Since 1948, the annual homecoming parade brings the Tallahassee community together and highlights school spirit for FSU and FAMU. The event is full of local organizations showcasing their pride. This inspires our sponsors, Dean and Faye Gibson, to involve the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and increase our presence in the community.
Our project goal is to design a parade float that displays the engineering school, promotes the profession, and captures the attention of the parade goers. This is accomplished by presenting engineering in a complex yet whimsical way. The focus of the float is a triple pendulum that is controlled by electrical and mechanical systems. Objects in motion are gear-shaped displays that give the illusion of a working gearbox. This system is in motion even when the parade traffic is at a stop. Other objects showing each type of engineering are placed in the remaining space on the float. Our float aims to engage audiences of all ages and show the fun of engineering. It will promote our college spirit and accomplishments. The parade float will be used during the 2020 homecoming parade for both universities.
The sponsors for this project are Dean Gibson (left) and Faye Gibson (right)
Mechanical Engineering Project
A link to the Customer Needs file can be found here! Customer Needs
A link to the Functional Decomposition file can be found here! Functional Decomposition
A link to the Targets and Metrics file can be found here! Targets and Metrics
A link to the Concept Generation file can be found here! Concept Generation
A link to the Concept Selection file can be found here! Concept Selection
A link to a recent design presentation can be found here! Virtual Design Review 4
A link to the team's most recent design presentation can be found here! Virtual Design Review 5
A link to the Prototyping images can be found here!
Base From Top View
Base From Side View
Gears
The final design can be seen below with a side view (left) and back view (right)
Our future works include the following:
1) Turn radius analysis
2) FEA analysis of assembly
3) Final reports
4) Finalizing minor design details
5) Presentation protraying our success
A link to our updated Future Works file can be found here! Future Works