A2-Vergiza

The statement of design goal :
After using WPBD for a few weeks, I have come to notice that bridges with the least complexity turn out being the most productive. Once I was done goofing around with the sheer enjoyment of playing with KNEX pieces, I began to put this idea into the design of my bridge at hand. I basically attacked the problem with the same strategy as I did on WPBD.
Design constraint:
   1. The angle between different chords can only be 180 °，90°or 45° due to the KNEX joints.
   2. The variation of the joints(the number of attachments availabe) and the length of the chords are limited.
  3. Each piece has it's own cost and the joints seem to be one of the most costly aspects of the bridge.
  4. The bridge should be able to span a gap of no less than 2'.
  5. The width of the chord should be 4”.(The chord should be 3-3/8”)
  6. The top/middle of the bridge should be flat to support the block attachment for testing
Over view of the designed bridge

1 1.25" chord 500x0

2 1.125"chord 1000x8

3 3.375" chord 1500x45

4 5" chord 2000x8

5 7.5" chord 3000x0

6 chord splice 1000x0

7 45 degree gusset plate 1000x0

8 90 degree gusset plate 1000x8

9 135 degree gusset plate 1000x0

10 180 degree gusset plate 1000x20

11 180 degree grooved gusset plate 2000x0

12 360 degree gusset plate 1000x4

13 360 degree grooved gusset plate 2000x0

A statement of how your bridge changed during design:
Throughout the design of this bridge, only a few ideas changed but nothing too dramatic. The terminal parts of the bridge are going to be the most fragile part during the test. I have high expectations of what my bridge design will withstand once it is created rather than being on paper. More modification are needed during the actual load test.

What you learned from designing this bridge.

The joints played multiple functions in the building of the bridge. They expanded the length of the bridge(I would say negligibly in comparison to the length of the chord parts) and connect the chords. The process of the design Knex Bridge is much different compare to the WPBD design. There are more design constraints of designing the Knex Bridge.