ME 250 Final Project

TEAM HOLE-IN-ONE

Team 26 Naman Bindra, Erik Sanchez, Jarrett Lawson,

Chris Kim

“Team Hole-In-One”

Executive Summary

The objective of this project was for the team to build a device that can move a golf ball across a

mini golf course following traditional mini golf rules. As the project began, the team identified the

different objectives and constraints the device had to achieve. The objectives of the device were to keep

costs low, ease of use, safe, and had to be aesthetically pleasing. After choosing the objectives which we

would design the device to, the team had to consider how it would function to achieve our main

objective of playing mini golf with the device. The team identified a few main functions that the device

would have to accomplish, and several different means in which to do the functions.

Next, these means were used to develop a morphological chart to help narrow down how the

device would achieve moving a golf ball across the mini golf course. Our team was able to narrow our

design choices to 5 possible designs that centered around 3 different ways to propel the golf ball which

were spring power, compressed gas, and gravity. After taking the pros and cons of each proposed

design, the team choose a spring power device, that rotated on a base and had a button signal. The button

signal was later changed to a pin/lever system however. This design was chosen based on the results of

what the team though would fit our objectives the best, and it was concluded that the spring powered

device could be made cheaper, smaller, lighter, and be more reliable than any of the other design

choices.

A prototype was built and tested, and brought back favorably results. A few variants of the

device were built after coming across some structural design mistakes, but in the end all of those were

fixed. The final design of the device achieved all of the team's initial objectives while accomplishing the

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main goal of applying force to the ball and shooting it a far enough distance to successfully navigate the

minigolf course.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION & PROBLEM DEFINITION ........................................................................................... 3

DEVICE FUNCTION/MEANS & CONCEPT GENERATION/SELECTION............................................ 7-12

FINAL DESIGN/DEVICE COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS............................................................. 11-15

TESTING ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 -15

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................. 16

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 17

CAD DRAWINGS (as attachments) .............................................................................................................. 18

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................. 19-20

-Final Project Task List

-Bill of Materials (attachment)

-Individual Contributions

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Introduction

Golf is a game of precision and accuracy. In this project design process, these ideas are

thoroughly explored in order to achieve maximum efficiency and at the same time not compromising

other aspects of the design. The goal of this design project, and group “Hole-In-One” was to create a

device that was affordable to make, safe, and easily able to achieve the primary goal of getting the golf

ball into the golf hole by the means and standards that were predetermined. This experiment and

mini-golf design was designed by going through a comprehensive design process that included

developing concrete objectives and constraints, selection of design, Testing process and the actual

designing of the device.

Problem Definition

The goal of this project was to design, create and use a golf ball projecting device to navigate

and compete on a miniature golf course against other teams with the same objective. The optimal result

is having three “Hole-in-Ones”. The course is created but not shared to the teams by the instructor and

TAs. The device must follow specific criteria and follow the traditional rules of miniature golf. This

section focuses on the design objectives and constraints, using an organized format to show the

“customer” what the team will be focused on during the design process. This section will also work as a

layout to the groundwork the team will take to achieve a design that is well balanced between the set

objectives and constraints.

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Objectives/Constraints

The group’s focus is on making the device cost efficient, easy to use, able to pass the safety test,

and focusing on a good design process. Some constraints in the design will come from the limitations

placed on the team from the rules of this project and the rules of mini-golf which must be abided. These

constraints include, not allowing the device to shoot/propel in any manner the golf ball, along with

knowing that the team is limited in the types of materials and parts the team can make the device from,

both with what is given and what can be construed through 3-D printing.

One of the most significant objectives is cost effectiveness. The goal is to make the device low

cost, and this will be accomplished by making the device both easy to use as well as cheap in

construction.. The team will try to use low cost materials and use a more renewable source of energy to

propel the ball. There is a limit to how cheap the team can make the device without impacting other

design objectives, so the team will be flexible with this objective.

The next objective, ease of use, will be to make the device as accessible/efficient as possible.

The device should be able to adjust its power output to make it easy to make long or short distance

shots, and easily be able to change the direction of the shot to move the ball around obstacles. The

device should be be able to make consistent shots as measured by the average distance of the ball

traveled per choice of force exerted on the ball, and that the device should have a signal so that when the

device is properly setup, the operator can attempt a shot at any time.

For the next objective, the team is looking to achieve making the device able to pass a safety test.

The safety test is an important test that will determine if the device will be allowed to legally participate

on the course. If the device can not pass the safety test, it would take considerable time to rework the

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device into something that can pass the test, so it would be best if the team passed the test on the first

try. The teams last major objective is coming up with an effective design.

