Ping Pong Ball Launcher

Group 4Drzewianowski, Kati

Hill, Jessica

Rembold, Matt

Winograd, Ted

The Matter at Hand

2001 ASEE National Design CompetitionPing-pong ball launching device Fit within a 3ft x 3ft x 3ft cube (ready to

launch) Student produced and powered (no flames) Must launch one ball at a time Must hit target from 15, 20, and 25 feet Target is 3ft x 3ft at a 30 degree angle with an

18in diameter hole in the center

“So You Already Made It…” Existing Ideas

Pitching devices Tennis balls Baseballs

Children’s toys Slingshots Nerf® guns

Catapults

Solution Proposals

Mouse trap

Rat trap

Spring launcher

Catapult

Air pump

Sling shot

Robot

Trained dog

Small child

Mouse and Rat Traps

A device powered by the spring and the firing action of a household rodent trap

Spring constants and parabolic motion would be calculated to make the firing range and direction precise.

Spring Launcher

Spring powered barrel (similar to pinball machine)

Directed through tubing

Angles adjustable for different distances

Spring constants and parabolic motion would be calculated to make the firing range and direction precise.

Catapult

Powered by source of tension (ex. Spring)

Button-released lever arm

Distance controlled by stopping lever arm

Air Pump

Powered by compressed air

Launched by releasing pressure

Directed through tubing

Sling Shot

Powered by bungee cords

Angles and pullback distance manually adjustable

Spring constants and parabolic motion would be calculated to make the firing range and direction precise.

Keeping Our Priorities Straight

Percentage Importance of Design Attributes

$ Safety Accuracy

Aesthetics Adjustability & Range Ease in Production

Portability Design Tolerance Ease in Operation

Analysis of Options

$ Safety Accuracy AestheticsAdjustability

& RangeEase in

Production PortabilityDesign

ToleranceEase in

Operation Totals%

Importance 20 10 20 5 15 10 5 10 5

Mousetrap 8 3 1 2 1 4 9 5 7 4.1

Rattrap 7 1 1 2 1 4 9 5 7 3.7Spring

Launcher 5 8 9 8 7 1 8 3 9 6.3

Catapult 4 8 7 7 2 1 8 6 7 5.1

Air pump 2 8 1 6 1 1 8 1 7 2.8

Sling-shot 8 8 7 7 7 9 7 10 8 7.9

The Final Decision

Overall Rating of Machine Types Based on Design Attributes

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Mousetrap Rattrap SpringLauncher

Catapult Air pump Sling-shot

Machine type

Rat

ing

(1-

10)

The Building of…

…Our Project

An Afterthought

Upon trial an aiming device became necessary

0123456789

101112131415

Launches

15ft-1

15ft-2

15ft-3

15ft-4

15ft-5

20ft-1

20ft-2

20ft-3

20ft-4

20ft-5

25ft-1

25ft-2

25ft-3

25ft-4

25ft-5

Trials

Without Aimer

Miss

Hit

New & Improved!

A dowel with marked guidelines customizes the launcher for this project

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Launches

15ft-1

15ft-2

15ft-3

15ft-4

15ft-5

20ft-1

20ft-2

20ft-3

20ft-4

20ft-5

25ft-1

25ft-2

25ft-3

25ft-4

25ft-5

Trials

With Aimer

Miss

Hit

Quantity Dimensions Product Source Cost

6

¼” outer diameter, ¾” long, 1/8” inner

diameter

Long Wood Screws

Home Supplies N/A

8¼” diameter, 2”long, 1/8” inner diameter

Short Wood Screws

Included with

Brackets N/A

2 2’ longBungee Cords

Home Supplies N/A

1 5 ½” x 2 5/8”

Cloth Launch

PadHome

Supplies N/A

1 233/4”x233/4”x3/4”

Plywood Platform Lowe’s $4.48

1

3/8” diameter x 4’

length DowelsHome

Supplies N/A

1 18 x 3/4” NailsHome

Supplies N/A

3 1 3/8”x 1 3/8”x 2’

Wooden Stakes Lowe’s $2.34

4 5” x 5/8” Brackets Lowe’s $1.17

Standard Issue

3/8” diameter

Total Cost $12.22

6Ping-Pong

Balls K-Mart $1.79

1 Dowels Lowe’s $2.44

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

If only…

With more time Further research More precision and accuracy

With more money Better/different materials

With more resources Ability to compute trajectories Variety of tools allows wider range of materials

And yet…

Design advantages Relatively inexpensive Flexibility in construction Adaptable to user preference Tolerance in dimensions