By Nashrid Kibria
Hillel Bachrach (SEAS '95) and Ophir Chernin (SEAS '95) secured third place for their entry in the 1994 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) regional competition for undergraduate mechanical engineers. An informal award ceremony was held in 294 Engineering Terrace on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to recognize the achievement of Mr. Bachrach and Mr. Chernin.
The ASME competition gives the contestants a set of restrictions under which they must develop their design for a specified purpose. Last yearıs event specified a design capable of climbing up an obstacle with several steps. As restrictions, the contestants had to build their design such to fit into a 6"x6"x12" box. The restrictions permit the design to feature extensions. However, these extensions must not protrude below the height of the upper level of the obstacle once the vehicle reaches the top. Furthermore, the contestants were given a specific motor powered by a single AA battery to use as their sole source of power. The designs were judged using a criteria that included the speed and the maximum load with which the vehicle could successfuly climb the obstacle. To address the design requirements the Bachrach and Chernin team developed a hooked mercury switch. Their design vehicle featured caterpillar tracks. One set of the tracks was used for horizontal motion, while the other was designed to give enhanced vertical climbing traction. The mercury switch design responds to gravity and distributes the torque of the motor to the climbing tracks when the mechanism senses that the vechicle is in a vertical climbing orientation. The Bachrach and Chernin team initially began funding their project at their own expense. They spent about $75 on for the whole project. However, the mechanical engineering department later reimbursed them for their efforts. For this year's event, the department is offering to finance its entrants in a bid to generate more interest.