The design objective the team is looking to accomplish is to make the device as compact as

possible as well as to make the device in a shape that is easy to handle and move around. The team is

looking to accomplish this by making the device lightweight and in a shape that allows for it to be

moved around, and placed in tight areas. The course the device will operate on is expected to have

various obstacles in the way, and by allowing a compact device the chance of success is far more viable.

In conclusion, the team will design and create a device that can transport a golf ball to its

destination using the objectives and constraints listed above as a road map to the final design. The

design goals of this device is to have a functional balance between safety, cost, ease of use, design, and

weight. At the same time, the team will be designing around the constraints of the device not sending the

golf ball airborne, and making best use of the materials and manufacturing processes the team have to

use. In the end, the team hopes to design a device that will effectively succeed in playing a game of

mini-golf, and achieve the optimal result of having three “Hole-in-Ones” in succession.

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Device Function/Means

The goal of this section of the main project is to define and document the essential functions of

the golf-ball moving device as well as through what means are necessary are used to achieve these

functions. This is clearly exhibited through a function/means organized graphic, exhibited below.

The main objective is to transfer energy into the golf ball in order to move it from point A to B,

this is achieved through three forms of energy transfer: Gas, Spring, and Gravity, further organized in

the graphic exhibited

( Functions/Means Tree )

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The results of the functions necessary in order for the main goal of moving the object are shown

in the infographic through three primary sections, Gas, Spring and Gravity. In terms of the Gas powered

mechanism incorporated in the device, the functions necessary for optimum transfer will be, as exhibited

on the graphic, storing the gas, releasing the gas and finally directing the gas. The “means” needed to

achieve these functions are through a gas cannister/container, with either a nozzle or a broken seal in

order to direct the gas as well as control it, as shown on the Visualization-Graphic explicitly. This would

help to achieve the overall function of transferring energy into the golf-ball moving device, and helping

it reach its point B destination.

In terms of using Spring to harness energy and transfer it into the device, the optimum functions

will be to Store energy, release energy and finally channel the energy in a direction. The energy would

be stored in the spring through a “catch”, as shown on the graphic, and released through a human

operator through a Catch, and consequently channeled through a tube/cup that houses the golf ball.

The third form of energy transfer to help achieve the end-goal is harnessing the power of gravity.

This would accomplished through the means of a Club to hit the ball with an operator swinging on a

pendulum or through a ramp, directing the force of gravity and rolling the golf ball down through a

certain direction to achieve the “Point B” destination.

In conclusion, the function/means tree created for the device help lay a fundamentally strong

groundwork in order to view the functions as well as through what means necessary will be achieved for

optimal results; in this case being, getting the golf-ball from point A to point B successively. This will

be achieved, as exhibited by the function-means tree graphic, by transferring energy into the ball

through three main sources, Gas, Spring and through Gravity. While each of them have different means

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in order to achieve the end goal, the most optimal method of energy transfer will need to be conducted

on the field, through consecutive tests and recording consequential experimental results.

Concept Generation and Selection

This section will go over how team “Hole-in-One” generated the top concepts and which concept

was ultimately decided to be used for the eventual goal. After completing the functions and means

section of the project, the team had to decide what on what were the top means and functions that would

best fit the objectives generated for the device in the beginning of the project. The team sat down and

created a morphological chart that would help the team with this goal. The first step of the process was

to build the chart by first identifying the top functions the device would have to achieve, and then these

functions were narrowed down to three functions and all the possible means to achieving those

functions.

( Morphological Table )

Morphological Table

Feature Function Means

Propulsion Mechanism /Power

Compressed Gas Gravity Spring

Direction Tube Crane Turn-Table

Signal Button Lever Switch Spring Stopper

( Table Edited by Jarrett Lawson) The result was the table above. The device has to ultimately move a golf ball through a mini-golf

type course, so the functions that were most important to that task were added to the chart. These

functions were to move of the ball, direct of the ball, and have a signal to propel the ball. The means

were listed and identified from the functions/means chart to achieve these functions. There were

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thirty-six possible concepts identified to choose from, and so the team narrowed these thirty-six down

to five after some deliberation.

