Inspiration:
During a brainstorm session in the November of 2013, a group of greengineers stumbled upon the theme of Playground power. We researched the current applications and found these videos and articles below which inspired us to make our own swing pump.
During a brainstorm session in the November of 2013, a group of greengineers stumbled upon the theme of Playground power. We researched the current applications and found these videos and articles below which inspired us to make our own swing pump.
Prototypes: From what we gathered, we decided that we wanted to be able to pump water by swinging. Our first concept was to have a regular cross bar with a tube on the outside attached to the swing. As the rider swung back and forth, the tube would in turn rotate back and forth. This pendulum like movement of the tube could provide a mechanical energy that would stimulate a pump.
After a few days, we located a Newton family that had a old swingset that we could use. That night, we took a quick ride over to their house and brought the set back to the shop. In order to accommodate space restraints we immediately hacked the monkey bars to shorten the length of the set. Then, we began to assemble a