.
How do you make a rubber band car move?
Procedure Loop a rubber band through itself around the middle, exposed part of the wooden skewer (where you cut out a notch in the cardboard and straw). Tape the rubber band to the skewer to prevent it from slipping—when the skewer rotates, the rubber band should rotate with it.
What happens when the drive wheels are released?
When the drive wheels are released, the string is pulled off the drive axle by the mousetrap causing the wheels to rotate.
How do you adjust the pulling force of the mousetrap?
How do you adjust the pulling force of the mousetrap? Adjusting the length of the snapper will change the pulling force—making something move as it goes in a certain direction. Making the snapper on the mousetrap longer will decrease the pulling force and a shorter snapper will increase it.
How does weight affect a mousetrap car?
Mousetrap Vehicles: Weight Distribution Weight distribution can have a large effect on a vehicles performance, if the weight of a vehicle is concentrated to far away from the drive wheels there may be a greater tendency for slippage at the start line.
