The topic about mechanism is covered during Form 4. A number of examples are worked out by construction on paper and after the topic has been completely covered, each student chooses one of the worked examples and physically builds up a working model. The work is carried out at home and on some occasions the students are assisted by their parents. This process takes a couple of weeks and when the projects are completed the students present them in class. These projects remain in class and serve as models for the students of the following year. The quality of the projects vary according to the facilities available at the students’ residences; however, the lessons learnt from these activities depends on the student’s commitment and interest. A selection of projects is shown below.
A simple mechanism consisting of a crank , links and lever. When the crank is rotated manually, the toy worker hammers the nail.
A hand operated piston,crank and connecting rod.
A simple hydraulic jack.
Crank and sliding link
Piston mechanism
Windscreen wipers mechanism
Gears in mesh with links
Men at work
Quick return mechanism
Geneva stop used to provide intermittent motion in watches,movie projectors and plotters.
A mechanism question taken from a SEC past paper.
A mechanism question from a textbook
Helical staircase model
Graphical Communication teachers are invited to send photographs of their students’ projects to to be included in this section.