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The PowerAnchor is a smart way of delivering power to cars, ground effect vehicles and aircraft design projects. The four 6V batteries (not included) housed in the base provide the current required to run the motor on the vehicles. The beauty of this is the vehicles aren’t weighed down by batteries. You don’t have to worry about any steering either because the vehicles are pulled around the Power Anchor by the same cable that delivers the current. The vehicle designs can be kept simple and when it comes to testing, results can be reliable because many of the variables are removed.
The PowerAnchor is classroom tested and classroom ready. Designed by teachers for teachers, the particular needs of the learning environment have been kept in mind.
Features of the PowerAnchor:
• It is portable with the four 6V batteries (not included) fully enclosed in the base, there is no need to plug it in. • It is sturdy and made from tough materials. • It is easy enough to use so that even young students can work independently. • Fantastic design and looks great, which adds to the classroom excitement when doing project work.
This project is about designing and making a belt driven car so that it is optimized for either speed or power. Construction is super simple. All you need is a pair of scissors and a screwdriver. The motor is stuck to the body of the car and a rubber band goes around the motor pulley and the pulley attached to the axle. There is nothing difficult about making the car, but an understanding of power ratios is covered in the student notes so that students can make decisions about the sizes of pulleys they will use for their car.
The beauty of using the Power Anchor is that students can do their own testing without losing control of the vehicles. The vehicles don’t need any batteries or steering because these are provided by the Power Anchor. Hook the car up to the unit and then it races around it. Students can control the speed with a hand controller.
With the Power Anchor there is plenty of opportunity for testing and setting up races and stunts. This project is aimed at school Year 5-8.
Experimental designers have often turned their hand to the idea of a flying car. Now your students get their turn. This project presents a real challenge. The chassis is a specified size and it must use the 4 wheels provided. Now make it fly using any modeling material available and the motor and propeller provided. It sounds easy, but as it becomes clear in the classroom video there are many approached to the problem and they all come with problems that needs solving. Your students will need to become experimental designers with a good dose of tenacity and willingness to keep trying. Here¹s a hint: students who take a good look at ground effect vehicles get some good ideas.
The Power Anchor provides the ideal testing platform for this project because it is so easy to use. Your students can set up their own tests in a completely controlled way. Students are completely immersed in the desire for success and so good access to testing opportunity is important. This makes the Power Anchor so well suited to this projects.
This project is fully resourced. The teaching resource pack includes classroom video, teaching notes (including tips, outcomes and programme), student notes and worksheets. The class packs include motors, propellers, axles and wheels, and standard sized car bases in coreflute.
Your students will learn engineering concepts from first principles as they make, modify and optimise this geared racing car. To get the most out of their vehicle a good understanding of friction, downforce, weight and gear ratios is needed, and this comes through making the car and putting ideas to the test. Measuring speed, and comparing it with weight and gear ratio is an important step in this process. And when your students think they have the best car, it¹s time to race them against each other.
This project is rich with engineering content and backed up with a full set of teaching resources. Ideal for introduction to CAD and CNC machining, the teaching resource pack includes CAD tutorials and examples ready to send to your CNC router.
Flight really does capture our imagination. Skylap uses this fascination to motivate students to develop an experimental aircraft. There are so many possibilities when it comes to aircraft design that there is only one way to see if it will fly and that is to test it. But what about how it flies: how much lift does it achieve? How fast is it? How do small modifications affect its flight behavior. All these things are tested using the Power Anchor.
Students begin by making a simple aircraft design using balsa and hot glue. They test it for speed, weight and lift using the Power Anchor. The results become a baseline for further modifications. How does the angle of the elevator wing affect lift and speed? modify a plane and test it. This is a great way of learning.
Students then put their first hand knowledge into action and design their own experimental aircraft in the same spirit of Burt Rutan.
The Power Anchor comes with attachable legs so that it is lifted off the ground ready for Aircraft design projects. An added challenge for the Skylap project is that the craft needs to be able to take off and land. With the legs on, the Power Anchor is at the correct height for take off and landings as well as ?dog fights¹. That¹s right two aircraft can be used on the Power Anchor at once.
This project is fully resourced. The teaching resource pack includes classroom video, teaching notes (including tips, outcomes and programme), student notes and worksheets. The class packs include motors, propellers, axles and wheels, and balsa wood.
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