Basic Mechanisms Presi/Slides: Engineering, Technology, Robotics, Mechanics

This presentation is actually two presentations. You will receive the Google Slideshow, which contains all the lesson info, videos, etc., and is editable. The slideshow also includes a link to the Presi lesson, which is not editable, but which is a really fun and visually attention-grabbing way to present and navigate the topic.

This lesson introduces students to some fundamental mechanical concepts related to types of motion, speed, torque, etc. and 12 different mechanisms commonly used to alter motion between an input and an output. This makes a terrific follow up to a lesson on simple machines, gear ratios, or force & motion. The focus of this presentation is to introduce the various mechanisms and their capabilities. I use it as an introductory lesson on mechanical systems for my high school robotics students, but it would work well for middle schoolers also. Each slide includes some basic "at-a-glance" info about the mechanism, but also has a brief ~1 minute video showing and explaining the mechanism in greater detail with real world examples.

This lesson introduces the following mechanisms and concepts:

• Types of motion (rotary, linear, reciprocating, oscillating)
• Inputs vs. Outputs
• Types of mechanisms (simple gears, compound gears, bevel gears, sprocket & chain, belt & pulley, worm & wheel, rack & pinion, universal joint, leadscrew, cam and follower, crank and slider, 4-bar linkage)

This lesson briefly explains the concept of torque vs. speed well enough to understand how the mechanisms work, but it is not an in-depth lesson on gear ratios. I teach that concept separately. Simple machines and mechanical advantage are not covered in this lesson.

*Note that youtube videos embedded in the Prezi and Google Slideshow will not play without internet connection

If you like this resource, you might also like my simple machine virtual labs.

Keep an eye out for additional resources for this topic such as a guided note sheet and unit test, coming soon!