Ten concepts were made with the best combinations of propulsion, directing the ball, and signal

which used to move the ball. These combinations ruled out other combinations like using a spring

stopper with compressed gas on a crane, or infeasible ones like using gravity with a turntable. Through

careful analysis the most useful combinations identified were:

Chosen Designs for Ideal Diversity and Functionality 1. Gravity Powered/Tube Directed/Lever Signal 2. Gravity Powered/Crane Directed/switch Signal 3. Spring Powered/Turntable Directed/Button Signal 4. Spring Powered/Tube Directed/Button Signal 5. Gas Powered/Tube Directed/Spring Stopper Signal 6. Gas Powered/Turntable Directed/Button Signal 7. Gravity Powered/Crane Directed/Lever Signal 8. Spring Powered/Tube Directed/Spring Stopper Signal 9. Spring Powered/Turntable Directed/Switch Signal 10. Spring Powered/Crane Directed/Lever Signal

(Best of class chart - 5 of 10 Shown)

Design / Objectives and constraints

Safety Size Cost Ease of Use

Power Accuracy Total

1(Gra)(T)(L) 5 2 5 5 2 2 22

2(Gra)(C)(s) 4 3 3 3 3 3 19

3(S)(TT)(B) 5 5 4 5 4 4 27

4(S)(T)(B) 5 4 4 4 4 5 26

5(G)(T)(SS) 2 3 3 3 5 3 20

(Gra) = Gravity (L) = Lever (B) = Button (s)=Switch (SS)=Spring Stopper (T)= Tube (C)=Crane (S)=Spring (TT) = Turntable

(Table Edited by Jarrett Lawson)

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The chart above lists the 5 combinations the team chose, against objectives and constraints that

the device was going to be designed around. Going through the list of objectives and constraints, each

device was given points from 1 to 5, where 5 was the most ideal and 1 was the worst. The sums of every

category was then calculated to determine the most feasible device. As shown in the “Total” column, the

Gas and Gravity designs rated poorly compared to the spring designs.

Overall ease of use, accuracy, power and compactness were highly rated in the spring designs.

Gas rated poorly on these because it would have to be released from a highly compressed sealed

container. To control and properly utilize this energy would require great mechanical assistance. The use

of gas was unreasonably difficult compared to the other available options. The team also deemed it as

the least safest design in the possibility of anything going wrong because of the difficulty to implement.

Gravity designs were in the same range as the gas design, if not slightly better, due to the safety,

cost and ease of use. Unfortunately these designs lack in the areas of power, accuracy and compactness.

The team thought that a gravity design would be considerably less powerful than springs and gas, and

would require more room than the other two designs.

The spring designs-TT-B and S-T-B were rated the highest, therefore chosen as the design path

this team is going to take. The reason for this is because it was deemed that a spring design would be the

most compact due to lack of extra parts and equipment, easier to use and setup, cheaper, and have more

power to propel the ball while being easier to control the output of. The team chose the

spring/turntable/button design purely for the fact that it should be slightly more compact.

Overall, these two charts were useful for choosing the concept design. The concept design

included the features and functions that it will have based on the objective tree and functions tree that

was already created. Although only a few ideas were listed in the morphological chart, the team decided

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that the 10 in the chart were more realistic and achievable. The best of class chart was best used for

deciding which design would be more optimal. The key goal in this project is to make the device have

great performance and be as simple as it can. With that being said, the spring-turntable-button design

will help reach that goal.

Final Design

The goal of this section is to explain the final design of the concept the team chose in the

concepts and generation section. The device was built to the concept that it would be a spring loaded

device on a base that it could revolve around, and have a button type signal mechanism. Based on this

information, the device was finalized into these different components and functions that revolved around

that idea, although the button idea was scrapped and replaced by a lever system. After the device was

built, the team conducted many experiments/tests. These experiments helped the team identify the errors

of the device that was later adjusted for improvement. After the final experiment, technical drawing

were made into solidworks of every component.

Device Components and Functions

Base:

The base of this device was designed to add more weight and help keep it stable while hitting the

golf ball. The base was made out of wood because it would slightly be cheaper to use. Not only is it

cheaper but would also have higher coefficient of friction with the main case of the device which would

help prevent unwanted movement while setting up and firing the golf ball.

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Main Case:

The main case was designed to house the hitting rod/head and spring and have a separate top

attached to aid in ease of construction of the device. Few design changes were made to the case since it’s

initial design from results of testing done. The case was designed with slots in the side to guide the

hitting rod/head as it traveled to hit the ball. The lower part of the case features a lip across the bottom

front of the case to stop the hitting rod/head from being ejected from the case. It attaches to the base by

using a small bolt and nut which allows it to rotate on top of the base.

Hitting Rod/Head:

The rod/head was designed to hit the ball with a good amount of force and succeed in reaching

its destination. The choice of having the rod circular was for it to fit in the hole at the end of the base.

