Build a Compound Machine

          This project made our simple machine groups think about how we can get the most mechanical advantage using three of our simple machines. The three our group used were the pulley, lever and wheel and axel. We knew that we had to step it up because the other groups had great ideas as well. We decided to put the machines together like this:

          We had the wheel and axel as the primary location for input energy. We then wrapped a string around the dowell and that string traveled through the pulleys and up to the lever up top. The weight was placed upon the opposite side of the lever than the string. We also increased the wheel and axel rotational radius, making it very easy to achieve an immense mechanical advantage. I recall that we achieved  an advantage of 90. As I remember, it was one of the highest in the class. I cannot think of a way to make our structure much better without cheating.
          It was challenging to prevent the dowels from bending because of how much weight we added at once. Also, we had trouble keeping the wheels of the pulleys aligned because the string wasn't in a straight line. I'm glad that we were able to overcome these obstacles by adding reinforcements to the structure, also adding to its stability. If we were assigned this project again, but adding in the inclined plane, I think I'd have a good idea of even increasing our mechanical advantage.