WET Invention Challenge
Our team is designing a cart and rail launcher for this year's WET challenge. The idea is to stop the carts and let the objects keep moving toward the targets.
2026 challenge
This year's challenge is called The Quest, part of Project WonderWorks by WET. We have to build a device that places one object into each of seven targets within 30 seconds. We choose seven different objects from the 18 provided, with no more than two from the same shape family.
Targets have to score in increasing order. The team that scores the most targets wins. Some objects earn time reductions when they score, and the final time breaks a tie between teams with the same number of targets.
Directions
Our idea
We want to use thick latex tubing to pull carts along rails toward the targets. Each cart would hit a stop at the end of its rail. The cart would stop, but the object inside would keep moving and launch toward its target because of its momentum. The rails would keep the carts aimed in the right direction.
We plan to stagger the launches so the objects reach the targets in order. We also need to stagger the starting heights: the first object must start with its bottom no more than 2 cm above the field, the bottom of each next object must start above the top of the previous one, and the top of the last object cannot be higher than 75 cm. We want to choose objects that earn useful time reductions while still being reliable to launch.
Progress
We have started sketching the cart and wheel setup. The sketch shows how the cart base could sit over the rail, with wheels and sheet metal around a 2 by 4. Drawing the front view helped us think through how the pieces would fit together before making the CAD model.
Our next deadline is October 15 for the finished CAD model. We still need to work out the rail spacing, the cart stops, and how much to stretch the tubing. Once we have a prototype, we can test whether the objects leave the carts cleanly and reach the targets in the right order.
Schedule