Monstrous Popsicle-stick Cantilever bridge

These are some pictures of a bridge I built mainly out of boredom, but also since I have an interest in engineering. It’s a large cantilever bridge, meaning it has two arms that extend beyond their piers that hold up a center suspended span. It’s 10′ 2″ long and as of right now is hanging across my bedroom ceiling. One nice thing about cantilever bridges is how the longer top-chord is in tension, while the shorter, straight bottom chord is in compression.

The bridge was built using both sizes of popsicle/craft sticks held together with high-temperature hot melt glue. In the pictures (on my Photobucket, as WordPress wanted to crop them down too far) you can see the I-beams made out of sticks and made into the chords, diagonals and bracing. Two of the trusses were built by “building up” girders rather than making I-beams. The top-chord lateral bracing is different on the one cantilever arm, as it was built earlier in the year and I came up with the idea for the other bracing in the downtime.

For decoration I added blue LED lights to the bridge.

See more pictures at the Photobucket Album.

3 Responses to “Monstrous Popsicle-stick Cantilever bridge”

1. shane' - October 18, 2011 at 2:16 pm

   how does the cantilever part lift up?

   Reply
2. Kariann - March 4, 2010 at 1:49 pm

   Omg; look it needs picture post some or not but dis aint good enough,.
   Imma go to a different ones
   yall dont know bout color do you?

   Reply
3. brittzany - January 28, 2010 at 3:05 pm

   yall bridge doesnt have no pictures up grade on here

   Reply