Summary of Contents for Kitronik 25120
- Page 1 TEACHING RESOURCES SCHEMES OF WORK ASSEMBLING YOUR BUGGY MODIFYING YOUR BUGGY HOW TO SOLDER GUIDE EXPLORE MOTION WITH THIS TIMED DRAG RACER MODULE Version 1.0...
- Page 2 Index of Sheets TEACHING RESOURCES Index of Sheets Introduction Schemes of Work Teacher Notes Answers The Design Process The Design Brief Investigation / Research Developing a Specification Design the Drag Racer Body Design Review (group task) Component List: How Does a Button Work? How Does a Motor Work? Capacitor Basics Ceramic Disc Capacitors...
- Page 3 The booklet is designed to be printed out as classroom handouts. In most cases all the sheets will not be needed, hence there being no page numbers, teachers can pick and choose as they see fit. Please feel free to print any pages of this booklet to use as student handouts in conjunction with Kitronik project kits.
- Page 4 Hour 6 Using the ‘Soldering in Ten Steps’ sheet, demonstrate and get students to practice soldering, either on some scrap board or using the Kitronik learn to solder kit. Start the ‘Capacitor Basics’ worksheets. Hour 7 Build the electronic kit using the ‘Build Instructions’ and mount on to pre-laser cut chassis.
- Page 5 Teacher Notes Withing the teaching resources is an example buggy, which illustrates how students could create a drag racer buggy. Feel free to try making your own! The laser-cut files for this example can be downloaded from the Kitronik website, see: www.kitronik.co.uk/25120...
-
Page 6: The Design Process
Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 The Design Process The design process can be short or long, but will always consist of a number of Design Brief steps that are the same on every project. By splitting a project into these clearly defined steps, it becomes more structured and manageable. - Page 7 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 The Design Brief A manufacturer has developed a project for a drag racer buggy. The project kit includes all essential components: a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), motors, a capacitor, a battery box, and a pulley. Despite their extensive experience in designing various kits, this is their first attempt at creating a drag racer.
- Page 8 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Investigation / Research Using several different search methods, find examples of similar products that are already on the market. Use additional pages if required. Name………………………………………………… Class………………………………...
- Page 9 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Developing a Specification Using your research into the target market for the product and the design brief, identify the key requirements for the product and explain why each of these is important. Name……………………………………………………… Class………………………………...
- Page 10 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Design the Drag Racer Body Develop your ideas to produce a design that meets the requirements listed in the specification. Name……………………………………………… Class………………………………...
- Page 11 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Design Review (group task) Split into groups of three or four. Take it in turns to review each person’s design against the requirements of their specification. Also look to see if you can spot any additional aspects of each design that may cause problems with the final product.
-
Page 12: Component List
Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Component List: Check your kit and make sure you have all the components mentioned below: Battery Box DC Motor Wires Motor Pully Drag Racer Board Ceramic Capacitor 10nf ... - Page 13 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 How Does a Button Work? A push button is a simple switch mechanism that controls some aspect of a machine or a process. In the context of electronics and electrical circuits, push buttons are used to make or break an electrical connection.
- Page 14 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 How Does a Motor Work? A DC motor is a simple device that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion. In the context of toys and small appliances, these motors use direct current from batteries to drive their movement. By harnessing the interactions between magnets and electricity, DC motors bring dynamic action to everyday objects.
- Page 15 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Capacitor Basics What is a capacitor? A capacitor is a component that can store electrical charge (electricity). In many ways, it is like a rechargeable battery. A good way to imagine a capacitor is as a bucket, where the size of the base of the bucket is equivalent to the capacitance (C) of the capacitor and the height of the bucket is equal to its voltage rating (V).
- Page 16 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Maximum working voltage Capacitors also have a maximum working voltage that should not be exceeded. This will be printed on the capacitor or can be found in the catalogue the part came from. You can see that the capacitor on the right is printed with a 10V maximum working voltage.
