Thames & Kosmos DLX, Experiment Manual, Page: 53 / 132

Stacking boxes with
the forklift
YOU WILL NEED
› The assembled forklift
› IR remote control
› 5 AA batteries or 5 AA rechargeable batteries
› Several pallets (see page 128)
› Several boxes (see page 127)
HERE’S HOW
1. Familiarize yourself with the controls of the forklift.
Which touch pad buttons control which motor? And
most importantly: How skillfully can you operate
them?
2. Set a pallet on the floor and place some boxes on top of
it. For starters, two boxes side by side should be enough
3. Drive your forklift up to the boxes. Lower the fork
almost to the floor and maneuver it under the pallet.
4. Now lift the pallet up and drive the forklift to another
location in the room where you would like to deposit it.
But be careful: Don’t drop your cargo!
5. Set your load down carefully and move the fork back
away from the pallet so the forklift can move freely
again.
6. Try this same exercise with taller and taller stacks of
boxes. How many can you carry at the same time
without dropping a single one? Can you also stack
pallets on top of one another?
WHAT’S HAPPENING
When the weight on the front fork is too great, the
forklift will tip forward over the front axle. The
principle behind that is known as leverage. This
refers to the action of a system consisting of a
rigid body fastened to a point of rotation. In this
case, the rigid body is the forklift, while the point
of rotation is the front axle.
The physical science description of this kind of
system is called the lever principle. In simplified
form, and applied to the forklift, it says that the
greater the weight and the farther forward
from the front axle it is, the greater the
leverage. If it is too great, the forklift tips
forward.
Use a counterweight at the rear in order
to be able to carry greater weights at the front.
You’ll achieve the same result by lengthening the
wheel base — for example, by using longer frames
along the sides rather than the square frames.
KEYWORD: LEVER ARM
A seesaw gives you an easy way to visualize the lever principle at work.
The point of rotation is right in the center of the seesaw. If both people are
the same weight and are sitting equally far from the point of rotation, the
seesaw works well. If one person is heavier, an extra person has to sit on
the opposite side. Or, the lighter person can slide farther away from the
point of rotation, thus lengthening the
lever’s arm.
WANT MORE?
EXPERIMENT 7
51
Robots for Transport