Why Are Ball Bearings Important For Mousetrap Cars
what is a mousetrap vehicle
A mousetrap vehicle is model car that is powered by mousetraps. Many science and engineering competitions, such as Science Olympiad and SECME, host mousetrap vehicle competitions to help teach basic physic concepts to students.
In this post, we will discuss why ball bearings are so important for mousetrap cars.
why are ball bearings important
What Are ball bearings
Bearings are a sort of moving component that requires the use of metallic balls to keep up the partition between the bearing races. The reason for a metal ball is to diminish rotational contact and bolster spiral and hub loads.
It accomplishes this through the use of two separate disks that hold the metallic balls and transmit the energy between the balls. In many applications, one disk is fixed and the other is appended to the pivoting shaft.
As one of the bearing races turns it makes the balls rotate also. Since the balls are moving they have a much lower coefficient of grating than if two level surfaces were sliding against one another.
Metal rollers will in general have lower load limit with respect to their size than different sorts of moving component orientation because of the littler contact zone between the balls and races. In any case, they can endure some misalignment of the internal and external races.
Impacts on speed and Distance
Because ball bearings reduce the frictional impact on a mousetrap car’s axles, the amount of energy lost to friction is significantly reduced. Because there is less energy lost, the more energy can be used to power the vehicle, allowing for faster speeds and a greater distance traveled.
Although there are many other solutions in the market to reduce friction, such as oil and graphite powder, ball bearings surpass the effect of its competitors by a long shot and are well worth the extra investment for your mousetrap car.
Even if you are not willing to break the bank, there are many types of bearings that can fit your budget, the only catch is that they may be slightly heavier.
If you are using axles that are roughly 1/8″ in diameter, then these should be perfect for you.