How To Design A Boomilever Hook Attachment
what is boomilever
A boomilever is model cantilever that is designed to hold 15kg. Many science and engineering competitions, such as Science Olympiad, host boomilever competitions to help teach basic physic concepts to students.
In this post, we will outline the basic concepts needed to consider when creating a boomilever hook attachment.
what you should consider
Density
Although you may have used the lightest density wood to create your actual boomilever it is best to use highly dense wood or even wood that is denser than bass wood, to make your hook attachment. When you increase the wood density for the hook attachment piece, you increase the strength of the attachment.
It is best to over-engineer this aspect of your boomilever because even though you may have created the best boomilever frame, the boomilever hook attachment can make or break your results.
Length
When you are designing the hook attachment for your boomilever, you be thinking about making the length piece as long as the boomilever width. However, this is a big mistake because the longer the attachment piece is, the weaker the attachment piece becomes.
While you should restrict the length of your boomilever attachment piece, it is beneficial to increase the width of the hook attachment. This increases the buckling strength of the piece, in turn, making it stronger overall.
Shape
When you are designing you hook attachment, you may be thinking about using a straight cut block of wood. However, without adjusting the shape of the piece, specifically the sides of the piece where it attaches to the tension portion of the boomilever, the attachment piece will pop off the device without much force.
Another way to adjust the shape would be to add slots or holes to the piece where you could slide tension members into, preventing the piece from falling off.
Adhesives
When you are attaching the hook attachment to the boomilever, you need to be generous with the density and amount of glue or adhesives you use. This is because there will he a large magnitude of load placed on the piece. Therefore, it is much easier for the boomilever to break at the attachment piece if it is not glued generously.
alignment
Finally, you want to put effort towards making sure the attachment sits straight and level across the boomilever. Failing to do so will cause your boomilever to sit crooked on the testing apparatus and more likely to break.
