TECHNOLOGY GRADE 8 TERM 3
PAT 2: DESIGN 20 MARKS
NAME OF SCHOOL: ……….……………………………….. Date:…………………………………..
INSTRUCTION: Read the scenario below and then answer the questions that follows:
Figure 1 Figure 2
Headgears, are also called head frames, winding towers, hoist frames or shaft heads, are structures placed
over mineshafts. The headgear supports the hoist mechanisms and transports workers and materials in and
out of the underground mine.
The mineshaft is the deep hole that is sunk into the ground and used to mine the ore and supply air to the
miners. Side passages and tunnels at different levels are dug from this shaft. The mineral ore is loosened
from the surrounding rock using dynamite. It is then dug out and loaded into metal skips. A skip is an open
container that runs along a rail like a train does and gets hoisted up to the surface for the minerals to be
processed.
Remember that the platinum reef is 500 m below ground level. This is a relatively safe depth and not subject
to rock bursts and cave-ins from the massive pressure that frequently threatens the lives of miners at lower
depths.
Design a small “mine-lifting system”, commonly called a “mine shaft head gear”. Your design must have a
mine winch, shaft head gear and a lift cage.
The mine shaft head gear must be able to:
Take people to a depth of 1 meter in the shaft.
Carry a load of a one-liter bottle filled with water to represent the load of 10 tons.
The approximate size of the winding drum must not be more than 300mm x 250mm x100mm.
The headgear must not be higher than 300mm and the diameter of the sheave wheel must also not
exceed 120mm.
The lifting system is used to take miners underground and back up again. It is also used to lift the mined ore
PAT 2 GRADE 8 TERM 3 DESIGN Page 1 of 4
to the surface. After you have designed your lifting system, you will have to make a model of it. The
approximate sizes of the mining cage is 90mm x120mm x 80mm.
Requirements for the winch:
This part of the system is used to wind or unwind the steel cable.
The hoist must be attached to a motor and a control system.
The mine cage and the skips must be lowered into the mine when a steel cable unwinds from the
winch and must be able to raise when the steel cable winds up again.
Material to use:
A 2L cooldrink bottle, cardboard, 2mm plastic rope, drums made of cardboard, wire for the winch and
crank, gears made of cardboard, paper dowels, glue, etc. Use triangulation to stabilize the structure.
Design a head gear with an input to lift the one liter bottle (10 tons). The hand crank and winch must
create a mechanical advantage of ten. Thus, the gear ratio will be 1:10. Choose the gears you will need for
the drum shaft.
Figure 3
PAT 2 GRADE 8 TERM 3 DESIGN Page 2 of 4
Figure 4: A mine's lifting system
QUESTION 1
DESIGN BRIEF
1.1 Write the design brief for the mechanism to be made according to the scenario. (5)
(What must be made? Where will the mechanism be used? What will the function of the
mechanism be? Why must it be able to lift workers up and down?)
Figure 5
PAT 2 GRADE 8 TERM 3 DESIGN Page 3 of 4
1.2 List the specifications for the head gear as follows:
1.2.1 What must the head gear model be able to do? (2)
1.2.2 What must the lifting mechanism be able to do? (2)
1.2.3 What safety factors must be considered when making the device? (3)
1.3 List the constrains for the head gear by completing the guiding questions below:
1.3.1 What materials will be used to make the structure? (3)
1.3.2 What materials will be used to make the lifting mechanism? (3)
1.4 How much weight does the cage need to carry? (1)
1.5 How fast must the cage and skip travel? (1)
[20]
QUESTION 2
COMMUNICATION
2.1 Draw freehand a two-dimensional FRONT and LEFT view of the mine headgear that (10)
you would like to make. Use light construction lines to plan your drawing.
Add HEADINGS, LABELS and NOTES. Remember to put the words and the labels outside
the drawing. Name each part of the mechanism and the material to be used.
Figure 6
2.2 Draw freehand the example of the gears you would use to give you a mechanical advantage (7)
with a gear ratio of 1:10 and label it. (Add the number of teeth in the drawings.)
2.3 Draw freehand the crank that you would like to use to lift the cage. (3)
[10]
TOTAL 40 ÷2= [20]
PAT 2 GRADE 8 TERM 3 DESIGN Page 4 of 4
