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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 13, 2006 19:42:00 GMT -5
Has anyone ever had to make a roller coaster-type thing for a science project? Today we were assigned a project to make two roller coasters out of 6 feet of foam tubing (it's not enclosed). It had to have two loops/sprials and two elevation changes. It also had to stop within an inch of the end of the tube without using any barriers. A marble would be used as the coaster car. I got one roller coaster finished. Here's how it went:
I duct taped a near-vertical drop to the top of a chair. I had it level out to the end of the chair where it did a very small loop (it barely made it through) and duct taped that to the chair. It then went down in a spiral-loop thing that's kind of tough to explain. I'm just surprised that it stayed on the track like that. At this point, there was about 4 inches for the marble to stop. I got it to stop by taping the duct tape to the sides of the track so it was sticking up. This would prevent the marble from going over the side. I put some duct tape balls onto the surface of the track and then put a long strip of tape sticky-side-up on the track. The adhesive material on the tape actually stopped the ball within a quarter-inch of the end every time.
Also, in 5th grade I made an 8-foot tall coaster out of newspaper and posterboard. It, too, was fully functional with a marble.
Have you guys done anything like this before?
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Post by wdwfanatic on Nov 13, 2006 20:51:18 GMT -5
Yeah. I made one cow themed. It was awesome. A foam square was the base and the supports were wooden dowels. It started with a drop, then a loop, then a helix, then the end. My friend made another cow themed coaster an awesome knot-loop element thing. People would die on it but they just tied a knot and said, "Let's see if it will work!" It worked and the ending was a "Tip the Cow." The marble shot out of the foam tube and hit a toy cow and knocked it over. Hence the name: "Tip the Cow."
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 13, 2006 23:10:29 GMT -5
That's awesome! What did you make the track out of?
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Post by coasterfreak101 on Nov 14, 2006 6:15:49 GMT -5
I did one of these in 7th grade, It dropped down and then did a large upwards-downwards helix (it went up to a decent height and then dropped back down, while turning). I think it was a 350* helix. It was cool
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Post by wdwfanatic on Nov 14, 2006 13:18:30 GMT -5
That's awesome! What did you make the track out of? Same thing as yours. Non-enclosed fome tubing. We had to use only six feet, too.
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 14, 2006 16:16:58 GMT -5
I've decided I'm going to make a roller coaster out of newspaper that goes around my room. I'm going to make it high up so the cleaning people don't mess with it. Pictures and details will come soon.
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 14, 2006 17:33:21 GMT -5
NEWS FLASHMessy Desk Coasters has been spotted on-site at Anderson Park in Boca Raton, Florida, assembling a new roller coaster. You can see a station, a drop, and a flat section already have been put up. Nobody is sure about what this roller coaster is supposed to do yet. There have been a couple construction workers situated just under the ride. I was able to snap a few pictures before I was chased out. The bare station track has already been completed. Here the drop was currently under construction. Here you can see the blurry figures of two construction workers. The first drop was finished shortly; a flat section is now being constructed here. I was at the park's observation tower watching construction. This was the point where they risked taking the flat track off of the support to hang by itself. If this was a failure, the track would drop and slam down on the ground, causing major damage. Luckily, the folks at Messy Desk Coasters knew exactly what they were doing. On the first try they managed to get the track not only perfectly balanced, but also got a nice headchopper. Here is a close-up of the headchopper with the smoke detector. Finally, here is an overview of the coaster so far. The construction workers left for the night, but I expect them to be back tomorrow.
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Post by wdwfanatic on Nov 14, 2006 17:37:32 GMT -5
That looks cool! I have a marble roller coaster set with bendable track. My friend and I made a huge one. The bad thing is that my mom aways makes me take them down. I still have tape on the wall from the first drop.
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Post by coasterfreak101 on Nov 14, 2006 17:39:12 GMT -5
Lol! The coaster looks like it'll turn out great, and the updates should definately be entertaining! I can't wait to see more!
Oh yeah, I love the headchopper! It;d definately work that way in real life, lol!
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 14, 2006 17:42:20 GMT -5
WDWFanatic: I wish that I had that. I really want to make inversions, but it's tough with newspaper. Coasterfreak101: Thanks, man. I can't wait to see this thing finished myself. I'm testing the marble fifty-fold each step of the way so there's no reason it shouldn't make the track. I'll have to devise a new breaking system. I don't want to have it rely on a track barrier, but I don't have any masking tape, scotch tape would be too flimsy for my job, and even if I did have masking tape, it will retain too much speed.
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Post by wdwfanatic on Nov 14, 2006 21:11:43 GMT -5
^I'll try to find a link to the set. Once we made a coaster with eight consecutive loops! Be Prepared to use a lot of tape if you get it.
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 14, 2006 21:17:23 GMT -5
I'm already using a LOT of tape.
I'm having problems making a newspaper curve. Does anyone have any advice?
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Post by wdwfanatic on Nov 14, 2006 21:21:42 GMT -5
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Post by asdflkahsflasd on Nov 14, 2006 22:54:43 GMT -5
Damn, that looks like a great addition to my room. If I could somehow get my hands on a Screamin' Serpent, I could really kick some ass.
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Post by Coasterdude5 on Nov 15, 2006 11:15:11 GMT -5
We did something like this in 6th grade. I modeled my coaster sorta like Irn-Bru Revolution @bpb. Except mine had a twisted spike instead of straight.
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