Divide By Zero - a blog by Kamran Ayub

This instruction set is for my HSEM 3067H class, where we get different restrictions on making instructions for a tinker toy creation. Our restriction is that we can only use text-only on a blog or wiki.

That means no pictures, so we've tried our best to standardize our vocabulary and being pretty specific on what needs to be done.

What You'll Need

• 4 Yellow Wheels
• 2 Big Red Wheels
• 2 Red Rods
• 2 Purple Connectors
• 1 Purple Rod
• 1 Green Rod
• 1 Dark Green Cross
• 1 Orange Sombrero
• 1 Blue Wheel

Overview

What you'll be constructing today is a tractor. There are 3 parts to creating the tractor: 1) Create Back Axle, 2) Create Front Axle, 3) Insert pedal shaft, seat, and steering wheel.

At the top you will find the list of materials you will need from the Tinker toy box. Keep in mind these are the "big" tinker toys, not the smaller ones.

Assumptions

When using Big Red Wheels, we are inserting rods into the side that appears to be the inside of the wheel. The "center" is the hole that is surrounded by 4 other holes.

Part 1: Create Back Axle

The Back Axle consists of:

• 2 Big Red Wheels
• 1 Purple Rod
• 1 Blue Wheel

Steps

1. Take a Big Red Wheels and insert one end of the Purple Rod into the center hole of the wheel.
2. Take the Blue Wheel and slide it (using the center hole) onto the Purple Rod so that it is situated in the middle of the rod. The Big Red Wheels should be able to turn without turning the blue wheel.
3. Take the other Big Red Wheels and connect it to the other side of the Purple Rod so that it reflects Step 1.

The Back Axle should resemble the rear wheels of the tractor.

Part 2: Create Front Axle

The Front Axle consists of:

• 2 Purple Connectors
• 3 Yellow Wheels

Steps

1. Insert one end of the Purple Connector into the center hole on the 1st Yellow Wheel.
2. Repeat Step 1 for the 2nd Yellow Wheel and Purple Connector.
3. For the first pair, insert the other end of the Purple Connector into the center hole of the 3rd Yellow Wheel (the side of the wheel that consists of only one hole).
4. Repeat Step 3 for the second pair.

The Front Axle should now resemble the front wheels of the tractor.

Part 3: Insert Other Connectors

The Pedal Shaft

The pedal shaft consists of:

• The Front and Back Axles
• 1 Dark Green Cross
• 1 Red Rod

Steps

1. Slide the Dark Green Cross onto the Red Rod, so that it is situated in the center.
2. Insert one end of the Red Rod into the Blue Wheel of the Back Axle. At this point it does not matter which hole you use in the Blue Wheel.
3. Insert the other end of the Red Rod into the center Yellow Wheel of the Front Axle.
4. The back Big Red Wheels and the front 2 Yellow Wheels should be touching the ground and the Red Rod connecting the Front and Back Axles should be parallel to the ground.

The Seat

The seat consists of:

• Back Axle
• 1 Green Rod
• 1 Yellow Wheel

Steps

1. Attach the Green Rod to the Blue Wheel of the Back Axle so that the Green Rod is perpendicular to the ground (i.e. sticking straight up).
2. Attach the Yellow Wheel to the Green Rod, so that the Yellow Wheel is sitting flat atop the rod (i.e. use the center hole to attach).

The Steering Wheel

The steering wheel consists of:

• Front Axle
• 1 Red Rod
• 1 Orange Sombrero

Steps

1. Attach the Orange Sombrero to one end of the Red Rod.
2. Attach the other end of the Red Rod to the Yellow Wheel of the Front Axle so that, when all 4 tractor wheels are touching the ground, the Red Rod forms a 45 degree angle with the Pedal Shaft.

Conclusion

You should now have a tractor/go-cart/vehicle. The front wheels don't really turn, but we made do with the parts we had.