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Project 16

Balsa Bridge

Problem
Class project to design a bridge that could hold the most weight using balsa wood and wood glue.
Solution
Designed and built a Howe truss bridge that held 4.535 kg during testing.
Outcome
Learned how to design an effective truss.
Balsa wood Howe truss bridge during load testing
Howe truss bridge during the load test, holding 4.535 kg.

Build Process

The bridge combined a Fusion 360 layout with a balsa wood truss structure built for maximum load capacity.

Balsa wood bridge on a load test setup Load Test Close-up of the balsa wood Howe truss bridge Howe Truss Build Fusion 360 bridge layout drawing with dimensions Fusion 360 Layout