The Human Hamster Wheel

Now for an update on the wheel.  We have had a lot of smaller build days in the last couple of months and finished a lot of fitting things together that needed to get done.  We repainted the base, because we wanted it to look a little more professional than it did when it was all the colors sprayed on everywhere.  So now it is a more organized multi-colored base.

 We painted the metal spokes and fixed a gap in the mesh inside of the ring.

Then we attached the metal spokes, replacing the wooden ones that were only meant to hold the wheel in the right shape until the metal ones were ready.  This was a little difficult, because we had to avoid all the metal plates that were reinforcing the ring and in some cases we had to go back later and drill through those metal reinforcing plates to attach the rest of the bolts.  

We also had to work out how to attach the pillow block bearings that support the spokes holding the wheel up.  One side has to be attached, but one side must be removable so that the hamster wheel can be separated from the base.  We ended up drilling into the top of the base and bolted one pillow block bearing down.  On the other side we drilled into the top of the posts as before, but then we cut the tops from two bolts and attached them like two pillars that hold the pillow block bearing in place.  When the pillow block bearings are in place, nuts keep them from coming out of place, but the one side is still removable for transportion purposes.

 Then we finally got the wheel spinning for the first time last December.

Since then we have had a lot of little builds fixing little things that needed to be fixed mostly.

Then we had to get working on the generator.  We designed it, ordered the parts, had some pieces machined, and got it set up and running just 15 minutes before the TV crew came to interview us.  You can watch the story at this link:

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0208/499977.html

I think one of the flyers to get people to work said that there would be fame and glory, and look, I was right.

The generator is up and running, and it does light up some lightbulbs, but it’s not quite right yet.  The metal frame that attached the pulleys and the generator is a little weak, and so unless Dr. Sheldon is standing on it, it starts to bend upward.  Then the belt is no longer tight enough, so the pulley stops turning and everything gets messed up.  We figure that if we attach a metal bar under the metal sheet, then it will keep the metal sheet from torquing upwards.  We are also going to add a second bearing to stabilize the axle.

When we first set it up, we also had it just stacked on piles of books, so we still need to build a stand for the generator and maybe be able to bolt it to the metal frame at the bottom of the hamster wheel base so that it will not slide around at all.

So that is where we are now.  We have a couple more things to get done before it is good to go, but we are doing an admissions thing with it this weekend, and then we are trying to somehow figure out how to incorporate it into the Science Day.

Thanks to everyone who has worked on the wheel, and everyone who has supported us and inquired into the wheel.  We are really proud of it!!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Amanda made us a giant hamster named Al who spends a lot of time hanging out in the wheel.  So now we need a really good name for the hamster wheel.  So if you have any ideas, please comment or email us.