iServi News | 11 September 2020 | Term 3, Week 8
Year 8 Engineering
Last semester, as part of our Engineering Technology class, we were given the challenge of making a functional mechanical hand (which would mimic the actions of our real hands) with wood, tape and glue. The end goal for our hand was to be able to pick up a range of different objects. We worked together in pairs to create a mechanical hand composed of a trigger connected to a hinge, with some of us altering the plans to improve certain functions of the hand. As a result of this assignment, we learnt effective ways to work both independently and collectively in the process of creating and testing our hand. We worked together to tailor the trigger to adapt to the shape of our hands and used logical thinking to make the fingers as solid as possible, so it could pick up the most amount of items and win the competition. It was a lot of fun to take turns and grab as many things as possible. I really enjoyed this assignment and came out with ‘handy’ new skills.
Jemima Prime (SM4)
Year 10 Engineering
Engineering is undoubtedly one of my favourite classes. Especially in the design perspective when printing 3D objects. The amount of knowledge you gain through hands on tasks is just amazing. In addition to this, the problem solving when in a team is such a great experience through my collaboration with Minh Anh N, Caiden L and Jak F!
I love the outcome of all the projects like wind turbines, tower creation, Arduino coding and especially the RC cars. Incorporating skills and knowledge from physics, woodworks, art, computer studies and dimensional design. I would totally recommend this elective to anyone interested in learning hands-on.
Sophie Tse (4×4 in Schools Challenge Team Leader, OLS5)
