Fitchburg State College Conlon / Industurial Technology Building
Highland Avenue,
Fitchburg MA 01420
Itinerary
(All times are tentative)
8:45 Arrival and Refreshments
9:00 Welcome
9:15 Start of CAD, Structural, and Transportation Competitions
11:15 Lunch
12:00 Technology Bowl
1:00 Awards
2:00 Departure
Contests
Click here to download the official CAD outline
COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN, ENGINEERING OVERVIEW
Participants are given a engineering part from which to create a technical drawing using computer aided design tools. PURPOSE Use complex computer graphic skills, tools, and processes to develop technical drawings of an engineering part.
ELIGABILITY Participants may compete in only one of the following: CAD, Engineering, Transportation or Structural Engineering. Teams may consist of 2-4 participants at a high-school level. Only participants at a High School level may participate.
TIME LIMITS
A.
Fifteen (15) minute briefing
B.
Up to (2) hours to develop technical drawings
PROCEDURE
A.
Teams must bring their own software if it is not AutoCAD 2009.
B.
Each team is allowed 2 hours for completion of their technical drawings
C.
Teams are given an engineered part to create precise technical drawings. The part will be provided on site.
D.
Teams work independently, without assistance from evaluators, teachers, other teams, other students or observers.
E.
Participants are advised to save their drawings every fifteen (15) minutes.
F.
At the end of their work session, teams will save all completed work to the hard drives of their workstation.
G.
Technical drawings must contain the team ID number. Names of High Schools or personal names are prohibited.
REGULATIONS
Teams provide their own software if it is not AutoCAD 2006 or CADKEY
Conference coordinators will supply computer workstations, AutoCAD 2006 or CADKEY software, the part to be sketched and all measuring instruments.
Participants are not allowed to leave the event area without permission from the event coordinator. If a participant must use the restroom s/he will be accompanied by an escort.
Teams are not permitted to share solutions, dimensions, hardware or software.
Teams identify their work with only their conference ID number.
Teams will leave their workstations with their technical drawings still maximized. If the evaluators cannot find the entry it will not be judged.
All work left on hard disks becomes property of TSA, Inc.
EVALUATION Technical drawings should clearly show superiority in composition, dimensioning, accuracy, and use of CAD functions. Multiple views of the object should be used.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
OVERVIEW
Participants work as part of a team on site with supplied materials to build a model of a structure that is destructively tested to determine design efficiency.
PURPOSE
Working as a team and with time and material constraints, design and construct a specified model that reflects knowledge of strength and construction concepts.
ELIGABILITY
Participants may compete in only one of the following: CAD, Engineering, Transportation or Structural Engineering. Teams may consist of 2-4 participants at a high-school level or 2-4 participants at a middle-school level (Separate contests will be held for high school and middle school.)
TIME LIMITS
A.
All work must be done within the (2) hour timeframe.
B.
Time begins at the Event Coordinator’s signal after the briefing.
PROCEDURE
A.
Participants report to the event area at the time specified in the conference program.
B. Teams are briefed (15) minutes prior to the start of the contest.
C.
Materials are distributed to each team and the construction procedure is explained.
D.
The span of the design is determined prior to the contest.
E.
Timing for the (2) hour event begins at the coordinator’s signal. Participants may leave early, but must complete the check-in as directed.
F.
All work stops at the coordinator’s signal.
G.
Teams will return all unused construction tools and materials.
H.
Structures are labeled with the team’s contest ID number.
I.
Structures are allowed to dry during the team’s lunch break.
J.
Structures are inspected for rule violations.
K.
Testing is completed by evaluators.
L.
Structures are destructively tested to determine failure weight.
M.
The efficiency rating of the structure is calculated and ranking determined.
N.
Teams failing to comply with the director or coordinator’s directions receive a twenty (20) percent penalty.
REGULATIONS
A.
All work is done by the team in the area specified by the evaluators.
B.
The materials for construction will be provided on site. Teams are expected to bring designs created at home. The material distributed to each team consists of twenty (20) feet of 1/8” x 1/8” balsa, one 3”x 5” note card and glue.
C.
Tools provided for construction may not be used as part of the structure and must be returned at the check-in. Teams failing to return tools will incur a twenty (20) percent penalty.
D.
A sketch of the structure on the provided graph paper must be completed before arrival at the competition.
E.
The span of the structure will be- a.
High School: Twenty four (24) inches. b. Middle School: Twelve (12) inches.
F
Definitions that apply to the structure:
a.
Lamination: Two (2) pieces of 1/8”x 1/8” balsa glued together surface to surface with the grain running in parallel. Lamination of more than two (2) pieces is not permitted.
CORRECT LAMINATION
INCORRECT LAMINATION
b. Failure weight: The greatest weight recorded during the test before failure of the structure
c.
Failure to comply: If a structure fails to comply with any regulation, a penalty reduction of twenty (20) percent of the greatest weight held in the contest is subtracted from the team’s failure weight.
d. Gusset: A panel or bracket attached to the corners or intersections of truss components to add strength or stiffness. Note cards may be cut and used as gussets on trusses to strengthen the joints of truss structures. Note card gussets on trusses are to be no larger than the diameter of an American quarter dollar coin. They may not touch another note card gusset or
G. The structure: A bridge that reaches between the testing device abutments of which between one (1) and two (2) inches rests on top of the abutment. Therefore, the structure must be two (2) to four (4) inches greater than the span of the abutments.
H.
The span of the bridges for this competition will be:High School: Twenty four (24) inches. Middle School: Twelve (12) inches.
