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Posted: 2003-01-21 01:24am
by Sea Skimmer
Bridge? Why the fuck would we want a bridge. Dam the river; divert that water and strip mine the countryside! Progress can't be stopped or slowed!
As for those of you who would actually build a puny bridge, rather then laying the road across a 25 million cubic meter dam, GBU-24 wants to say hi.

Posted: 2003-01-21 01:26am
by ArmorPierce
Buahaha! My first design hit the river immediately and my second and very expensive design sagged
Posted: 2003-01-21 01:34am
by ArmorPierce
Yes got it to work at $211,000. NOw to lower the price some more.
Posted: 2003-01-21 01:46am
by Exonerate
You've got a long ways to go...
Posted: 2003-01-21 01:56am
by Beowulf
A very long ways indeed...
Considering my low is $132,295.70
Posted: 2003-01-21 02:59am
by Hyperion
Lowest operational design I have so far is 164k
Posted: 2003-01-21 01:41pm
by The Dark
ArmorPierce wrote:Yes got it to work at $211,000. NOw to lower the price some more.
If a piece is under only tensile stress, not compressive stress, make it a tube. Tubes are cheaper than bars.
Posted: 2003-01-21 01:48pm
by RedImperator
Exonerate wrote:RedImperator wrote:My best design so far cost three times that much, is horrible overengineered, and still sags two meters in the middle when the truck passes over it. I should get a job at Starfleet engineering.
3x? Thats VERY expensive... Hell, it sounds like something that our government would do...
I doubt even the government would let me build a bridge. I had to use all 120 alotted members just to get the fucking thing to not fall in the river on its own.
I've gotten better. I've had workable bridges for about $220,000 or so.
Posted: 2003-01-21 02:47pm
by RedImperator
W00t! $138k. Getting better...
Posted: 2003-01-21 03:07pm
by Soulman
My first bridge (a nice single span one) cost $150,000, it did kind of bend though when the truck went over it though...
Posted: 2003-01-21 03:16pm
by Wicked Pilot
Well this looks interesting. Just remember, there are no scholarships to West Point. You have to be appointed, usually by one of your congressmen, to get in.
Posted: 2003-01-21 03:25pm
by Beowulf
Remember... the bridge only has to be strong enough to support the weight of the truck, not neccessarily anything more. It's quite ok if the bridge bends rather alarmingly when the truck goes through...
Posted: 2003-01-21 03:33pm
by RedImperator
Beowulf wrote:$133,767.16
$133,156.01.
EDIT: $128,658.04. There's two pairs of solid members in the whole thing and it's all carbon steel. I don't think I can possibly make it any cheaper using this site and this basic design.
EDIT: Final design, $126,945.49. It wobbles if you so much as look at it funny, but it works.
Posted: 2003-01-21 04:37pm
by ArmorPierce
Down to 204,000. Now let me try a completely new design.
Posted: 2003-01-21 04:42pm
by ArmorPierce
Completely new design worked

. Down to $164,000.
Edit: tweaked it a bit and now it's down to $151,000
Edit 2: Down to $150,000
Posted: 2003-01-21 05:27pm
by Beowulf
RedImperator wrote:Beowulf wrote:$133,767.16
$133,156.01.
EDIT: $128,658.04. There's two pairs of solid members in the whole thing and it's all carbon steel. I don't think I can possibly make it any cheaper using this site and this basic design.
EDIT: Final design, $126,945.49. It wobbles if you so much as look at it funny, but it works.
Gah...
How'd you get it down so low?
Posted: 2003-01-21 05:31pm
by ArmorPierce
Yeah [Ted]Post Pics![/Ted]
Posted: 2003-01-21 06:29pm
by RedImperator
http://www.geocities.com/redimperator/b ... enshot.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/redimperator/b ... eprint.jpg
Here are links to two screenshots. I doubt sincerely the mod of this forum would have appreciated me inlining a pair of 1024 by 768 images.
Posted: 2003-01-21 06:34pm
by RedImperator
All members are carbon steel. All but two are hollow. The widest beams are 190mm square, the smallest 10mm square. I've gone through it beam by beam, reducing them 10mm and then testing it, and it fails each time. I'm pretty sure this is the lightest possible weight for this design. It might be possible to reduce the cross sections of some of those members by adding joints in the middle of the long beams, but every attempt I've made to lighten the bridge that way ends up either costing me more because I need to add too many other joints and short members to make it work, or it falls into the river.
Posted: 2003-01-21 06:48pm
by Red Knight
My lowest one so far is 184,654.09....
Posted: 2003-01-21 07:14pm
by Red Knight
Your links give me a 404 error, Imperiator.
Posted: 2003-01-21 07:20pm
by Beowulf
<$124k
similar to RedImp's design...
Posted: 2003-01-21 07:57pm
by RedImperator
Red Knight wrote:Your links give me a 404 error, Imperiator.
Must have hit the transfer limit. Thank Geoshitties.
Posted: 2003-01-21 08:07pm
by Exonerate
I think I might be able to improve upon yours... Maybe some other time; I have a huge project due tomorrow...

Posted: 2003-01-21 08:30pm
by Red Knight
Ive got mine down to 151,827.13. Its using all carbon tubes, and I dont think I can get it much cheaper.