Knex Process

            After working with the Knex for a week I saw some flaws in the similarities and differences I had previously seen between Knex and WPBD program. The one thing that I noticed is that the cost to strength ratio seem to be relatively similar. I took one of the bridge designs I had with the Knex and tried to make it on WPBD and the cost came out to be approximately what I had expected it to be with the Knex. The only real difference between the two is that WPBD allows you to push your bridge past its limits. It lets you take parts out until the remaining bars hold every last bit of the force. With the Knex that does not really seem to be able to happen. The bridge either holds the weight or it does not. It does not bend and turn bright red like the bridge designs made in WPBD.

            I do believe that working with Knex and working on making a real bridge that is made of steel and spanning 20 feet or more is very different. With the Knex it seems that we are just trying to see how much weight our bridge can hold. We are not doing any calculations and do not have any real expectations. With a real bridge we need to build a bridge that has to be able to hold a certain amount of weight. It does not matter how much the bridge will cost because the bridge has to be strong and reliable.