Hydraulic Arm Activity

Learn about hydraulics/fluid mechanics while constructing a remotely operated hydraulic arm. Use the detailed sample arm instructions or design and construct your own. 

Many teachers like to have their students build the stock hydraulic arm and then engineer changes to it. This method seems to work well, as it introduces students the basic concepts and methods before they are asked to engineer beyond them. This is an Easy Engineering activity, making design, construction and revision simple. 

Activity Documents

Possible Engineering Challenges

    ▪ Design and draw the arm in CAD.  Then build it. 

    ▪ Design and build an arm that rotates at the base

    ▪ Design and build a better end effecter (gripper)

    ▪ Design and build an arm to move the most weight the furthest distance

    ▪ Design and prototype retail packaging for the arm

    ▪ Design and build a practical mechanism/method to measure the weight of the object the arm is lifting

    ▪ Design and prototype a new component for the Easy Engineering System. Demonstrate its function on a hydraulic arm

    ▪ Design a hydraulic arm to move as many beans from a common tray into the teams tray as possible. 

      2 or 3 arms can compete at once in this competition

    ▪ Design a hydraulic arm to work in an assembly line with other arms. Parts can move in front of the arms by pulling a "belt."

Innovation Components

Innovation components allow for greater alternative and innovative designs. They are not required, but are suggested to bring more engineering and innovation to the activity. Only a few innovation components are usually needed to create alternative designs, so your supply of innovation components can be used for many hydraulic arms. Here are our recommendations:

    ▪ Long Link Strips

    ▪ Syringes with Clips & Mounts

    ▪ Vinyl Tubing

    ▪ 4-Way Valves

    ▪ Barbed Tees 

    ▪ 5mm Dowels

    ▪ Perpendicular Adaptors

    ▪ Blue Bases

    ▪ Chip Board

    ▪ #12-1/2" Screws

    ▪ #10 x 1" Machine Screws

    ▪ #10 Washers

    ▪ #10 Square Nuts

    ▪ Rubber Bands

    ▪ 70mm Pulleys

    ▪ 30mm Pulleys

    ▪ Galvanized Colored Wire

    ▪ Anything else you can dig up (Raid the recycling bin, wood, metal, plastic, broken toys, etc.)

Do you have the Easy Engineering tools to complete this activity?