Teach Deflection Concepts with Hacksaw Blades and Rubber Bands

摘要

Technology and engineering educators can use a simple hacksaw blade to help students learn about deflection, as that which occurs in a beam. Here the beam is fixed at one end and allowed to deflect in a manner that is easy to see and measure—the hacksaw blade represents a cantilever, if you will, an overhanging structure. This simple and very inexpensive experiment uses quarters as a load on the blade. Students can then conduct additional experiments involving loading rubber bands.