Balsa Wood Tower Task: To build a tower as tall as possible using only 40 strips of balsa wood. Unlike the wooden block tower we built last week which dealt with compression forces in mass construction, this frame structure deals with tension forces. The extremely light weight nature of this material means that there is very little compression force acting. We decided to build with a triangle base, as this is a much more stable shape than working with right angles. We then made three long vertical beems that tapered in to form a point at the top of the tower. Lastly, we added a single vertical spear on top as this was the most efficient use of the limited materials to gain the desired height.
We added smaller strips of balsa to brace each wall and counteract the lateral forces causing them to fall over. This greatly increased the stability of the structure. The most difficult part of building this was holding the parts in place while the glue dried, made even worse by the very limited time frame. We also had trouble with the limited amount of materials and the fragility of the balsa wood which broke frequently.
We added many vertical and diagonal brackets with the left over strips of balsa to increase the stability. In the end, our tower was the tallest, reaching the ceiling, but it leant heavily and was not very structurally sound, meaning it would not have been able to hold any load.