In MEAM 247 lab, students were tasked with creating, from MDF and 1/8 steel dowel pins, a gap spanning truss that would be tested against an applied load. The truss was to be tested for ultimate strength and ultimate stiffness, as well as specific strength and stiffness, which are measures that divide the strength and stiffness of the truss by its mass. These numbers give a qualitative assessment of how well a truss is designed.

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My group designed a simple truss, making sure to have carefully toleranced press-fits with the dowel pins as well as large bearings so as to avoid any localized stresses at the joints. Our truss supported over 340 newtons - the highest in the class by almost 100 N. The above picture is a Solidworks rendering of our truss.