GRITS Trophy Design Competition Finalists!

For the 2020-2021 GRITS season we created a trophy design, which was submitted to the trophy design contest. Our trophy is built upon a combination of pneumatic and electrical components from Automation Direct. Starting with the pneumatics, air is provided by connecting quarter inch pneumatic tubing to a bulkhead union on the back of the base. The electrical system is powered by a 24V, 36W wall adapter. It connects to the rear of the base using a barrel jack. The 24 volt power is routed through a two-position selector switch. When the switch is in the “on” position, power is supplied to several LEDs lighting the city buildings and one photoelectric fork sensor that detects whether the “switch” game element is level or not. If game element is not level, then the light beam is unobstructed and sensor output switches 24V to the solenoid valve. This extends the air cylinder which raises the city and opens the shield.  The shield also closes and protects the city when selector switch is in the off position. With this design, we have become finalists for the contest and have expanded our creativity in the process.

Written by ​Kimberly Velez (12th)