With a tool kit, a few syringes, tubing and a bunch of small pieces of wood, 12 teams of seventh- and eighth-graders in STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) programs from eight schools made pneumatic contraptions capable of moving an object from one point to another. In only a few hours in the morning, they had to make this device ready to perform by 1 p.m. This was the annual (without a pandemic) Komatsu Fluid Power Challenge at the Rocky Grove fire hall on Tuesday.
The STEM based contest is just as its name implies - a challenge.
Each team worked together to design a hydraulic device from scratch, document their work, discuss their work in an interview, demonstrate teamwork, and finally build and prove their machine could do the job.
The winning school had to show excellence in all those steps along the way.
The STEM based contest is just as its name implies - a challenge.
Each team worked together to design a hydraulic device from scratch, document their work, discuss their work in an interview, demonstrate teamwork, and finally build and prove their machine could do the job.
The winning school had to show excellence in all those steps along the way.
The participants started thinking about the challenge a few weeks ago when they received an introduction to the program, the materials to make a prototype and the challenge guidelines. At their schools, the students and teachers figured out how to turn a box full of stuff that could be used for countless other purposes into a robotic device run solely on the manipulation of water pressure to create useful movements.
The object was to pick up a stubby little dowel that was about a foot away. The machine had to carry or swing the 2-inch dowel to the right to place on a three-tiered platform with each section earning points. They moved as many dowels as possible in just a couple minutes.
The object was to pick up a stubby little dowel that was about a foot away. The machine had to carry or swing the 2-inch dowel to the right to place on a three-tiered platform with each section earning points. They moved as many dowels as possible in just a couple minutes.
It was as easy as that... not.
Despite the team's work ahead of time and preparedness, they still had to build their design from scratch with the possibility of things going wrong at anytime. But that is part of the lesson said Hailee Amos, a mechanical engineer for Komatsu. "That’s what engineers do; they think on the fly," she said.
All the proper planning can come down to something not going according to plan. Some teams, whose device worked in trial suddenly didn't in competition. Some were able to overcome the bump in the road, while others could not no matter how hard they tried. But the end competition was only a part of the journey that was judged.
"It's really the entire portfolio," said Amos. The team that won demonstrated working together well on all aspects of the project.
"Their portfolio wowed us," Amos said.
Winning the competition was fun for the Wilmington Middle School team, who called themselves the Greyhounds.
But Roy Schmoultz, one of the challenge organizers and Amos agree the entire reason for this competition is to teach teamwork, problem solving and engineering skills. Winning the competition and trophy for their school is just a bonus.
"It went really well," said Amos. "All you saw was smiles on their faces."
"It went really well," said Amos. "All you saw was smiles on their faces."
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