Skip - Week 6 Blog Entry

The prior week, my teammates and I got to play around with the Knex pieces. We, as a group, made two bridges taking turns proposing what seemed to make the bridge stronger and better. Disel made a bridge that was very unique, and so he took it home to work on it further and make it hold more weight. I made a bridge that was very basic because it seems like a very strong bridge for its simple design. I brought it back to my room so that I could work on it further before class. This week, we will try to cut down the price and yet keep it strong. The major accomplishment this week was that we were able to design two bridges that will most likely be the basis of our final bridge. There are no conflicts as of now except that we must decide on best bridge design.

My view about the similarities and differences between the Knex and WPBD has not changed too much. The Knex pieces and an actual 20' bridge has different similarities and differences. A similarity is that both  the Knex and the actual bridge can hold stuff on it. Another one is that a real bridge and a Knex bridge makes uses of all sorts of designs such as trusses. A difference between the two is that there are only Knex pieces of a certain shape, whereas in a real bridge, there are all sorts of shapes such as hollow tubes and solid bars. The biggest difference I think is that the Knex pieces have to be a certain length, and the angles of the gussets must be a certain number. In real life, you can cut the pieces into whatever length you want, and you can connect them at any angle you would like.