Drop Tower Systems focuses on the design and development of a low-cost drop weight impact tower for UCI Engineering. The system is intended to address the current lack of an in house method for applying controlled dynamic loads to materials and components, since existing campus equipment is primarily limited to static testing. This project matters because many real world engineering applications involve impact and other dynamic loading conditions that static tests cannot fully represent. The final design is meant to support students, faculty, and project teams by providing a safer, more repeatable, and more accessible way to validate components and materials under realistic loading conditions.
Our team is solving this problem by designing and building a configurable drop-weight impact tower that can apply controlled dynamic loads to a variety of test samples. The system combines a structural frame, guide rails, a drop-weight and tup assembly, an electromagnetic release mechanism, locking and lifting systems, and sensors for data collection such as an accelerometer and velocity gates. We are using engineering design methods to compare concepts, select components, define functional requirements, estimate cost, and ensure the machine is safe, repeatable, and practical for students and researchers to use. Tools and methods used in the project include CAD-based design, material and component selection, subsystem testing, and data acquisition to evaluate impact performance in a way that is understandable and useful to non-expert users.
By the end of the project, our team will produce a functional prototype of a low-cost, drop-weight impact tower for UCI Engineering. Current accomplishments include a defined problem statement, stakeholder and design requirements, system diagrams, a preliminary design architecture, subsystem concept selection, and an initial bill of materials with a projected total cost of $235.58. Final deliverables will include the manufactured impact tower, integrated subsystems such as the release, lifting, locking, and data collection systems, supporting CAD and design documentation, and testing results that demonstrate the machine’s ability to perform repeatable dynamic impact experiments. Additional deliverables will include operating and safety documentation so the system can be used reliably by future students and researchers.