Hydraulic Crane

I made a hydraulic crane structure using cardboard and syringes. The challenge was to innovate a hydraulic crane that could move a cube in different directions, and that there would be syringes controlling the movement of the arms. The syringes are connected with a tube, when syringe A was pushed, syringe B would move, causing the arm to rise. The goal was to understand the science behind hydraulic cranes.

Hot glue gun, cardboard, 3d printer, scissors, laser cutter, tape, pencil, notebook, ruler, computer for CAD.

The first step to designing was to research the science behind hydraulic cranes. Through researching, I was able to understand the physics of mechanical advantage, and how hydraulic cranes use the technique to lift objects much heavier. After understanding the science, I researched past designs of hydraulic cranes to understand what engineers have done in the past, so that I could build off and improve on the idea.

Step 2 was to prototype different designs. We measured the sizes of syringes and mapped out where they would go for the optimal mobility of the arms.

Step 3 included implementing the design into CAD so that I could visualize the design. The red boxes represent syringes, the grey pieces represent cardboard, and the holes are where they would be connected. I included a Fusion 360 sketch of the design, the dxf file of the sketch was used to laser cut the cardboard.

In addition to designing the hydraulic crane, there was also a cube to design. At first, the idea was to have a U channel the hydraulic crane had to hook onto, but after we implemented the design, I realized it was printed with high infill, leading to a greater weight, and it was hard to hook onto. Thus, during the second iteration, the cube was made a lot lighter, and easier to grab. In addition, the connecting tubes of the hydraulic crane were also printed with high infill, making them extremely heavy, especially when supporting the front arms. This led to the design of a hollow tube connecting the arms. Lastly, I also designed cardboard rings that were hot-glued to the tubes, with arms between them, to ensure the arms wouldn't slide on the tube.

After multiple iterations, the hydraulic crane was completed and was able to lift the cube high into the air.