The rod being circular also helps the spring curl around. The rod had to be long enough for a person to

be able to pull it at the end. The head of the rod is in the shape of the arc to hit the ball at an angle. The

pegs on the side of the head are used for guiding the rod.

Spring:

The length of the spring is based on the length of the inner structure. Measured from the entrance

to the rod, to the head. The spring’s inner diameter has to be large enough for it to fit around the rod.

The spring is used to compress and then release to launch the rod. After releasing, the rod shoots

forward and hits the ball.

Pin/Pin Holes:

The pin is designed to signal the device and releasing the rod/head to shoot the ball. A circular

pin must be inserted inside the pin holes to lock the device. To pull the pin, a lever that is attached to the

pin must be pushed down. The lever is hanging off a block that sits on the top of the device. Pushing it

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down releases the hitting rod/head. There are a total of 5 pinholes. Each hole allows the spring to be set

a different compression which affects how much energy is put into it.. The further the hole away from

the head, the greater force will be applied to the golf ball.

Testing:

Test 1:

With the first trial run, the device had a problem with the signal. The rectangular pins created too

much friction with the pin holes. It made it difficult to pull out the pins from the pin holes. Adjustments

to the device had to made. The device was also using a substitute spring the team found around the shop.

It was a bit to hard to pull back, but the device did move the ball down the mini golf course, so it was a

good start. However, the spring was too strong and end up breaking the structure that keeps the hitting

head from exiting the case.

Test 2:

The pins were re-designed into a different shape to have less friction with the pin holes. The pin

was circular and the pin holes were circular as well. Due to the roughness of the 3-D printed pin, the

friction in the pin device actually increase from the square design. Team “Hole In-One” decided to go

with a metal pin that was machined to size to cut down on friction. Also, the team decided to attach a

lever to the pin to aid in extracting the pin when the pin is engaged.

Another issue was that the substitute spring was still breaking the device. It was too stiff to fully

compress, and if it was compressed fully, the 3D printed case was not strong enough to withstand the

force. The team reinforced the area that was breaking on the case, but then the guide pegs on the hitting

head were breaking then. Some changes were made after to the case, hitting head, and the new pin/lever

signal.

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Test 3:

The final test run was a success. The team made a few key revisions to the design of the

launcher. A tiny hole was drilled into the pin so a thin rod can go through, and a block was added to the

top. This new signal then works like a lever once inserted into the pinholes. After the system is locked,

the thin rod gets pushed down and the pin releases. Another change was a adding a lip to the bottom of

the case and hitting head. This prevented the guide blocks on the hitting head from coming into contact

with the case under load. Instead the lip absorbs the force. This prevents the case from breaking.

The team also received the right spring and needed to make it more manageable to use. The

spring was slightly less powerful, which meant that there was a lower chance of the force breaking the

launcher, and also it was easier to fully compress. The launcher moved the ball slightly slower and not

as far as with the substitute spring, but it was still able to make the distance to the goal at the end of the

course.

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Conclusion:

This project proved to be successful in terms of achieving the necessary steps in order to build a

functioning device. The final design achieved all the teams necessary objectives as well as the

constraints and is able to provide enough force to push the golf ball across the course. The final design

turned out to be light weight, low cost, compact and accessible while at the same time not compromising

power. The device is both aesthetically pleasing and the concept that the team chose prior was the

correct decision.

Designing the outer shell of the device, the launcher, on solidworks was a great engineering

decision in the design process. It allowed for a sturdy shell, holding all the parts together, while at the

same time being aesthetically pleasing and easy to manufacture. An improvement that could be made for

future designing would be to make the device even lighter, which could perhaps be achieved through a

lighter trigger piece. This could theoretically be 3d printed once again.

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References

Dym, Clive L., Patrick Little, and Elizabeth J. Orwin. Engineering Design: A Project Based

Introduction . 4th ed. N.p.: Higher Education, 2011. Print.

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Appendix Team Task list:

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CAD Drawings of Launcher Device

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Individual Contributions: Erik Sanchez:

Wrote the final design introduction, testing, device components, bill of materials, and pasted the Gantt

chart into the report.

Naman Bindra:

Wrote Introduction, Executive Summary, Problem definition, Device Design function and means, and

created title page as well as the table of contents.

Jarrett Lawson:

I helped write the final design section, got the CAD drawings organized and managed team members

making at least one CAD drawing.

Chris Kim:

Helped with CAD drawings and with overall design process. Wrote Generation and Selection of Top

Concepts, and Functional Analysis

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ME 250 Final Project

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