Rube Gold·berg (adj.)
ingeniously or unnecessarily complicated in design or construction.

It took them weeks to build, included hundreds of parts and dozens of steps—and it was over in a matter of minutes.

But the end result couldn’t have been more perfect.

Five teams—each comprised of three Machine Tool Technology students—recently demonstrated their creative thinking and problem-solving skills when they were challenged to build a Rube Goldberg machine.

Each machine was to involve a series of devices performing simple tasks, all linked together to produce a domino effect in which activating one device would trigger the next.

A minimum of 10 steps per machine was required.

Students push project bounds further

If all of that wasn’t complicated enough, the students decided they also needed to up the ante. Part way into the project, the teams decided that every one of the machines should also be linked, and that the last step in each machine should  trigger the first step in the next team’s machine.

And it was up to each team individually to decide exactly how that would be accomplished.

The results were both creative and ingenious and included everything from balls rolling down ramps to sound activation that played “Eye of the Tiger.”

“It all worked flawlessly,” said Russ Gallaway, a Machine Tool Technology student.

From L to R: Yong Pha,  Marc Leahy, and Russ Gallaway

That “flawlessness” was the result of working one to two days a week for about a month on the project. When completed, each machine was about 4 feet deep and 5 feet tall.

“It was all about creative problem solving,” Gallaway said, adding that his team, which included Young Pha and Marc Leahy, put their machine together with spare parts they scrounged from home and found in the trash.

Learn more about Machine Tool Technology.

Two students advance to SkillsUSA Nationals.

Dunwoody College students performed well at the 2018 SkillsUSA State Competition late last month, bringing home two 1^st place medals, two 2^nd place medals, and one 3^rd place medal.

Electrical Construction & Maintenance student Matthew Longendyke placed first in the Related Technical Math competition; Architecture students Karla Schmitt, Garrett VanRoekel, and Helena Perez placed first, second, and third respectively in the Architectural Drafting competition; and Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing student Angel Paucar placed second in the Collision Repair competition.

Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing students Tyler Thompson and Cody Huset, and Electrical Construction & Maintenance students Michael Notch, Angela Arndt, and Andrew Prestegaard also competed.

“SkillsUSA competitions provide so many benefits for the students,” Polly Friendshuh, SkillsUSA Coordinator and Competition Advisor, shared. “It’s not just a resume builder, but it’s also something that gives students a sense of pride and accomplishment. It is a way for them to show off the skills they have learned.”

Dunwoody heads to Nationals

Both Longendyke and Schmitt will advance to the SkillsUSA Nationals Competition in Louisville, KY, this June. This will be Longendyke’s second time competing nationally in the Related Technical Math contest. In 2017, he placed fourth overall.

“I always enjoy watching students participate in their events,” Friendshuh said. “You can literally see the nerves disappear when they are focusing on their projects.

“I am proud of each of our competitors in all the contests—especially for just for putting themselves out there.”

SkillsUSA: a Dunwoody tradition

Dunwoody has been proudly participating in SkillsUSA Minnesota for many years.

The competition, which celebrated its 51^st anniversary this year, aims to bring together students, teachers, and industry to ensure America has a skilled workforce.

The College will participate again in the 2019 competition.

If you are interested in joining the 2019 SkillsUSA team, please contact Associate Director of Career Services Rob Borchardt at 612.381.3322 or rborchardt@dunwoody.edu.

Dunwoody students designing a better concrete bowling ball

It might only be eight inches in diameter and weigh less than 12 pounds, but there is nothing simple about designing and constructing a concrete bowling ball. But two Dunwoody students are taking on the challenge and putting their creativity and ingenuity to the test at an international competition later this month.

Sponsored by the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the international FRC Bowling Ball Competition will be held on March 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah during the Concrete Convention and Exposition. The object of the competition is to demonstrate the effect of fiber reinforced concrete, to gain experience in forming and fabricating a fiber-reinforced concrete element, and to encourage creativity in engineering design and analysis.

This is the first year that Dunwoody will compete in the competition, said Ben Holbrook, Surveying & Civil Engineering Technology Senior Instructor. Holbrook was told about the competition from an industry connection and brought it forward to students in the Construction Sciences & Building Technology program areas to see if there was interest.

Construction Project Management student Nate Swanson and Surveying & Civil Engineering Technology student Hayden Swanson were immediately on board with the project.

The rules of the game

Holbrook said that engineering a perfectly round ball from concrete is difficult enough, but competition rules make it even trickier. Typically, an 8-inch diameter ball of concrete would weigh about 24 pounds, but guidelines for the event state that each bowling ball must weigh no more than 12 pounds.

N. Swanson said that each team is allowed to use two additional materials to achieve the goal. The Dunwoody team has chosen to use a Styrofoam ball inside the concrete as well as a polymer filler.

Deciding on the right mixture has taken the team hours of planning and designing, and then they still needed to fabricate it. Last week, the team moved into forming and testing their design. In order to form the 8-inch cylindrical shape, the Dunwoody team decided to use a round lighting fixture as their mold.

Getting ready for competition

The team is making multiple concrete bowling balls using their design so they can test them out before heading out to Salt Lake City. More than 50 teams from around the world will be competing in this year’s competition.

The competition includes two categories: Bowling Ball Design and Bowling Ball Analysis. Both categories require knowledge and experience about concrete, fiber reinforcement, material behavior, and bowling. Tests during the competition will include a mass test, diameter test, toughness test, and load test. In addition, each team will compete in a bowling test to see which team can score the highest in six-pin bowling.

Both N. Swanson and H. Swanson said they have enjoyed using their knowledge and skills to find innovative solutions in a hands-on competition.