The Prototyping Club at UWM held a K’NEX bridge building competition in the Makerspace at UWM’s Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Building (EMS).
Many students from different majors and engineering focuses competed individually or in teams, building prototypes of bridges.
Different designs were tested to hold as much weight as possible before reaching strength-to-weight failure.
Andrew Hinz, former club president and competition judge, spoke about the event:
“Bridge performance was judged along open-ended guidelines. We didn’t want people to feel like they were being forced in a specific direction while also holding everyone to a fair standard. The span was the same, the testing method was the same, and the available materials for each group were the same.
Ultimately, I was most pleased with the variety of approaches groups took. Some were inspired by real examples, others incorporated unique features like a simple suspension system or a built-in platform to accommodate test materials. The creativity on display, and the enjoyment I overheard as everyone worked was very encouraging.
The best performers were those which directly addressed the testing criteria, applied key engineering principles, and took advantage of their construction materials. The fact that many groups stayed for the full duration of the event to test multiple iterations was a strong indication of the event’s success.”
‘Max’ Strength
The winning student was Max Sommers, an undecided major targeting engineering. He created an extremely strong bridge* which required more weight to be added than was expected.
When asked about his win and competition methodology, Sommers explained his hobby of studying structural failures as a tool to fall asleep. This sleep hack likely aided in his performance, even though he had no direct experience prior to the competition.
Sommers’ main philosophy while building was to keep any individual piece from moving in ways that the joints weren’t only strong in a single axis. He said he did this to ensure a piece wouldn’t pop out.
The other groups adopted a triangular trust design, and Sommers observed this. However, he saw that the other groups did it without the use of a single upper member. By using a single upper member on his, he believed he would make the structure extremely tough, creating a triangular design.
When asked about changes he made from his first test to his final, Sommers noted his focus on the platform, which held the weight, adding consecutive layers of reinforcement.
Sommers changed the platform by widening it, which he stated transferred the load from the wooden platform placed on the bridge to the bridge and better balanced the load. He did this after observing his first test, where the bridge twisted and the platform slid off.
The most interesting part of the competition for Sommers was seeing what everyone created and their different approaches. He enjoyed seeing some suspension designs and generally a wide variety, with not everyone converging on the same structural principles.
Successful Event for Prototyping Club
“The K’NEX bridge building was a competition in which students used K’NEX to build bridges competitively,” said Jacob Eiden, the Vice President of the Prototyping club. “The competitive nature of the K’NEX bridge building led to competitive competition among students trying to build the best K’NEX bridge!”
When asked about the success of the event, Eiden addressed how the participants were able to learn and work together:
“Students created a multitude of prototypes for unique bridge designs. This teaches students about creative problem solving and collaborative innovation, developing ideas to compete with fellow engineers. There was a variety of engineering students’ participation in the peer networking event, creating collaboration through team and individual bridge building and testing,” Eiden said.
It was an exciting event with a wide variety of bridge prototypes tested, resulting in an enjoyable experience for those participating in and those observing!
* Winning Bridge Design Results:
1st attempt total bridge weight: 689.5g
- Weight held: 16523.5g
- Appx strength to weight ratio: 24
2nd attempt total bridge weight: 706.5
- Weight held:19473.5g
- Appx strength to weight ratio: 27.5