Student Ideas

Giant Wire Cutter

Here is a great opportunity to use your engineering mechanics and statics skills. At the site, before making wire baskets, workers need to cut welded wire mesh pieces from the main roll. Remember welded wire mesh comes in rolls. Currently, every single wire is cut by a cutter, and it takes time. If you can come up with a giant scissor (or any other simple machine idea) made out of 2X4 wood studs (or something else..) that can cut all the wires along at once that would significantly cut down construction time.

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Ideas from Architecture Students

Below are various propositions from architecture students about the rubble-house project.
Special thanks to Prof. Ed Akins and his ARCH 3011 students.

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A 6 ft Wide Guillotine

A 6 foot wide guillotine would work. Side supports are 6'equilateral 2x4 triangles, and a 6' wide window sash would be nailed between the triangles. The blade would go up and down within the sash, attached to a cable and raised by a hand crank, released when the wire is in place. The latch would be a single 7' rod with a handle on 1 side that rests in 2 holes drilled at either side of the top of the rectangle, It goes through an eye hook attached to the blade, Pull the rod back out of the eye hook and the blade is released. The blade could be a 6' long piece of T-bar sharpened and attached to a 6' long 2x4. The blade could be weighted on top with sandbags or small cans filled with sand or rubble. The bottom of the sash should be grooved to accept the blade but not the blade's 2x4.

Marsha Bryant
marshabryant@gmail.com