Building Tetrahedral Kites
Working in teams of four, students build tetrahedral kites following specific instructions and using specific materials. They use the basic processes of manufacturing systems – cutting, shaping, forming, conditioning, assembling, joining, finishing, and quality control – to manufacture complete tetrahedral kites within a given time frame. Project evaluation takes into account team efficiency and the quality of the finished product.
A tetrahedral kite flying in the air.Copyright http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WMCi321eyLA/maxresdefault.jpg
From kite racing to hang-gliders, kites have come a long way in the past 2000 years. Then again, even with the information available to us today, kite design is a challenge due to the number of variables associated with it. This activity focuses on the industrial engineering aspect bringing out the importance of efficient manufacturing processes.
After this activity, students should be able to understand:
- Basic elements of flight.
- Basic manufacturing systems and processes.