May 4th, 2014

A majority of the necessary materials have arrived and construction is soon to be under way! All necessary magnets, track materials, and wire have been received and the brackets for the coil system have been 3D printed.

A few updates:

- The plastic coaster system has been replaced with a wooden system for easier assembly and cost effectiveness

- Ferrite cores have been implemented into the coil system to increase the magnetic field produced and provide additional lift force, should be in early this coming week

-  Exact power supply is yet to be determined, but test will be run once the soil system is set up to determine the desired amount of power output needed by the power supply. options include using multiple power sources for each bracket to reduce the loss of amperage from resistance

April 25th, 2014

In memoriam:

Drexel Rube Goldberg world record attempt
4/25 12:20 PM- 4/25 12:21 PM

April 6th, 2014

After doing some research, it was discovered that the magnetic field of a coil is parallel to the axis of the coil when a charge is flowing through it.
Below is a visual of the magnetic field that is emitted.

Therefore, the design must be changed slightly. Similar to Maglev technologies, an on board battery would be used to power the coils on board and lift the vehicle off the rails.

The group used the above illustration as a stepping stone for our design.

The rails would now be magnetic and if a 2-axis lock was required, the design would look like:

April 3rd, 2014

Unfortunately the group has not been able to update the blog as regularly as we have wanted to. However, progress updates will be posted here more often.

The group initially met with Professor Jablokow to finalize the plan of attack, progress on the project, and final deliverables for the project. It was decided that the final deliverables would include the following:

• CAD model of the bracket
• Scale model of levitation device
• Simulation of Roller Coaster
• Simulation of Forces (If Possible)

The group agreed to meet with Professor Jablokow on Thursdays to discuss our progress personally and update him on our project.

The levitation device would be constructed using a coiled wire and a magnetic piece of metal oriented in the direction of the magnetic field emitted by running a current through the wire.