Shoutbox

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Originally posted by The Napster
prefereably in froms of traingles...

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Triangles stop Torsion...

I would say try and make as many triangles as possible. But not everywhere.

Practice on BSC II

Use some Carbon Fiber! It's damn strong stuff. Use that for the road and base supports and you'll be good to go.

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Originally posted by wj
Use some Carbon Fiber! It's damn strong stuff. Use that for the road and base supports and you'll be good to go.

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And! If you have a weight limit... carbon fiber is extremely light! Sorta expensive I think though.

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Originally posted by wj
Use some Carbon Fiber!

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lol, yah i jus tgot tons of that laying around the house

The best bridges at a minium weight are toothpick bridges that are truss bridge designed.

The best way to design your bridge is to first look at the different types of bridges built by engineers today.

[url] http://www.brantacan.co.uk/truss.htm[/url] for some excellent theory and examples.
Don't use the wimpy toothpicks that you typically find in the grocery store. Coloured cocktail toothpicks are very strong and make for a good structure. These are usually found in the picnic or party section of your grocery store.
Good glue is a necessity for strong toothpick structures. Use a fast-drying epoxy type glue for maximum strength and workability. Wood glues are also good, but take a long time to set. If you decide to use epoxy, be very careful with it. don't use SuperGlues,they're expensive& do not have good long-term strength and will not give you the best results on porous, wooden sticks.
If you do choose to use the wooden ones,You can also soak the toothpicks to make them bendy..if needed..

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Originally posted by beamy-kitty
You can also soak the toothpicks to make them bendy..

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steam them, makes them stay in that arch if you bend them once steamed

make the bridge very low to the ground! small supports in the middle, the closer to the ground the better, i sugest takking construction paper and folding it then roling it up, try and crush it, its nearly impossible because they are compacted to their maximum already