Cranks, Cams and Cranks, Cams and MachinesMachines

Cranks, Cams and Cranks, Cams and MachinesMachines

Child’s Hand CrankChild’s Hand CrankPop-Up ToyPop-Up Toy

Information gathered is from the workshop2007 Family Tools and Technology (FTT) Summer Institute at The College of New Jersey in The Center for Math, Science, Technology, and Pre-Engineering 

What is a machine?• A device used to make work easier

• Can increase the size of a force, change the direction of a force and change speed

What is force and work?

• A force is a push or pull placed on an object

• Work takes place when a force moves an object a distance

• The number of times a machine multiplies a force is called mechanical advantage.

Mechanism• A mechanism is a smaller part of a

machine.• Simple machines are machines

made up of only one or two parts.

The basic simple machines are:

• Incline plane• Wedge• Pulley• Wheel and Axle• Screw• Lever

Inclined Plane

Wedge

Pulley

Wheel and Axle

Screw

Lever

The Challenge and Warm- Up that follows will help you learn more about how machines work and how they make work easier for us.

Warm-UpChanging a Force with Gears

• Wheeled mechanisms are made from circles.

A Pulley= is a wheel with a groove in it that is driven by a belt

A Gear= is a wheel with teeth in it driven by a chain, shaft or other gears

Wheel and Axle= large wheel connected to a shaft, the shaft rotates with the wheel

Gears• Gears are used in many machines

to transfer a force, increase or reduce a force, increase or reduce speed or change the direction of a force.

Please see procedures on

page 5

When you have completed the activity, fill out the Gear Warm-Up data Sheet

Design BriefDesign BriefDesign BriefDesign Brief

Child’s Hand Crank Pop-Up ToyChild’s Hand Crank Pop-Up Toy

Challenge:• See page 10 in the packet