Epping North Primary School Techno-Push 2008

1. Epping North Primary School Techno-Push 2008 The Green Geckos

2. Logo We had the choice between a lizard logo which we would have called the green geckos or two people holding a love heart between their hands. We choose the one with the lizards. The leaf represents recycling and being environmentally friendly. The Geckos represent friendship and working together as a team. They are red and white, for out school colours. Environmental Considerations Our cart has been constructed from items from roadside cleanups, scraps from people’s garages and items bought from the re-use centres, The Bower Bird and Reverse Garbage. We have also used old manufacturing left overs and steel scraps. While some parts of our cart have come from Bunnings, these were essential safety items. The majority of our cart is pine and composite wood. We have been thinking hard about what to do with our cart when the challenge is complete and would like to use it to benefit others, i.e raffle it and donate money to charity, take our peer student exchange visitors from Karonga Special School for rides or use it as part of the fitness program for seniors. We definitely will not be throwing the cart away or dumping it as it means so much to us and if we enjoy it, we are sure others will too. Eventually, parts of our cart may be used as a demonstration piece for future KDC challenges or end up being recycled. We hope none will go to the tip.

3. The designing processes • We looked at the differences between different types of carts – Push carts, Billy carts and Go-carts. • We examined the different parts and requirements of the carts for the competition and discussed the things we wanted and needed to have on our cart. • Our class built small models of carts from Lego. We found it was tricky to meet all the requirements of the challenge using Lego. • We broke into groups and drew designs for the cart. These were presented to the class, who voted on their favourite design and made suggestions for improvement. Each team had the final decision as to which design was used. • We began collecting materials from the side of the road and from our garages so we could begin to construct the cart. Construction began and so did the problems. We had to overcome many problems such as: • Axles being too thin and bending • The brakes not fitting, • The wheels wobbling, • Bolts being too short, • Welding not able to be done on some metals, • Some students not being tall enough to reach the pedals, • And many more problems There were a lot of lunch time sessions and weekend efforts by parents and our teacher. We tested, changed, dismantled, reassembled and continued practicing. We ran into a couple of things like walls and fixed seating and discovered that our cart is quite strong. Finally we finished and we are proud of our cart.

4. Breaking Team Steering Team • This is; • Rodney Wong, • Damian Leung, • Samir Sharma and • James Wraith. • James Gosbel (missing) • The breaking team have worked hard to construct and improve the brakes on our push-cart after our initial problems. • They designed drum brakes that make contact as the rubber door wedges touch the inflated wheels. They are activated by a handle on the driver’s right side. This is the steering photo; • Hannah Drake, • Henry Lin (Obstructed), • Sam Parkinson, • PranayJha and; • Jessica Du. The steering team have constructed a brilliant steering system which fits our pushcart beautifully, despite having one steering system break and having to start again. It has an exercise bike handle bar connected to an ironing board leg, which sits on the front axle. Shorter students can steer by hand and taller students can steer by hand and by placing their legs on the foot rests attached to the front axle.

5. Wheels & Axles Fitness & Accounting Teams • This is; • SuviniSuriyarachchi, • Stephanie Lin and; • RayhanMendis (missing) • The fitness team have done a great job at giving out the notes and designing a fitness plan that was implemented in our regular classes (we are a streamed maths class). They were also responsible for the money that was spent on our pushcart and attracting sponsorship money. • The accounting team kept records of who had returned notes, t-shirt sizes and who would provide equipment. • They wrote communication letters to parents and businesses. This is; • Sarah Carr, • Ella Roos, • Jennifer Nam, • Timothy Cheung and; • Tom Russell. The Wheels and axles team have the job of designing our axle system and our wheels. We had real challenges trying to work out how to attach the wheels to the axles. We also had trouble with the wheels shaking and the axles bending. Our R-clips also hit the air valves. We had to make the axles wide enough to have a low centre of gravity, but not so wide we wouldn’t be able to turn corners.

6. Frame Team Presentation Team This is the frame team • Luke Davey, • Katherine Allen, • Jacqueline Burke, • Eu-Jan Lek and; • Alex Job. The frame team went through three seats and had the assistance of some dedicated welders who built our frame to the team’s exact specification. They had to alter the pushbar a few times to ensure it was strong enough and could meet the 15cm height requirements when disassembled. We had problems with the seat not having attachments and the frame for the strapping not being square. • The presentation team was made up of • Cecilia Mak, • Amy Roos, • AmitaRao, • Geoffrey Carman, • Patrick Carfax and; • Jacob Sinclair. • The presentation team were responsible for designing the t-shirts, choosing the team name and designating the cart colours. They designed everything that needed to be presented and worked hard to complete their speech and poster in time. • They also took all of the photos.

7. . Evaluation Acknowledgements • We would like to thank all the following people • Mrs Mendis for her sponsorship, • Mr Gallagher for his tools and help in using them, • Mr Parkinson for welding our frame, • Mr Bloomfield for supplying materials, • Mrs Till for driving us and being there on the day • Mr Allen for making us new stronger axle steel and supplying wheels, • Bendigo Bank for sponsoring us, • Signaway signs for creating our decals and signs • The Drivers, Spectators and Supporters • And none other than our favourite maths and science teacher, Miss Bennett. What we learnt: • The centre of gravity is important to balance, • The level of friction on the brakes will change the stopping distance, • That pressure on one part of the cart can loosen another part, • How to use hand and power tools, • How to work in a team and come to an agreement without fighting, • Building the cart was not as easy as it looked, • Not all ideas are practical or useful, • To measure things carefully before we cut them. • Perseverance will have great rewards and you have to give extra time to make things great. • Strength in the cart was very important. • That push carts can be a lot of fun. We have had a lot of fun.