I. The height of the above the plane of the abutment may not exceed one and one half (1 1/2) inches.
J. The distance of the structure below the plane of the abutment may not exceed one (1) inch.
K. The width of the structure must accommodate a test gauge of 2½ wide, 3/4 “ tall and 8” long passed from end to end of the structure as if a load had been driven over the bridge by a truck or train.
L. The ends of the structure may not be boxed in or blocked.
M.
The bottom of the test gauge should remain between ½” and 3/8” above the abutment plane.
N. The 3”x 3” load platform is centered in the length of the truss. The load platform is prepared from ¼” plywood with a ½” hole bored in the center.
O.
The load platform must be glued in place at the center of the bridge. It must rest above the plane of the abutment. It must be weighed before the construction begins and the weight recorded on the platform. Teams must be certain the number is not covered or removed.
P.
The structure may touch the top and sides of the abutments. 
EVALUATION
A.
The structure is weighed before testing and the weight is recorded on the evaluation form. The weight of the load platform is subtracted from the structure weight. The structure weight is to be the total of the glue, gussets, and balsa used in the fabrication of the structure.
B.
An increasing load is applied to the structure via the test block until the structure fails.
C.
The failure weight is recorded in the evaluation form.
D.
The efficiency is determined by the failure weight x 4.54 divided by the weight of the structure in grams.
E.
The efficiency is rounded off to three (3) decimal places and recorded on the evaluation form.
F.
The highest numeric efficiency is the winner. In the case of a tie, the greatest weight held by the tied entries is declared the winner.
G.
Structures that violate the guidelines receive a deduction of twenty (20) percent of the greatest weight held for the first violation.
H.
Structures are not to be tested if:
a. There are two (2) or more rule violations.
b. The structure cannot be placed on the tester.
c. The testing hook cannot be placed in the center of the structure.
d.
Straight pins are left in the structure
Description: Transportation Contest is about conceptualizing, designing, and constructing a transportation device or craft for optimal efficiency. The contest has several variations and involves concepts associated with air, land, sea, space and / or intermodal transportation. Scoring factors involve craft performance (i.e., efficiency) in addition to the design documentation and construction.
Team: Each transportation team will consist of 2-5 students and are registered participants of the conference.
Procedure:
1. All teams must “check in” at a designated time and place to receive the contest specifications.
2. A set of specific contest rules will be included in the contest packet. The contest rules will identify basic criteria and related details for the competition. All contest rules must be adhered to.
3. Aspects of the specific transportation device or system to be developed will occur at the contest site.
4. Each team will have the opportunity to test and modify their craft using any unique guide way or path.
5. All entries must be completed in total prior to the specified deadline in order to be eligible.
6. Teams are responsible for cleaning–up their area at the conclusion of the contest.
Violation of any of the rules stated above may constitute immediate disqualification. All teams should display a fair and honest effort throughout the event.
Materials:
Materials are the responsibility of competing teams. The use of any hand tools or portable power tools is permitted but the use of stationary power tools is not permitted. Tools and supplies that would be most useful include the following:
Utility saw
Scissors
Coping saw
Pencils
Needle nose pliers
Tape rule
Ruler
White glue
Triangles (30° / 60° & 45°)
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Sander
Portable drill and drill bits
Hot wire cutter
Masking tape
Stapler
Clear tape
Calculator Optional: computer / printer
Judging Criteria:
TECA event organizers will appoint several judges to evaluate the contest entries. On scoring items where qualitative decisions or subjectivity is required, the judges’ scores will be averaged. The judges’ decisions are final.
All transportation devices will be scored on the basis of the rationale, design, construction, and efficiency.
Ideation: Written and illustrated documentation that reflects the concept behind the final design. This preliminary plan of your transportation device should be submitted to the contest judges at the appropriate time. The ideation phase could include a discussion of technical factors, notes, and an evaluation of ideas that might play an important role in the design of the craft. Any calculations performed may also be included.
This portion of the contest focuses on the ingenuity of the contestants. Original and creative designs will be issued higher scores.
Points Earned for the Ideation Phase
Excellent / Outstanding = 24-30 points
Good Effort = 16-23 points
Fair / Average = 11-15 points
Poor Effort = 0-10 points
Design Documentation / Illustrations: This portion of the contest focuses on sketches, technical drawings, etc. that communicate the final plans of the team.
Points Earned for Written & Graphic Documentation
Well Developed, Complete, Etc. = 17-20 points
Good Quality of Forms / Drawings = 12-16 points
Somewhat Complete & Accurate = 8-11 points
Quality & Detail Missing = 0-7 points
Construction: This portion of the contest assesses the quality of construction and overall appearance of the transportation device / system. Well-constructed designs will be issued higher scores. Also, the final item(s) must match the approved drawings.
Points Earned for Construction
Excellent Construction = 21-25 points
Good Construction = 16-20 points
Average Construction = 11-15 points
Poor Construction = 6-10 points
None = 0 points
Efficiency: This portion of the contest is concerned with the efficiency of transporting humans or freight from one point to another. Efficiency usually takes into account the amount of cargo hauled in relationship to the fuel consumed and / or the speed of transport.
Note: A set of specific efficiency contest criteria for each individual competition will be provided in the contest packet to be received at the time of registration for this event. The “efficiency” score may be based on distance, time, or some related criteria.
Points Earned for Efficiency
Greatest Efficiency = 25 points
Next Best Level Of Efficiency = 18-22 points
"Good" Level Of Efficiency = 10-17 points
Poor Efficiency = 0-9 points