- Page 17 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Assembling Your Drag Racer You can create your own buggy using these laser cut parts or by using corrugated cardboard / fluted polypropylene if a laser cutter is not available. The build instructions for this example drag racer buggy are shown on the next page.
- Page 18 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Build Instructions of Buggy ATTACH MOTOR MOUNTING CLIP Remove the plastic backing from the black motor clip to reveal the adhesive foam. Locate the small rectangular outline etched onto the buggy and stick the clip onto it.
- Page 19 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 PCB FIX WITH SPACERS Attach the screws to the four mounting holes at the edges of the PCB and tighten them with the spacers, as shown in the picture. ATTACHED THE PULLY WITH MOTOR Push the small black pulley onto the motor shaft as shown in the image.
- Page 20 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 PUSH THE MOTOR INTO MOTOR MOUNTING CLIP Push the motor into the motor mounting clip, ensuring that the motor face is inside the buggy. If you are unsure, refer to the picture below for guidance.
- Page 21 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 BACK WHEELS AXLE PLACEMENT Push the dowel through the holes as shown in the picture. ATTACHED BACK WHEELS Push the two wheels onto the dowel from both sides, as shown in the picture. FRONT WHEEL PLACEMENT Attach the prepared front wheel from step 4 to the buggy using clips on the dowel.
- Page 22 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Modifying the Buggy There are many modifications that you can make to your Drag Racer buggy that will impact its performance. One simple modification would be to alter the size of the front wheels. You can make different sized front wheels and see how the performance changes.
- Page 23 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Comparison of Modifications: Think what else can change the speed of the buggy? (Hint: Size of back wheel, Rubber band, Size of pully, Shape of buggy, Weight of the buggy, Aerodynamics etc.) Modify your buggy and note the changes in the table below. Can you identify any reasons why such modifications caused those changes? Justify your reasoning in the related column.
- Page 24 Timed Drag Racer Teaching Resources www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Soldering in Ten Steps 1. Start with the smallest components working up to the taller components, soldering any interconnecting wires last. 2. Place the component into the board, making sure that it goes in the right way around and the part sits flush against the board.
-
Page 25: Essential Information
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION /2153 ABOUT THE DRAG RACER MODULE ELECTRONIC BUILD INSTRUCTIONS HOW THE DRAG RACER WORKS EXPLORE MOTION WITH THIS TIMED DRAG RACER MODULE Version 1.0... - Page 26 Timed Drag Racer Essentials www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Drag Racer Module This project involves designing a small, battery-powered buggy that moves for five seconds when a push button is activated. It is a practical exercise in engineering and design, where you will learn to balance power, speed, and stability in a competitive setting.
- Page 27 Timed Drag Racer Essentials www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Drag Racer Electronics - Built Instruction SOLDER THE BATTERY BOX TO THE DRAG RACER BOARD The battery box has red and black wires. Pass the wires through the stain relief hole near the battery marking and solder them to the pads marked ‘Battery’, ensuring the red wire is connected to the positive (+) pad and the black wire is connected to the negative (-) pad.
-
Page 28: Fault Finding
Timed Drag Racer Essentials www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 Fault Finding Issue Potential solutions The buggy doesn’t move when Check the batteries are good and make sure they are put in to the the switch is pressed holder the right way. Make sure the battery wires are connected correctly: ... - Page 29 Timed Drag Racer Essentials www.kitronik.co.uk/25120 How The Drag Racer Works: Press the push button to start the buggy. It will run for 5 seconds before stopping smoothly. It moves quickly but remains under control. This is a similified circuit diagram of the drag racer board: The battery provides the necessary power for the circuit.
-
Page 30: Components Needed
Quick Start Guide: Example of Building Simple Buggy This page provides a streamlined guide for building a basic buggy using essential components from the Kitronik project kit. Perfect for those not undertaking the full Design and Technology (D&T) project. -
Page 31: Online Information
/ omissions in the notes. Kitronik Ltd - Any unauthorised copying / duplication of this booklet or part thereof for purposes except for use with Kitronik project kits is not allowed without Kitronik’s prior consent.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the 25120 and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers