AdaptiveBasketballShooter

FinalProjectReport

June10,2014

Sponsor:SpecialOlympicsRegionalSportsManager
MichaelLara

Team:UPFBallers

JennaBecker
MechanicalEngineering
jnbecker@calpoly.edu

JustinHaley
Kinesiology
jdhaley@calpoly.edu

RichardGalanti
MechanicalEngineering
rgalanti@calpoly.edu

BrettNayudu
MechanicalEngineering
bnayudu@calpoly.edu

Statement of Disclaimer
Sincethisprojectisaresultofaclassassignment,ithasbeengradedandacceptedas
fulfillmentofthecourserequirements.Acceptancedoesnotimplytechnicalaccuracyor
reliability.Anyuseofinformationinthisreportisdoneattheriskoftheuser.Theserisksmay
includecatastrophicfailureofthedeviceorinfringementofpatentorcopyrightlaws.California
PolytechnicStateUniversityatSanLuisObispoanditsstaffcannotbeheldliableforanyuseor
misuseoftheproject.

Acknowledgements
ThismaterialisbaseduponworksupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationunderGrant
No.0756210,AccessbyDesign:CapstoneProjectstoPromoteAdaptedPhysicalActivity.Any
opinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressedinthismaterialarethoseof
theauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheNationalScienceFoundation.

TheUPFBallerswouldliketothankthefollowingpeople:
Dr.JimWidmann,ourMechanicalEngineeringfacultyadvisor
Dr.KevinTaylor,ourKinesiologyfacultyadvisor
MichaelLara,oursponsorandpointofcontact
MembersoftheFridayClubforallowingustocomeworkwiththemandobservethem
Themechanicalengineeringshoptechs,fortheiradviceandassistanceinmanufacturing
difficultparts
StaffofMinersAceHardwarefortheirpatienceandwillingnesstoprovidehelpful
advice
IanGoodyearfromCentralCoastCreativeCuttingforhisworkonthecarriage
components

Table of Contents
StatementofDisclaimer...............................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................3
ListofFigures................................................................................................................................................7
ListofTables.................................................................................................................................................9
ExecutiveSummary.....................................................................................................................................10
Introduction................................................................................................................................................11
BackgroundandNeeds.........................................................................................................................11
CurrentStateoftheArt........................................................................................................................12
PreExistingSolutions.....................................................................................................................12
Mechanisms...................................................................................................................................15
OtherBackgroundResearch..........................................................................................................18
ObjectivesandSpecifications...............................................................................................................20
DesignDevelopment...................................................................................................................................23
DiscussionofConceptualDesigns........................................................................................................23
ConceptSelection.................................................................................................................................24
ShootingMethod...........................................................................................................................24
PullBackMechanism.....................................................................................................................24
QuickReleaseMechanism.............................................................................................................25
MountingandAimingMechanisms...............................................................................................25
OtherConsiderations.....................................................................................................................26
ProofofConcept............................................................................................................................26
DescriptionofFinalDesign.........................................................................................................................27
OverallDescription...............................................................................................................................27
DetailedDesignDescription.................................................................................................................28
FrameAssembly.............................................................................................................................28
MountingofFrametoUPF............................................................................................................29
WinchShaft....................................................................................................................................30
RatchetandPawl...........................................................................................................................30
RatchetArmLever.........................................................................................................................31
Carriage..........................................................................................................................................32
ReleaseMechanism.......................................................................................................................33

SafetyMechanism..........................................................................................................................33
UserInterface................................................................................................................................34
AimingAssembly............................................................................................................................35
AnalysisResults....................................................................................................................................38
CostAnalysis.........................................................................................................................................40
SafetyConsiderations...........................................................................................................................41
RepairConsiderations..........................................................................................................................41
ProductRealization.....................................................................................................................................43
Frame....................................................................................................................................................43
BottomHinges......................................................................................................................................44
WinchShaftandComponents..............................................................................................................44
PawlBlock.............................................................................................................................................46
TableTop..............................................................................................................................................46
SupportPlate........................................................................................................................................47
Carriage................................................................................................................................................47
UJoints,LeadScrews,andLeadScrewHinge......................................................................................48
SafetyCasing........................................................................................................................................48
ReleaseBracket....................................................................................................................................49
CableandRopeAttachments...............................................................................................................49
ChangesMadeDuringManufacture...........................................................................................................50
StrongerElastic.....................................................................................................................................50
CarriageBending..................................................................................................................................50
CarriageTopPlate................................................................................................................................50
ReleaseBearings...................................................................................................................................50
ReleasePinRing...................................................................................................................................50
SpoolHoseClamp.................................................................................................................................51
LocationofRatchetArm/WinchShaftParts........................................................................................51
HexBolt................................................................................................................................................51
WinchShaftHoleforRatchetFlange...................................................................................................51
PawlBlockShaft...................................................................................................................................51
ACMECylindricalNutAssembly...........................................................................................................52
ClevisPinLength...................................................................................................................................52

PulleySizesandBelts............................................................................................................................52
TableTopPegs......................................................................................................................................52
EyeStrap...............................................................................................................................................52
ReleaseLeverLength............................................................................................................................52
UChannelSetScrews...........................................................................................................................52
CountersunkScrews.............................................................................................................................53
DesignVerification......................................................................................................................................54
RecommendationsandConclusions...........................................................................................................56
References..................................................................................................................................................57
AppendixAQFDandPughMatrices........................................................................................................58
QFD(HouseofQuality).........................................................................................................................58
PughMatrices.......................................................................................................................................60
AppendixBBillofMaterials.....................................................................................................................65
AppendixCSupportingAnalysis...............................................................................................................67
EnergyRequiredtoShoot3Pointer....................................................................................................67
TotalPotentialEnergyRequired(+Carriage).......................................................................................68
ImpactLoadingofFrame,LeadScrews,andBaseHinge.....................................................................69
FindingReactionsduetoImpactForce................................................................................................70
LatexTubingEnergyStorageandSizeSelection..................................................................................72
StaticAnalysisofWinchShaft..............................................................................................................75
AppendixDGanttChart...........................................................................................................................78
AppendixEDrawingPackets....................................................................................................................80
AppendixFOperationandSafetyManual.............................................................................................134

List of Figures
Figure1.AphotographoftheMillerTwins.Theirbasketballshootingdeviceisnotshown.__________________12
Figure2.Aflywheelstyleshooterisdepictedabove._________________________________________________12
Figure3.AnOhioUniversitymechanicalengineeringstudentteststheteamsbasketballlauncher.____________13
Figure4.PatentsketchofSportsballlauncher,patentedbyChristopherL.Hansen _______________________14
Figure5.ShootAWayReboundMachine._________________________________________________________14
Figure6.PoolLoungeChair_____________________________________________________________________15
Figure7.ConceptDrawingofFiringAngleChangeMechanismforacannon______________________________15
Figure8.Amotoroperatedwinch________________________________________________________________16
Figure9.3RingQuickRelease___________________________________________________________________16
Figure10.SpringLoadedSlingshotRelease ________________________________________________________17
Figure11.SolidModelofaDogClutch____________________________________________________________17
Figure12.DimensionsofaNCAAregulationbasketballcourt__________________________________________18
Figure13.UniversalPlayFrame(UPF) ____________________________________________________________19
Figure14.DimensionsoftheUPFtableholesfordeviceattachment.____________________________________19
Figure15.SketchesdepictingpossibleattachmenttotheUPFTableTopforacatapultandflywheel,respectively 23
Figure16.Smallscalefunctionalmodelsofacatapultandslingshot,respectively__________________________23
Figure17.LatexTubing,atypeofelasticband______________________________________________________24
Figure18.Atabletopmounteddeviceversusalowerbarmounteddevice_______________________________25
Figure19.Thetotalassemblyoftheadaptedbasketballauncher. ______________________________________27
Figure20.Framesubassembly.__________________________________________________________________28
Figure21.FrameattachingtotheUPFbyhinges. ___________________________________________________29
Figure22.Winchshaftassembly,withratchetandpawl._____________________________________________30
Figure23.Ratchetarmleverextendsfrombottomofframe. __________________________________________31
Figure24.Carriageassembly.___________________________________________________________________32
Figure25.Releasemechanismintheattachedposition. ______________________________________________33
Figure26.Theuserinterfaceallowsanathletetohaveasmuchcontrolofthesystemaspossiblefromawheelchair
position.____________________________________________________________________________________34
Figure27.Workingportionoftabletopmountshowingsupportfin _____________________________________35
Figure28.Pulleysystemforaimingmechanism. ____________________________________________________36
Figure29.Universaljointthatwillallowforthetransmissionoftorqueto________________________________36
Figure30.Leadscrewofaimingmechanismwhichcontrolsthetiltofthedevice. __________________________37
Figure31.Custombracketcontainingcylindricalnuttoguidetheleadscrewasitisturnedandallowsthedeviceto
tilt. ________________________________________________________________________________________37
Figure32.Inordertodrillpreciseholesinourframemembers,themillwasused. _________________________43
Figure33.Allshortframememberscuttolengthwithholesdrilled._____________________________________43
Figure34.ThesteelrectanglewasMigweldedtothecustomuchannel._________________________________44
Figure35.Thebottomhingeassembledtoboththeframeandtheuchannel._____________________________44
Figure36.Theratchetflangeattachestothewinchshaftviaasetscrew. ________________________________45
Figure37.Toattachtheratchetgeartoitsflange,fourholesweremilledandthreaded.____________________45
Figure38.Thespoolattachestothewinchshaftviaasetscrew.Thewinchropeissecuredaroundthespool
throughanotherhole. _________________________________________________________________________45
Figure39.Thepawlblockassemblymountstwoaframememberwithtwolongbolts.______________________46
Figure40.Thetabletopassembly,withthepegsattachedtotheanglestock,isshown.Theassemblyfitsintothe
holesshownintheUPF.________________________________________________________________________46
Figure41.Thecarriagepieceswerecutandboltedtogetherwith_______________________________________47
Figure42.Ujointsattachedtothepulleyshafts,andtheleadscrewsabovethem _________________________48
Figure43.LeadscrewhingeswiththeACMEnutimbedded ___________________________________________48
Figure44.Backsafetycasingwiththereleasecableslots _____________________________________________48
Figure45.Releasebracket,freshlymilledandtapped,withthepullpininstalled. __________________________49
Figure46.TestingattheFridayClub______________________________________________________________55

Figure47.TheEngineeringTeamattheSeniorProjectExpo___________________________________________55
Figure48.FBDoftheframeatimpact,withrelevantdimensions._______________________________________70
Figure49.Testingtheelasticavailabletouseforlaunch. _____________________________________________73
Figure50.Shearandmomentdiagramofwinchshaft. _______________________________________________75
Figure51.Effectivelengthforafixedfixedbeam.ImagefromBeersMechanicsofMaterials,6thEd.__________77

List of Tables
Table1.EngineeringSpecifications_______________________________________________________________21
Table2.AbbreviatedBillofMaterials_____________________________________________________________40
Table3.Designverificationtable,listingtestingofallcomponentsandmechanisms._______________________54
Table5.FullBillofMaterials____________________________________________________________________65
Table6.Testingtheelastic._____________________________________________________________________72

Executive Summary
TheFridayClubisajointventurebetweentheCalPolyKinesiologyDepartmentandtheSanLuis
ObispoSpecialOlympicsthatofferspeoplewithvaryingdegreesofdisabilitytheopportunityto
meetweeklyandlearnvarioussportsandgames.AtFridayClub,athletesinwheelchairswith
limitedarmstrengthusedevicesbuiltbyCalPolymechanicalengineeringstudentsinorderto
participateinvarioussports.ManydevicesaredesignedtoattachtotheUniversalPlayFrame
(UPF),awheelchairattachment.ThepurposeofthisprojectwastodesignandbuildaUPF
devicethatwilllaunchabasketball,sothatanathletecanparticipateinagameofHorse.
Theprojectwasworkedonoverthecourseofthe20132014schoolyear.Tobegin,theteam
developedalistofobjectivesforthedevicetomeetandresearchedexistingsolutionsfor
variousfacetsofourdesign.Thenextstepwastogenerateconceptsofourdevice,andusing
Pughmatrices,proofofconcepttesting,anddebatetonarrowdowntoasingleconcept.Next,
thisconceptwastransformedintoafullyfledgeddesignbackedbyengineeringanalysis.After
designapproval,allnecessarypartsandmaterialswereorderedandaprototypewasbuiltover
a10weekperiod.ThefinalprototypewastestedwiththeFridayClubanddisplayedatthe
SeniorProjectExpoonMay31,2014.
Thefinaldevicethatourteamdesignedisaslingshotthatlaunchestheballbyreleasing
stretchedelasticbands.OurdesignattachestotheUPFattwopoints,andcanbeaimedto
shootabasketfromanywherebetween5and15feetaway.Theathletehastheabilityto
controlthedirection,power,andreleaseofeachshot.Thedevicecanbesetupinunderfive
minutesbyasinglepersonandtakesonly30secondstoresetbetweenshots.
Ofallcustomerrequirementsthatthedevicewastomeet,itonlyfailedtomeetoneofthem.
Thefirstwasthatitshouldbeabletoshootathreepointer.Unfortunately,ourdeviceeither
didnothavestrongenoughelastic,ordidnothaveenoughspacetopullbacktheballand
carriagesufficiently.Therefore,ourdevicecanshootabasketfromamaximumofonly15feet
away,orafreethrow.Otherfuturerecommendationsaretostrengthensomepartsthattake
highimpactsandtoreducetheweightofsomeunnecessarilybulkyparts.
Ourbudgetforthisprojectwas$1,500butoverthecourseofthisprojectourteamspenta
littleover$1,750.Afteranalyzingourspending,wefoundthatover$300wasspentbecauseof
manufacturingmistakesandmidconstructiondesignchanges.Ifweweretobuildanother
devicewiththeexactsamedesignasourfinalprototype,andwithnomistakes,thedevice
wouldcostabout$1,400.
Inthisreport,ourteamsentiredesignprocessiscataloguedindetail.Alsoenclosedare
detailedpartdrawingsforeachmanufacturedpartofourfinaldevice,aswellasasafetyand
operationmanual.
10

Introduction
Background and Needs
TheFridayClubisajointventurebetweentheCalPolyKinesiologyDepartmentandtheSanLuis
SpecialOlympics.EachFridayforthreehours,SpecialOlympicathletesmeetwithCalPoly
KinesiologystudentsattheCalPolyRecCenterandaretaughtadifferentsportorformof
exercise.Thisactivityallowstheathletestohavefunandgetphysicalexercise.Inorderto
allowathletesofvaryingabilitiestoplaysportstogether,someathletesrequireadaptive
devices.Todesignandbuildtheseadaptivedevices,theKinesiologyDepartmentandSLO
SpecialOlympicsturntoMechanicalEngineering(ME)seniorprojectstudents.Inthepast,ME
seniorprojectgroupshaveconstructeddevicesallowingathletestoparticipateinavarietyof
sportsandphysicalactivities,includinggolf,Frisbee,darts,andbaseball.

MichaelLara,RegionalManageroftheSanLuisObispoSpecialOlympics,taskedourteamwith
creatinganadaptivebasketballshootingdevice.Thepurposeofthisdeviceistoallowan
athleteinajoystickcontrolledwheelchairtoparticipateinagameofHorsewithother
athletes.Whilethedeviceshouldleveltheplayingfield,itshouldalsocreatetheLeast
RestrictiveEnvironmentforthoseathletes.Inotherwords,itshouldmakethefewest
adaptationspossible,allowingtheathletestoperformasmuchoftheactivityastheyareable.
Ideally,thisdeviceshouldallowanathletetoshootaballfromavarietyofdistances,from5
feetawaytoadistanceof20feet.Aboveall,thedeviceshouldbesafetosetupandoperate.

11

Current State of the Art

Afterreceivingourproject,thefirstthingourteamdidwasbeginbackgroundresearch.The
researchfellintotwomaincategoriespreexistingsolutionstosimilarproblems,andgeneral
informationnecessarytodesignourdevice,includingspecificationsofbasketballandcourt
dimensions,aswellasdimensionsoftheUniversalPlayFrame,whichourdevicemustattach
to.
PreExistingSolutions
NormalforUs:TheMillerTwins

Figure 1. A photograph of the Miller Twins. Their basketball-shooting device is not shown.

WhilenotdepictedinFigure1,inNormalforUs:theMillerTwinsanadaptedbasketball
launchingsystemisfeaturedthatattachestothesideofthewheelchair.Itisacatapultstyle
shootermountedtotheseatbackofthechair(behindtheuser),withanestimatedthreefoot
arclengthsweeparm.Fromthevideo,itwasdifficulttotellwhatkindofenergystorage
mechanismwasusedtopropeltheball.Itcouldshootabasketfromasfarawayashalfcourt.
Itrequiredassistancetoresetthecatapultarm,butitwasaimedandshotbytheathlete.
However,duetothemountingofthecatapulttothewheelchair,itisimpossibletoseethe
basketballbeforeitisshot,meaningtheathletecannotseehowheorshehasthebasketball
aimed.

FIRSTRoboticsCompetition,2012BasketballLauncher(Flywheel)

Figure 2. A flywheel-style shooter is depicted above.

12

ThedeviceshowninFigure2isaprototypemadebyahighschoolroboticsteamofabasketball
launcherusedonarobottoallowittoplayReboundRumble,abasketballlikegameplayedby
R/Crobots.Initscurrentform,thisisalight,portabledevicewithquicksetuptimeandlong
distancepower.Inavideoshowingthecapabilitiesofthisshooter,itwasabletomakeabasket
fromfurtherawaythanthe3pointline.However,thisdeviceisnotdesignedtolaunchafull
sizeball.Itrequirestwohandstooperate:onetoholdandaimthedevice,andanotherto
feedtheballin.Feedingtheballdoesrequireasmallrangeofmovement,whichisbeneficial,
butitisunsafetohaveoneshandssoclosetotheflywheels,whichspinathighspeeds.

OhioUniversityBasketballLauncher

Figure 3. An Ohio University mechanical engineering student tests the teams basketball launcher.

Figure3showsaslingshotstylelauncher,producedbyanOhioUniversitymechanical
engineeringdesignteamin2010.Itisdesignedtobeoperatedbyawheelchairathletewith
musculardystrophy.Thedevicecanshootabasketballfrombetweenthefreethrowand3
pointlines.Itresetsviamotorinaboutthirtyseconds,andisstructurallysound.However,it
requirestwohandstooperate:onetoaimandonetoreleasetheball.Inordertooperate,the
devicerequiresthattheathletehavearangeofmotionofabout2feetineacharm,and
requiresapushingmotiononthelevertoreleasetheobject.Itparksnexttothewheelchair
andisoperatedfromtheside.

13

SpringLoadedBallLauncherPatentUS7028682
Thissystem,showninFigure4,wasonlyfoundasapatent,notasanactual
device.Thedocumentationdescribesthedeviceasamechanismthatwill
launchaninflatableball,suchasabasketball,volleyball,orsoccerball.This
devicestandsontheground.Thepurposeofthismechanismistoinitiatea
jumpballatthestartofagame.Theinternalspringsarecompressedvia
footpumpactionbytheuser.Thestoredpotentialenergyisreleasedbythe
athlete.Thedevicecanbeaimed,butdoesnotseemtobedesignedwith
athleteswithdisabilitiesinmind.Footpowerisrequired,butitislikelythat
thissolutioncouldbeadaptedforhandpumping.Itisunknownhowsafe
thisdeviceis,orhowfaritcanshootabasketball.

Figure 4. Patent sketch of Sports ball

launcher, patented by Christopher L. Hansen

BasketballRebounder
ThesystemshowninFigure5istheonlyproductthatiscurrently
commerciallyavailable.Itisusedtocatchballsshotbyathletesand
shootthembackoutontothecourt.Thismachineisnotdesignedto
shootaballintothehoop,onlytosimulateateammatepassingaball
toanathlete.Asaresult,itislikelythatitcannotshootaballhigh
enoughtomakeabasket,becauseitisnotadjustablesinceitis
designedforpassinginstead.Additionally,themachineislargeand
bulky.Currently,itisfullyautomatic,needingnouserinputtoshoota
basket.Themachinewillshootaballassoonasitreceivesone.
Figure 5. Shoot-A-Way Rebound
Machine.

14

Mechanisms
Afterresearchingexistingsolutionsthatshootbasketballs,welookedintoothercomponents
necessaryforasuccessfuldesign.Themostimportantfunctionswereaiming,pullback,and
releasemechanisms.

AimingMechanisms
LoungeChairSeatbackAngleAdjust
Standardpoollounges,liketheoneshowninFigure
6,haveanadjustableseatbackthatworksasasort
ofratchetingsystem.Tomovetheseatbackfromthe
reclinedtouprightposition,theseatbackismerely
pulledforward.Alinearratchetsystemlockstheseat
backinitscurrentposition.Oneissuewiththisis
thatitismoredifficulttolowertheseatbackthanit
istoraiseit.Theratchetsystemmustbepulledup
forthesystemtobeloweredbackdown.Thissystem
favorsonedirectionofanglechangemorethan
another.

Figure 6. Pool Lounge Chair

TheoreticalSystemCannonFiringAngleChange
InFigure7,aleadscrewcausesalargeringgeartorotateagainsttwosmallergears.Because
thecannonisattacheddirectlytothelargegear,itrotatesasthegearrotates.Whilethis
systemfacilitatesanglechange
equallyinbothdirections,thesystem
asawholeisquitelarge.Additionally
largegearsarequiteexpensiveto
purchase,andsothissolutionmay
notbecosteffective,especiallywith
ourmodestbudget.

Figure 7. Concept Drawing of Firing Angle Change Mechanism

for a cannon

15

PullBackMechanisms
Winch
ThedeviceshowninFigure8isusedtodrag
orpullveryheavyloads.Itiscomposed
mainlyofaspoolofcable.Whenoneendof
thecableisconnectedtoanobject,the
motorturnsthespool,windingthecableup
anddraggingtheobjecttowardthewinch.
Oneissuewiththisideaisthatitis
electricallyoperated.Thismeansthatit
requiresabattery,andthepeople
supervisingourmachinewillhavetomake
surethatthebatteryissufficientlycharged.

Figure 8. A motor-operated winch

ReleaseMechanisms
Becauseourballmustbereleasedbytheathlete,itisimportantthatthereleasemechanism
requireafairlylightamountofforceinordertoactuateit.Becauseofthis,ourteam
researchedmechanismsthatcanreleasehighloadswithalowamountofforce.

ThreeRingQuickRelease
Figure9showsanintricateseriesofringsthatconnecttwocablesorstrapsintension.To
separatethetwostraps,releasingtheload,thelongthincableissimplyremoved.Thisallows
allringstounfold,finallyreleasingthelargest
ringthatlinksthetwocables.Whilethissystem
requireslowforcetoactuate,thissystemhas
flaws.First,thenatureofthismechanism
requiresthatitberesetaftereveryuse.
Resettingwilltaketime,whichcanslowdowna
gameofHorse.Anotherissueishowcomplex
thequickreleaseistoreset.Inordertousethis
device,allkinesiologystudentswouldhaveto
betrainedhowtoresetthisdevice.Ifreset
incorrectly,theshootercouldmisfire,
Figure 9. 3-Ring Quick Release
potentiallyharmingabystander.

16

SlingshotRelease
Thismechanismisonlycompatiblewith
slingshotdevices,whichlimitsitsuse.The
endoftheelastic,carryingtheload,is
placedbetweenthetwocylindricalpieces
ontheright.Thesecylindricalpiecesare
onswivelarms.Duetotheforceofthe
elasticonthecylindricalpieces,the
cylinderswanttomoveaparttoletit
through,butcannotbecausethecircular
pinontheleftisholdingtheswivelarmsin
theircurrentposition.Toreleasethe
slingshot,thepin,whichisspringloaded,is
pusheddown,allowingtheswivelarmsto
Figure 10. Spring-Loaded Slingshot Release
swing.Whilethisisaninterestingand
seeminglyeffectivesystem,itcontains
manypartsandmaybetimeconsumingtomanufacture.Additionally,abasketballwillnotfit
behindthecylindersinthismechanismunlessthemechanismismadetobegigantic.

DogClutch
ADogClutchismadeupoftwointerlockingpieces.Eachpiece,calledadog,isconnectedtoa
separateshaft.Wheninterlocked,thetwoshaftsactasoneandturntogether.Whenpulled
apart,thetwoshaftscanrotateindependentlyofeach
other.Thissystemcanbeusedtoallowaspoolof
cabletounwindquickly,releasingtheball.This
systemwouldrequireaspoolofcabletobeused,and
wouldonlyworkwithelasticbandpowereddevices,
suchasaslingshotorcatapult.

Figure 11. Solid Model of a Dog Clutch

17

OtherBackgroundResearch
BasketballandCourtDimensions
Foraregulationbasketballcourt,thebasketiselevated10feetabovetheground.Inthe
horizontaldirection,thefreethrowlineis15feetaway.Thethreepointline,ourdistancegoal,
is19feet9inchesawayfromthehoopinthehorizontaldirection.AnNCAAmensregulation
basketballhasa9inchdiameterandweighs22ounces(1.375pounds).

Figure 12. Dimensions of a NCAA regulation basketball court

Horse
ThisdeviceistobedesignedsothatuserscanparticipateinagameofHorse.Theobjectiveof
thisgameistotaketurnsshootingbasketsuntiloneplayermakesashot.Atthatpoint,the
otherplayersmustsuccessfullymakeabasketfromthesameplaceasthefirstplayer,orrisk
eliminationfromthegame.Becausethisgameisturnbasedandstationary,thisgamecanbe
playedeffectivelywithanassistivebasketballlauncher.

18

UniversalPlayFrame(UPF)

Figure 13. Universal Play Frame (UPF)

OnerequirementofthisprojectwasthatourdevicemustattachtotheUniversalPlayFrame
(UPF).TheUPFisastructurethatattachestoawheelchairandservesasamountforadaptive
devices.AdrawingshowingthedimensionsofthepointsofattachmentfromtheUPFtoour
deviceisshownbelow.

Figure 14. Dimensions of the UPF table holes for device attachment.

UserAbilities
OurteamattendedtheFridayClubtomeettheathletesandobservetheircapabilities.This
deviceneededtobetailoredtoathleteswithlimitedrangeofmotionandstrengthintheir
arms.Manyofthemhavelimiteduseoftheirhandsduetomuscularatrophy,andsotheir
motionislimitedbywhattheirwheelchaircando.Duetothis,thestrengthandrangeof
motionrequiredtooperateourdevicehadtobelowenoughtobeusedbytheseathletes,but
highenoughthattheyrequiretheathletestogetphysicalactivity.
19

Objectives and Specifications

Theoverallgoalofthisprojectistocreateanadaptivebasketballlauncherthatattachedtothe
UniversalPlayFrame(UPF)andcanbeoperatedbyanindividualinawheelchairwhohaslittle
tonouseoftheirhandsorarms.Weplannedtogivetheseathletestheopportunitytoplaya
gameofHorseorAroundtheWorldwiththeirfriends.

Thefirstgoalistomakeitsotheindividualusingourdevicecannotonlyshootabasketball,but
couldplayHorseatacompetitivelevel.Wedesignedthisdevicetoshootfromcloserange
(insidethekey)aswellasfromthethreepointarcorpotentiallyevenfarther.Wewanted
everyonetofeelchallengedbyoneanotherinordertocreatetheleastrestrictiveenvironment
forallparticipantsinvolved.

Firstandforemost,thedeviceneedstobecapableofbeingoperatedbythosewhohavelimited
mobilityintheirarms.Onerequirementistohavetheoperationofourlauncherrequireonlya
sixinchsphereofmotion.Whateveractuationmechanismisused,ithastobedesignedinsuch
awaythattheathleteneedstopullsixinchesatmost.But,sincemanyofourtargetathletesdo
nothavemuchupperbodystrength,wealsoneededtolimittheforceneededtoactivatethe
deviceandensureitisintheidealdirection,whichisapullingmotiontowardstheuser.In
ordertodetermineamaximumallowableforce,ourteammeasuredtheforcerequiredtopull
thereleasemechanismofotherFridayClubadaptivedevices.Fromthistesting,itwasclear
thatamaximumallowableforceof5poundswouldensurethatallathletescouldoperateour
shooter.Fortheathletesthatdonothaveanyuseoftheirarms,weplannedtoallowforan
attachment,suchasrope,tobesecurelyattachedtothereleasemechanismsoitcouldbetied
tothepersonswheelchair.Onceattached,theywouldbeabletomoveinreverseuntilthe
launcheractivates.

Inordertomeettherangerequirement(tomakeabasketfromascloseas5feetawayandas
faras20feetaway),thelaunchanglehastobeadjustable.Quickcalculationswerecompleted
todeterminetheidealanglenecessarytosinka3pointshot.Thisangleisroughly60degrees
abovehorizontal.Becauseahigherangleisnecessaryforaclosershot,theangleoftheshooter
hastobeadjustabletoanyanglebetween60degreesand85degreesabovehorizontal.
Additionally,tosatisfytherangerequirement,themechanismhastoimpartsufficientenergy
intotheballsothatitislaunchedfarenough.Again,fromroughcalculationswedetermined
thatoursystemneedstoprovide20footpoundsofenergytotheballinordertoensurethat
thebasketballmadeittothehoop.Conductedanalysisthatledustotherequiredenergyvalue
canbefoundinAppendixE.

Duringplay,theathleteshouldbeabletoseethehoop.Toensurethattheirlineofsightis
unimpairedbyourlauncher,theheightofthelaunchercannotprotrudemorethanoneanda
halffeetabovetheUPFTableTop.Oncetheathletelaunchesabasketballwiththedevice,we
donotwantthemwaitingforseveralminutesforthelaunchertobereadytofireagain.Our
targetreloadtimeis30secondsorlesssothattheathletesdoesnotfeelasthoughheis
holdingupthegame.

20

Inadditiontorequirementsthatbenefittheuser,itisalsoimportanttoincluderequirements
thattakeintoaccountthekinesiologystudents,whosetuptheequipmentfortheathletesand
overseeitsuse.Oneengineeringrequirementisthatthedeviceasawholecanweighnomore
than30pounds,tofacilitateeaseoftransportationandmountingtotheUPF.Thelauncheralso
needstobesimpleandquicktosetup.WeneededtomakesurethatthemountingtotheUPF
andsetupofthebasketballshootertakesnomorethanfiveminutes.Thisway,wehopedto
maximizetheactivitytimeoftheathletes.

InTable1,asummaryofallEngineeringSpecificationsareshown.Theriskcolumnreferstothe
riskofmeetingeachofthespecifications.H,M,andLstandforHigh,Medium,andLow,
respectively.Thecompliancecolumnreferstohoweachdesignrequirementwastobemet.
ThefourmethodsusedhereareAnalysis(A),Test(T),SimilaritytoExistingDesigns(S),and
Inspection(I).
Table 1. Engineering Specifications

Spec.#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Parameter
Description
Weight
Height
Range
SetupTime
Operating
Force
ResetTime
Rangeof
Motion
TimeBefore
Maintenance
Cost
Weight
Launched
Dia.ofBall
Launched

Requirementor
Tolerance Risk Compliance
Target
30pounds
Max
L
I
1.5feet
Max
L
I
20feet
Min
H
A,T
5minutes
Max
L
I
5pounds

Max

A,T

30seconds

Max

I,A

6in.dia.Sphere

Max

T,S

2years

Min

$1,500

Max

22ounces

Min

A,T

9inches

Min

12

Electrical
PowerReq'd

0Watts

Max

13

StorageSize

2x2x3ft2

Max

I,T

Min

Min
Max

14
15

StoredEnergy
20footpounds
Req'd
Angle
(from
6085degrees
Horizontal)

21

Inordertoensurethatallcustomerrequirementsweremet,ourteamusedQualityFunction
Deployment(QFD),alsocalledaHouseofQuality,tocheckthattheengineeringspecifications
wehavesetguaranteethefulfillmentofallcustomerrequirements.Thisdocument,whichcan
befoundinAppendixA,laysoutthegoalswesetforourdesignbasedonthewantsandneeds
ofoursponsorMichaelLaraandcomparingcompetitorsdesignstoours.Italsoallowedusto
viewhowmuchcertainrequirementsaredependentoneachotherandifcertainrequirements
wesetforaredesignarenecessary.Byphysicallylayingouttherequirementsforourdesign
withtheQFDwehadabetterideaofwhichonesarethemostimportantandcanfocusmore
onmeetingthoserequirements.

22

Design Development
Discussion of Conceptual Designs
Ourteambeganourgenerationofconceptualideasonagenerallevel.Alldecisionsdepended
onwhattypeofshootingorlaunchingmechanismwaschosen.Severalconceptswere
consideredinthebeginning,includingflywheel,catapult,slingshot,andspringloaded.
Conceptsweresystematicallyeliminatedastheproblembecamemoreclearlyunderstood.To
helpusunderstandwhichmethodsmightworkbest,wefirstdrewsketchesofpossiblelayouts
foreach.Figure15showsexamplesofsketchesillustratingearlyideas.

Figure 15. Sketches depicting possible attachment to the UPF Table Top for a catapult and flywheel, respectively

Asateam,wealsomodeledsmallscaleprototypesforeachtodeterminetheirrelative
shootingabilityandeaseofmanufacture.Twoexamplesoftheseprototypesareshownbelow
inFigure16.

Figure 16. Small-scale functional models of a catapult and slingshot, respectively

23

Concept Selection
ShootingMethod
Ofthefourinitialshootingmethodsconceived,thespringloadedideawasthrownoutquickly
becausewedecideditwouldbedifficulttocompressaspringthatcouldstoresufficientenergy
toshootabasketballfromthethreepointline.Safetyconcernsandspacelimitationssteered
thedesigncrewawayfromthecatapultandflywheel,sincetheathleteswouldhavetobein
closeproximitytothesesetupsinordertooperatethedeviceandcouldbehurtasaresult.A
slingshotwasseenastheeasiestdesigntocontainwithinasufficientlycompactbox,and
becauseofthisitwouldbeeasytoencloseallbutthetopoftheboxtoensurethesafetyofour
users.Theconceptwasthenbrokendownfromageneralslingshotstylelauncherintoa
handfulofmechanisms.Keymechanismsforthedesignwerethequickrelease,thepullback,
theaimingandtheUPFmountingmethod.

Foreachofthemechanismslistedabove,aPughMatrixwascreatedinordertohelpwiththe
decisionmakingprocess.APughMatrixisdecisionmakingtoolwhichlaysoutmanydifferent
conceptsforagivenideaandcomparesthemtoastandardwhichiscalledadatum.Ourteam
formedlistsofrequirementsforeachdeviceusesthoseliststocompareeachconceptagainst
thedatumratethemaseitherbetter(+),thesame(S),orworse()thanthedatum.Ineach
column,the+s,sandSsareaddeduptoseethepotentialofeachconcept.Thisisnota
definitivewayofdeterminingasolution,butrathershowsthebenefitsanddeficienciesofeach
individualconcept.PughMatriceswerecreatedforthreeseparateconcepts:thecrank
mechanism,aimingmechanismandquickrelease.ThesematricesarelocatedinAppendixA.

PullBackMechanism
Firstthepullbackmechanismandthemethodofenergystorageneededtobeaddressed.The
firstdecisionwastodeterminetheenergystoragemedium,andthiscamedowntousingeither
springsorelasticbands.Betweenthetwo,thespringscreatemore
pinchpoints,andadvicefromkinesiologyprofessorDr.Taylor
suggestedthatspringshavenotbeensuccessfulonprevious
adaptivesportsseniorprojects.Elasticbands,however,hadbeen
showntowork,asdemonstratedbytheOhioUniversitylauncher.
Fromthere,itwasanticipatedthatacarriagewouldbeneededto
holdandcarrythebasketballinordertoensureitlaunches
properly.Withoutacarriage,thestoredspringenergymaynot
adequatelytransfertotheball,whichourteamconfirmedby
Figure 17. Latex Tubing, a
testingabasicslingshot.Buildingoffofthis,theideaofhaving
type of elastic band
guiderailstopositionthecarriagewasputforward.Thisisto
preventtheballfrommisfiring,andtopromotestraightandconsistentshots.Thecarriagehad
tobeattachedtothewinchshaftwhichwasabletoratchetback,stretchingtheelasticbands
andstoringenergy.Aratchetingleverwouldbeattachedtothewinchshaftinorderforthe
athletetocrankithimself,orahelpercoulddoitifneedbe.

24

QuickReleaseMechanism
Next,thequickreleasewasinvestigated,andvariousideasweregenerated:astandardpullpin,
atriggerrelease,athreeringrelease,andadogclutch.Factorsthatweremostimportantin
thequickreleaseweretheforcerequiredtoactivateit,thespacethatitconsumedanditsreset
time.Thethreeringreleaseandtriggerreleasewouldrequireextrapartsinordertoattachthe
carriagetothewinchshaft,whereasthedogclutchisapartofthewinchshaftitself.Withless
partsinthedesign,itwouldbeeasiertoreset,andmoreconsistent.Weighingthesetogether,
thedogclutchstoodoutatfirstasabettersolution,andwasincludedinourteamsfinal
conceptualdesign.AfterdiscussingwithourpeersandadvisorduringourConceptualDesign
Review,afewproblemswereexposedwiththedogclutch.Onesuchproblemwasthelarge
amountoffrictionthatwouldbuilduponthedogclutchwiththehighamountoftorquebeing
putonit.Anotherissuewouldbethatafreespinningwinchshaftmeantmuchmoreenergy
wouldbelostthroughspinningtheshaft.Additionally,withaquickspinningshaftcomesthe
possibilityforlonghairorclothingtobecaughtaroundit,potentiallyharmingtheuser.Asa
result,ourteamdecidedforasimplisticapproach,andplannedtouseapullpinasarelease.
Byusingapullpin,therewouldstillbefrictionbetweenthepinandcarriage,butreleasingthe
pinwouldnotaffectthewinchshaft,meaningitwouldnolongerspinfreelyathighspeeds.

MountingandAimingMechanisms
EarlyinthedesignprocesswebegantoconsiderhowtomountourfinaldevicetotheUPF.
Originally,itwasthoughtthattheapparatuswouldbemountedtothetabletop.Thiswould
allowthedevicetobeaimedintwodifferentplanes,toadjusttheshotarcaswellastwistin
thehorizontalplane(totheleftorright).Laterinthedesignprocess,though,itbecame
apparentthatthedevicewouldneedtobemountedtosomethingotherthanthetoptable.In
ordertostorethepotentialenergynecessarytolaunchabasketball20feet,thedevicewould
needtoaccommodateenoughpullbackspace.Thetabletopwastoosmallforthis,however,
andputtingtoolargeofasetuponthetoptablewouldobstructtheviewoftheathlete,aswell
ascausepotentialsafetyproblems.Thenextmostviableoptionwastomounttothefrontbar,
andusethetoptableasastabilizer.Thisopeneduptheopportunitytoaimthedeviceusing
leadscrewswhichpushandpullfromthetoptabletothedevice.Layoutsketchesforthetwo
mainmethodsofmountingareshowninFigure18.

Figure 18. A table-top mounted device versus a lower-bar mounted device

25


Thisconceptmettherequirementsofshootingdistanceandunobstructedview,withthe
placementofthelauncherinthefrontoftheUPFprovidingamplepullbackspaceforthe
elasticbands,andalsoclearingalineofsightfortheathletetothebasket.

OtherConsiderations
Othermajorconsiderationstakenintoaccountduringtheconceptualdesignphasewerewear,
noise,andsafetyconcerns.Someoftheathletesweretimidandfrightenedbysuddenloud
noises,soourdeviceshouldnotmakeastartlingnoise.Becausethecarriagewouldbemoving
athighspeeds,ifitwasnotslowedafterreleasingtheballthecarriagewouldhittheframewith
alargeimpact.Thiswouldbothcausealoudnoiseandcouldaffectthestructuralintegrityof
thecarriageandsupportingframeovertime.Asaresult,ourteamdecidedthatplacingsome
sortofcompressionspringorrubberstopperatthetopofeachguiderailwouldhelptoslow
downthecarriageinasafeandquietmanner.

Thesafetyoftheuserswasimportantaboveallelse.Toaddresssafetyconcernswehadtwo
protocolsinplace.First,wedecidedthatthereshouldbewallscoveringthesidesofour
shooterandanyexposedmechanicalparts,toensurethatuserscannotaccessanypinchpoints
orareasofimpact.Also,weconsideredsafetymechanismswhereaballcannotbelaunched
accidentallyuntilaspecificactionwastakenbyanassistant.Thesimplestmethodwasto
createawaytounhooktheathletesreleaseactuatorfromthequickreleasepinuntilall
participantswerereadytoshootandtheareainfrontoftheshooterwasclearedofany
bystanders.Thentheassistantwouldjointheusersreleaseactuatorandthequickreleaseby
cable,renderingthedeviceliveandreadytoshoot.

ProofofConcept
Beforeproceedinganyfurther,wewantedtomakesurethatourdecisiontostoreenergyin
elastictubingwasaviablemethodforourdesign.Inordertotestwhetherthetubingwouldbe
capableofshootingabasketballfrom20feetweneededatestingapparatus.Wedecidedto
makeacubewithrearlegextensionstogiveusashootingangleofapproximately60froma
horizontalsurface.Sinceweneededtomakesomethingquick,butstrong,weused1.5inch
squarewoodandcutitintotwofootsegments;twopieceswerelonger(about33inches)and
angledatoneendtoanglethetestingapparatus.Wecreatedsomesimplejointssothewhole
devicecouldbejoinedwithonlywoodglue.Onceitwasdriedwetookourelastictubingand
cutitintofourequalpartstohavethesamesetupasourfinaldesign.However,insteadofusing
eyescrewsandbungeehooksfortheelasticbands,wewrappedthetubingaroundthewood
onthetopoftheframeandtiedoffthetubingatourmakeshiftcarriage.Wethentiedastring
aroundthebottomofthecarriagesothatwecouldmanuallypulltheballbacktoshootit.After
takingseveralshotsandgettingusetothedevicewewereabletomakeathreepointshotthus
provingthattheelastictubingwillhavesufficientenergystoragecapabilitiesandisdurable
enoughtoshootrepeatedlyandconsistently.

26

Description of Final Design

Overall Description
OurfinaldesignmountstotwoseparateareasoftheUniversalPlayFrame.First,thedevicesits
onhingesattachedtothelowerfrontbaroftheUPF,whichcarriesthebulkoftheassemblys
weight.AnothersectionofthedevicealsomountstotheUPFTableTopvialongrodsthatrest
inthetabletopholes.Thedeviceitselfcanbebrokenintothreemajorsubassemblies:the
aimingsubassemblyshootingsubassembly,andreleasesubassembly.

Figure 19. The total assembly of the adapted basketbal launcher.

27

Detailed Design Description

FrameAssembly
Theframesizingwasverysimilartohowitwasfortheconceptualdesign.Ithadabase
measuring13.5x13.5,anditis2feettall.Itwasmadeoutofstockaluminumbolttogether
framing,forwhichtherewerepremadeholesonallsidesforboltingattachmentbrackets.This
wasidealforthedesignbecausethereareshaftsandeyeboltswhicharefastenedalongthe
frameinveryspecificlocations.Loadsontheframewere200poundsmaximum,whichwaslow
enoughthatthestructuralintegrityoftheframingneednotbequestioned.Thestock
aluminumframingwascuttosize,andadditionalholesweremachinedtoattachtheguiderods
andwinchshaft.

Eachofthepremadeholesinthe
aluminumstockwas.328in
diameter,allowingclearancefora
5/16boltorrod.Theguiderods
were0.5indiameter,andsolarger
holesoneithersideoftheframehad
tobedrilled.Duringinstallation,the
guiderodstouchedtheframeatfour
differentpoints,andtwoboltsran
horizontallythroughframemembers,
securingtheguiderodsintoplace.
Thishelpedensurethestraightnessof
ourrods.Whilewedecidedtouse
twoguiderodsinourdesign,we
chosebetweenusingtwo,four,orno
guiderods.Overall,wedecidedthat
itwasbesttohavejusttwoguide
rods.Havinganyevennumberof
rodsensuredthattheballwas
launchedconsistently.Iftherewasa
slightmisalignmentbetweentherods,
thentwoguiderodswouldbemore
forgivingthanfour.Makingsurethat
theguiderodswereperfectlyparallelwasachallengewefacedinthemanufacturingprocess,
butoneadvantageofhavingthepremadeholesinthealuminumstockisthatitwaseasierto
accuratelylocatetheholesthatourteamdrilledfortheguiderods.

Locatedoneachguiderodwerepolyurethanerubbertubeswithahardnessof40A.Their
purposewastosoftentheimpactofthecarriageontheframe.Therubberwaschosenbased
onhowmuchitisabletocompress,andthushowmuchenergyitisabletostore.After
Figure 20. Frame subassembly.

28

analyzingtheeffectofcarriageimpactforcesontherubbertube,itwasfoundthatatube
lengthofthreeincheswouldprovideasufficientdistanceforthecarriagetodeceleratesafely.
Eyehookswerefastenedtothefourtopcornersoftheframe,asdepictedinFigure20,which
wereforattachingtheelastictotheframe.Theelasticselectedwas3/8ODand1/8ID,and
wouldbeformedintocordswithbungeehooksoneachend.

Thefoursidesoftheframewerewalledwithpolycarbonatesheetstoensurethatno
participantscouldplacetheirhandsinsidewithintheframeduringuse,avoidinginjury.The
sheetswereboltedintotheframing,andoneofthesheetswashinged,actingasadoor,which
allowsanassistanttoreattachthewinchcabletothecarriagebetweenshots.

MountingofFrametoUPF
InordertomounttheframetotheUPF,wehadtwosteelhinges,twointermediatesteel
plates,andtwosquaretubeswiththeirbottomscutoff.Whiledesigningthemountingofthis
device,wedecidedthatwewantedtomakenomodificationstotheUPF.Asaresult,thehinges
didnotattachdirectlytotheframe;insteadwehadsteelspacerblocksforthehingestobolt
into.ThespacerblockswereweldedtotheUshapedsquaretubing,andthatsquaretubingsat
ontheUPFdirectly,withholesforsetscrewstoapplyhorizontalforcetotheUPFfrontbar.

Figure 21. Frame attaching to the UPF by hinges.

29

WinchShaft

Thewinchshaftbearsthestaticload
of65pounds,whichexistswhenthe
elasticisfullystretched.Itwas0.5
indiameter,andextended13.5all
thewaythroughbothsidesofthe
frame.Thestaticforcecreateda
bendingstressinthewinchshaft,for
whichtheshafthadasafetyfactorof
1.72.Aspoolmadefromawooden
cylinderwasplacedinthecenterof
theshaft.Thespoolwasdrilled
through,aswellastheshaft,andthe
twowereboltedtogetherwitha
1/4diametersetscrew.Nylonrope
Figure 22. Winch shaft assembly, with ratchet and pawl.
wastohavebeenattachedtothis
woodencylinderbytighteningahose
clampoverboththespoolandrope.Theotherendoftheropewasattachedtothequick
releasebracketviaaloopandropestop.Holesweredrilledintheframetoallowthewinch
shafttofit,anditwassupportedbyoilimpregnatedbronzesleevebearingsoneithersideto
allowforfreespinningoftheshaft.

RatchetandPawl
Theratchetandpawlallowedforthenylontoberolledupvariousamountswithoutunrolling,
andthereforetheelastictobestretchedatdiscreteincrements.Becausetheboreofthe
ratchetgearwaslargerthantheshaftdiameter,theratchetgearwasattachedtothewinch
shaftbywayofaflangedcylinder.Theratchetgearwasfastenedtotheflangewithsetscrews,
andthecylinderportionwasdirectlyfastenedtothewinchshaftviaanothersetscrew.The
pawlwaspositionedabovetheratchetsothatwheneveritwasdisplacedupwardbythe
ratchetteeth,itwouldfallintoplacebywayofgravityandwithouttheuseofaspring.
Therefore,amountingblockforthepawlwasinstalledintotheframe,madeoutofthesame
aluminumstockastherestoftheframe.

30


RatchetArmLever

Inorderforthewinchtospin,a
ratchetarmleverwasdesigned.
Ourleverwasbasedoffofthe
ratchetleverfortheFridayClubs
baseballbatswingingmechanism.
Theratchetarmleverwas
composedofastandardratchet
wrenchandtwowoodendowels
withadiameterof1.5.The
ratchetwrenchfitintoahole
locatedonthefaceofoneofthe
dowels.Theotherendofthe
dowelhadaclearanceholefora
pin.Thispinconnectedthetwo
dowelstogether.Thisresultedina
jointedlever,whichmeantthatthe
Figure 23. Ratchet arm lever extends from bottom of frame.
leverarmcouldbeusedfroma
multitudeofangles.Ahexboltwasscrewedintoonesideofthewinchshaftandsetinplace
withthreadlockingadhesive.Toratchetbackthecarriage,wedecidedtoplacea9/16socket
ontotheendoftheratchetwrenchandplaceontotheboltthreadedintothewinchshaft.
Then,crankingtheleverbackandforthwouldturnthewinchshaft,windingthenylonrope
aroundtheshaftandpullingbackthecarriage.Becausetheshaftwasjointed,theendcould
eitherbelocatedneartheuser,sotheusercancrankthelever,butitcouldalsobedetachedso
thatanassistantcouldratchetfromalongsidethemechanism.

31


Carriage

Figure 24. Carriage assembly.

Thefourcarriagepiecesweremadeoutof1/8inchthicksheetaluminum.Alightmaterialsuch
asaluminumwaschoseninordertoreducethetotalamountofenergyrequiredtolaunchthe
basketballatthedesirablespeedof30ft/s.Aluminumwaschosenoveranevenlighter
material,suchasplastic,becauseitneedstobeabletowithstandboththestaticforceofthe
elasticinthefullystretchedposition,andthedynamicforceatimpact.Inthisdesign,we
plannedtobendthealuminumcarriagepiecesat90degreeangle,creatingsurfacestoeasily
boltthepiecestogether.Twoflangedlinearsleevebearingswereselectedthatallowedthe
carriagetorollalongtheguiderailswithminimalfriction,sothatrequiredlaunchenergywasas
lowaspossible.

32

ReleaseMechanism
Thereleasemechanismconsistedofa
bracketwithaspringplungerpinthatran
throughthecarriageandtotheotherside
ofthebracket.Thenyloncrankbackrope
wasloopedthroughthebottomholeofthe
bracketandpulledtheentirecarriage
releaseassemblybackintofiringposition.
AtthetimeofourConceptualDesign
Review,theleadingideaforreleasethe
systemwasadogclutchwithaseparating
shaft.Sincethedogclutchwouldrequirea
significantamountofforcetodisengage,
andthewinchshaftwouldbelefttospinat
Figure 25. Release mechanism in the attached position.
anuncontrolledspeed,thisideawas
rejectedinfavorofapinreleasesystem
whichwasmoreeasilycontrolled.Toreducethefrictionactingagainstthepullpin,anoil
impregnatedbronzesleevebearingwouldhavebeeninsertedintoboththecarriagerelease
holeandthebracketholetoreducefrictionduringpulling.
SafetyMechanism
Thesafetymechanismofthisdevicemadeithardertounintentionallydisengagethelauncher.
Fromthepullpin,acableextendedthroughacutoutinthepolycarbonatetoacarabineerjust
outsideofthecutoutwhereitwasunabletoslipinsideoftheframe.Thiscarabineerallowed
fortheothersideofthecableattachingtotheuserinterfacetobeengagedonlywhentheball
andcarriagehadbeenpulledbackthedesireddistanceandallparticipantsandbystanders
wereclearofthelaunchpath.Theslotsinthepolycarbonatewereincrementedsothatthe
cablewasasclosetoinlinewiththepullpinaspossible,minimizingtherequiredpullforce.

33

UserInterface

Figure 26. The user interface allows an athlete to have as much control of the system as possible from a wheelchair
position.

Fortheuserinterfaceportionofourdesign,whichsatonthetabletopoftheUPF,wehada
basemadeofanglestockaluminumwithasecondverticalfinwhichactedasasupportbracket
fortheaimingmechanism.Fortheanglestock,wechose3/8inchthickaluminumwithfiveinch
sides.Thethicknesswasdesignedtoprovideasufficientamountofstiffnesswhenloadedto
preventsignificantbending.ThewidthofthesidesallowedustoutilizethemajorityoftheUPF
tabletop,givinggreaterstabilityandprovidingmorespaceforothercomponentstobe
mounted.Intheinitialdesign,sixaluminumpegswerefastenedtotheanglestockbyTig
welding.ThepegskepttheanglestockcenteredandgroundedwithrespecttotheUPF.The
crankhandlewasmountedinthecenteroftheanglestockfacetoallowforeasyusewith
eithertheleftorrighthand.Totherightofthecrankhandle,thereleaseleverwasmounted
usingalongbracketwithapinforapivotpoint.Theleverhadapproximatelytwoinchesof
clearancefromthecrankhandle.Wedecidedtomountthelevertotherightratherthaninthe
centertoavoidinterferencewiththecrankhandle.Theratchetarmleverwastobemountedto
therightsideofthedevice.

34

AimingAssembly

Figure 27. Working portion of tabletop mount showing support fin

and aiming mechanism components.

Allcomponentsoftheaimingassemblyweremountedonthesameanglestockasthecrank
andreleaselever.Theaimingassemblyconsistedofshaftsandpulleystotranslaterotational
motionintoananglechange,thecrankhandletoactuatetheaimingmechanism,andasupport
plate.Theshaftsoftheaimingmechanismneededtorotate,sotoallowforsmoothrotationwe
pressfittedsleevebearingsintothefaceoftheanglestockwhichreducedfrictionwhilestill
supportingaradialload.

Thesupportplateismadeof1/8thickaluminumsheetandprovidedtherotatingshaftsofthe
aimingmechanismextraverticalsupporttopreventexcessivedeflection.Thinsleevebearings
werepressfitintoholesonthisplate,allowingforlowfrictionrotationwhilestillproviding
sufficientradialsupport.Thisplatewasmountedtotheanglestockaluminummentioned
aboveusingfourLbracketsfastenedwithnutsandbolts.Thiswasdesignedtogivetheplate
enoughstabilitytonotcollapseduringoperation.

Therotatingshaftsoftheaimingmechanismthatfitthroughtheanglestockandfinweretobe
madeof3/8diametersteelroundstock.Forthesecomponents,weneededamaterialwitha
greaterstiffnessthanaluminumtopreventbending,anddecidedsteelwasthebestchoice
sinceitisnearlythreetimesasstiffasaluminum.Therewerethreeparallelshafts,oneinthe
centeroftheanglestockfaceandonetoeachsideofthecentralshaft.Thecentralshafthad
thecrankhandlebondedtooneendandtwo10toothtimingpulleysmountedontheother
end,heldinplacewithsetscrews.Twotimingbeltsconnectedthethreeshafts,transmitting
theforceappliedonthecrankhandleequallytotheoutershafts.Theoutershaftshadslightly
larger(14tooth)timingpulleysthatwerealsoheldinplacewithsetscrews.Thethreepulley
shaftstransmittedthetorquefromthepulleystoadjoinedleadscrewsinordertotilttheentire
device.Topreventtheshaftsfromslidingoutofplaceandmisaligningthetimingbelts,spacers
wereplacedbetweenthepulleysandtwosupports,restrictingallshaftmovementintheaxial
direction.

35

Figure 28. Pulley system for aiming mechanism.

Thetimingbeltsandpulleyschosenweredesignedtohavenoslipwhilebeingoperatedaswell
astoprovideasmallmechanicaladvantagefortheuserastheyturnthecrankhandle.The
pulleysonthecentralshaftweretohave10teeth,andtheouterpulleyshave14teeth.With
ourorientation(smallpulleytolarge)thiswouldgiveamechanicaladvantageof1.4,meaning
theuserwouldonlyneedtolessforcethaniftheyweretodirectlyturntheoutershafts.

Figure 29. Universal joint that will allow for the transmission of torque to
the lead screws of the aiming mechanism.

Asthedevicechangedangle,theangleoftheleadscrewsneedtochangewithit.Becauseof
this,weneedtobeabletotransmitthetorquefromtheshaftsatanyangle.Todothiswe
chosetopurchaseunboreduniversaljointstomountattheendoftheoutershafts.Sincethey
wereunbored,wewouldmachineoneendtofitaroundthe3/8shaftsandtheotherendtofit
theleadscrewtip,andthenwewoulddrillholesineachendtopressspringpinsinsothat
theleadscrewswouldtransmittorque.

36

Figure 30. Lead screw of aiming mechanism which controls the tilt of the device.

ThenextcomponentoftheaimingmechanismwastheACMEthreadedleadscrews.These
werewhatcausedthefiringangletochange.WechoseanACMEthreadedleadscrewrather
thanastandardthreadedrodbecauseAMCEthreadshadlessfriction.Theonlydownsideto
usingAMCEthreadedpartswasthatwedidnothavetheresourcestotapACMEthreads;
therefore,wehadtopurchaseACMEcompatiblepartsratherthanmanufacturingthem
ourselves.Toattachtheleadscrewstotheuniversaljoint,wedecidedwewouldturndowna
lengthof5/8ofoneendoftheleadscrewto1/4andwouldturndowntheavailableendof
theuniversaljointtobea1/4"shaft(theywouldfitwithoutneedingtobepressfitsince
machiningaholecausestheholetobeeitherthenominalsizeorbigger,andtheshaftwould
beeitherthenominalsizeorsmaller).Theotherendoftheleadscrewranthroughacylindrical
ACMEnut,whichwaswhatmovedupanddownthelengthoftheleadscrew.Topreventthe
leadscrewsfromfallingoutofthenutsorgoingtoofarthroughit,wesecuredacollaroneach
endoftheleadscrew.

Figure 31. Custom bracket containing cylindrical nut to guide the lead screw as it is turned and allows the device to
tilt.

Thelastcomponentsoftheentireaimingmechanismweretwocustombracketsthatwewould
machineourselves.Theyweretobemadefromaonefootlengthpieceof6061aluminumbar
37

stockthatwas1x2.Wewouldfirstcutoffa1/2"thicksectionofthebarstockanddrilleda
holewitha3/4"inchdiameterthroughthetophalfofthealuminumonthelargeface.The
ACMEnutwouldfitinsidethisholeandwouldbesecuredwithsetscrewsthroughthesideof
thealuminumbar.Then,onthelongersidefaceofthepieceofaluminum,wedrilledanother
throughholethathadadiameterof5/16.Thisholewasforthepivotpointofthebracket.The
pinthatallowedforthepivotingwasalongclevispinwitharemovablepintopreventthe
bracketfromslippingoff.Thispinconnectedthebrackettotheframe.

InordermaketheprocessofattachingourdevicetotheUPFeasier,itcouldbecompletedin
twosteps.Priortoattachmenttheclevispinfortheleadscrewhingebracketwouldbe
removed,formingourdeviceintotwoseparatepiecestheframeandtabletopmount.The
tabletopmountcouldfirstbeinstalledbyfittingthepegsintotheholesontheUPFtabletop.
Next,theframecouldbesetontopoftheUPFbottomfrontbar.Then,thetwoassemblies
couldbeattachedbytheclevispins.Splittingthedeviceintwoforassemblyanddisassembly
meantthattheassistantdidnothavetoliftmorethan30poundsatatime,meaninghecould
setuptheUPFbyhimselfinatimelymanner.

Analysis Results
Inordertodesignourdeviceandtoverifydecisionsthathadalreadybeenmade,weconducted
analysisonvariousaspectsofourdesign.First,weusedprojectilemotionequationsand
experimentaldatatodeterminetheappropriateangleoflaunch(61.4degrees)andlaunch
velocityoftheball(30.3ft/s)thatisrequiredtomakea3pointshot.Bycombiningthat
informationwiththekineticenergyrequiredtoacceleratethecarriagetothesamelaunch
velocityandthepotentialenergyrequiredtoincreasetheheightofboththecarriageandball
withintheframe,thetotalenergythatmustbesuppliedbytheelasticbandswasdetermined
tobe36.3footpounds.Nextourteampurchasedfoursampleelasticbandsofvaryinginner
andouterdimensionsandperformedforcedisplacementtestingoneachusingaforcegauge
andruler.Fromthoseresults,wewereabletodeterminethenumberoftubesnecessaryand
stretchedlengthrequiredofeachtostore36.3footpoundsofenergy.Wefoundthatusing
fourofthesmallestbands(3/8OD,1/8ID)wouldgeneratethenecessaryamountofenergy
whenstretchedthreetimeslongerthanitsunstretchedlength.Thetotalforcerequiredto
stretchthesebandstothatlengthwas65pounds.
Thisvaluewasthestaticloadingonthewinchshaftwhenthecarriagewaspulledbackthe
maximumdistance.Fromthisinformation,wedeterminedthatasteelwinchshaftneededa
minimumdiameterof0.28inches.Asaresult,wechoseawinchshaftdiameterof0.5inches,
givingasafetyfactorof1.782.
Wealsolookedatthecompressiveforcesontheguiderodstomakesurethatbucklingwasnot
aconcern.Forthiscalculation,weassumedaworstcasescenario:thattheframewasnot
supportinganyofthestaticloadsotheguiderodsweretakingall65pounds(or32.5pounds
each).Approximatingeachguiderodasafixedfixedbeam,andassumingtheguiderodis
madefrom1/2inchdiametersteel,aguiderodwouldnotbuckleunlessitexperiencedaforce
of6370pounds.Thisgivestheguiderodsasafetyfactorof196.
38

Afterprovingthevalidityofourdesignunderstaticloading,weconductedananalysisduring
impactloading.Theimpactforcewascausedbythecarriagecollidingwiththetopbarsofthe
frame.Inordertodetermineaplausibleimpactanalysisweusedknowndatafromtherubber
stoppersweplantouse.Byestimatingthestiffnessthepolyurethanerubberandthelength
andcrosssectionalareaofthestopper,wewereabletousemechanicsofmaterialstosolvefor
theforceperdisplacement,alsoknownasspringconstantk.Withthisinformation,wewere
abletousetheknownenergystoredinthesystemtosolveforthedistancethattherubber
stopperwillbedisplaced.Withthisdisplacementandthespringconstant,Hookeslawwas
usedtoestimateanimpactforce.Usingthismethod,thetotalimpactforcewasfoundtoequal
226pounds.
Afreebodydiagramoftheframewasmadeatimpact,andforcesontheleadscrewandhinge
weredetermined.Eachhingewasfoundtoexperiencealoadof136poundsandeachlead
screwfeltatensileloadof18.8pounds.Eachhingewasratedfora100poundloadandsurely
hadafactorofsafetygreaterthan1,sowewereconfidentthatourhingeswouldsupportthe
framewithoutissue.Tensilestresscalculationswerecompletedontheleadscrewsto
determinethesizingofthem.Comparingourleadscrewsizetotheminimumsizeneededfor
ourpurpose,wehadafactorofsafetyof23.3.
Additionally,pressfitcalculationswereconductedforthefourassembliesthatwillbeattached
viainterferencefitpulleybearingtoanglestock,ACMEcylindernuttoleadscrewhinge
bracket,winchshaftbearingtoframe,andcranktocrankshaft.Allinterior,shaftpartswere
purchasedand,becausetheywereintendedtobepressfitted,weredesignedtobeslightly
largerthantheirnominalouterdiameter.Therefore,weonlyneededtoworryabouthole
sizing.Foreachpressfit,wefoundthateachholecouldnothavebeensmallerthanthe
nominaldiameter,andcouldonlyhavebeen0.001inchlarger.Theseholeshadthetightest
toleranceofanypartofourdesign.Foramoredetailedlookatthesecalculationslistedinthis
section,seeAppendixC.

39

Cost Analysis
Aspartswereselectedanddesignedforourproject,ourteamkeptarunningtallyofall
materialstobepurchasedandtheironlinepurchasingprice.Onceallpartshadbeendesigned
andintegratedintoourfinaldesign,afullBillofMaterialswasconstructed,listingeverynamed
part,partdescription,vendor,partnumber,andcost.Thiswasupdatedthroughoutthe
manufacturingphasewheneverourdesignchanged.ThefinalindepthBillofMaterialsfor
necessarypartscanbefoundinAppendixB.AsummaryofallcostsisdetailedinTable2.

OfftheShelfParts

StockMaterialandLabor

Table 2. Abbreviated Bill of Materials

Part
Frame
Carriage
Carriage
TableTopPegs
LeadScrewHinge
TableTopBase
BaseHinge
BaseHinge
PulleyShafts
RatchetFlange
GuideRods
WinchShaft
ElasticTubing
RubberStoppers
WoodenSpool
RatchetArm
ReleaseLever
Spacers
SafetyCasing
FrameAccessories
Fasteners
Bearings
Gears,Pulleys,andBelts
Addt'lRatchetArmParts
Addt'lAimingMech.Parts
Addt'lReleaseMech.Parts
SparePartsandMaterials

StockDescription
AluminumBoltTogetherFraming
6061AluminumSheet
WaterJetCuttingServices
6061AluminumRoundStock
6061AluminumBar
6061AluminumAngle
LowCarbonSteelRectangularBar
A500SteelStructuralSquareTube
1144MediumCarbonSteelRod
1144MediumCarbonSteelRod
303StainlessSteelPrecisionShafting
303StainlessSteelPrecisionShafting
LatexTubing
PolyurethaneRubberTube
RedOakDowelRod
OakDowelRod
DelrinAcetalResinRod
DelrinAcetalResinRod
ImpactResistantPolycarbonateSheet

TotalCost

Cost
$ 122.20
$52.92
$86.00
$20.89
$8.76
$57.18
$4.07
$10.12
$21.70
$15.26
$28.00
$14.00
$12.25
$16.02
$6.84
$26.44
$7.37
$11.55
$43.96
$ 160.15
$ 203.46
$74.43
$ 190.89
$26.28
$ 152.01
$61.12
$334.03
$1,767.90

FromthisBillofMaterials,thetotalcostofourprojectwasalittleover$1,750whichplacedus
about$250overoursuppliedbudgetof$1,500.Ourprojectwentoverbudgetduetoahandful
ofsmallmanufacturingmistakesanddesignchanges.Forexample,webrokeauniversaljoint
whileboringaholeinit,anditcostabout$50topurchaseanewone.Ifweweretomake
anotherbasketballshooterwiththeexactsamedesignasourfinalprototypeandmadeno
mistakesduringmanufacturing,thedevicewouldonlycostabout$1,400tomake,whichis
underbudget.

40

Safety Considerations
Becausethisdevicewillbeoperatedincloseproximitytoalargenumberofpeople,itis
importantthatourdeviceisinherentlysafe.Whiletherearemanymovingpartswithinthe
frameandaimingassemblythatcouldcausepinchpoints,theseregionswillbecoveredwith
polycarbonatesheets,allowinguserstoseethemechanicalworkingsofourlauncherwithout
theriskofbeingharmedbyit.Anyedgeonourdevicewillbefileddownorrounded,ensuring
thatnousercanbeinjuredbysharpedges.

Becauseourdevicecontainsnoelectricalcomponents,thereisnoriskthatelectricalsystems
arenotproperlygroundedorthatlargeelectricalvoltageswillexist.Therearenoexplosive
gasesorflammableliquidsinourdesign,andnomaterialsknowntobehazardoustohumans.

Toensurethatourdevicedoesnotgeneratehighlevelsofnoiseuponimpact,rubberstoppers
areinstalledatthetopofeachguiderod.Asthecarriageimpactsthesestoppers,therubber
willcompressandremoveenergyfromthecarriage,bringingittoastopmoregraduallythanif
itweretohitthemetalframedirectly.Therubberstopperscushioningeffectshouldreduce
theimpactnoisetolevelsthatwillnotfrightentheuserordamagetheusershearing.

Whilethesystemdoescontainstoredenergyintheformofelastictubingandthesystemdoes
produceaprojectile,ourteamhasdesignedasafetymechanismtoreducetheriskofaccidental
firing.Thereleasecablewillbetwocablesjoinedbyacarabineerhooksystem.Priorto
stretchingtheelasticbands,thecarabineerwillbedisengagedfromthehook,separatingthe
pullpinfromtheusersreleaselever.Thismeansthattheusercannotreleasethemechanism
initscurrentstate.Oncetheballhasbeenloadedandpulledbacktoitsintendeddistance,the
assistantwillconfirmthatthelaunchpathoftheballisclearbeforereconnectingthe
carabineertothehook,renderingthereleaseleverlive.Theusercanthenpulltherelease
lever,shootingtheball.Duringresetofthepullpin,theassistantwillunhookthecarabineer
again.

Duetothesesafetyconsiderations,wefeltitwouldbeagoodideatowriteanoperationand
safetymanualforanyhelperswhowillbesettingupandoverseeingtheuseofourdevice.The
safetymanualcanbefoundinAppendixF.

Repair Considerations
Ofallpartsonthisdevice,weanticipatethatthelatextubingwillbethefirstpartstorequire
replacement.Afteracertainnumberofstretches,thelatextubingwillbegintoplastically
deformandmaynotprovideenoughenergyovertime.Toplanforthis,wehavedesignedthe
latextubingtobeeasilychangedoutfornewtubing.Thetubinglengthsaremadebyfirst
cuttinganappropriatelengthoftubeandknottingeachend.Bungeehooksarethenfastened
ontoeachend.Toinstallonthedevice,oneendishookedontothecarriageandtheotheris
hookedontoaneyeboltatthetopoftheframe.Thisdesignmakesthetubinglengthseasyto
manufacture,install,andreplace.
41

Wecouldalsoanticipatethatthenylonropeusedtopullbackthecarriagecouldbeworndown
overtime.Toreplacethis,apersoncouldcutoruntietheropefromthecarriageend,loosen
thehoseclamponthespool,andremovetheropefromthatend.Theropewillnowbe
unattachedandcanberemoved.Asimilarlengthofropecanbecutandinstalledinthesame
manner.Weanticipatethatthisreplacementcanbedoneinlessthantenminutes.
Whilewedonotanticipateanyotherpartswearingoutwithintwoyears,wehavedesignedour
devicewitheaseofmanufacturinginmind.Becausenoneofourteammembersarevery
experiencedwelders,amajorityofcomponentsareassembledusingnutsandbolts.This
meansthatnearlyallpartscanbeassembledandremovedwithbasictools,soitshouldnotbe
toodifficultforthedevicetobeserviced.Manyofthepartsonourdeviceareofftheshelf
parts,soifthosepartswearout,nomanufacturingshouldbenecessary.Areplacementpart
canbeboughtandinstalledinstead.

42

Product Realization
Aftercompletingourdetaileddesign,thenextstepwastomanufactureallpartsandassemble
themintoaprototype.Inordertoreduceproductiontime,commercialofftheshelfparts
wereusedasmuchaspossible.However,modificationshadtobemadetomanyofthese
commerciallyboughtparts,andmanycustompartshadtobeproducedaswell.Manufacturing
thisdevicewasachallengingfeatthattooktwelveweeksandover300manhoursofwork.

Frame
Theframewascutfromaluminumsquare
tubingwithpredrilledholesonthechopsaw,
andwasdeburred.Fourlongmembersand
eightshortmemberswerecuttosize.The
onlyothermodificationstothisframewere
holesforvariousattachments,suchasthe
holestothewinchshaft,theguiderodsand
themountinghinges.Lbracketswere
purchasedforattachingtheframetogether
withbolts.Thebronzesleevebearingsfor
thewinchshaftwereinsertedintotheir
holeswithanarborpress.Theguiderods
Figure 32. In order to drill precise holes in our frame
were1/2stainlesssteelrodsandhadholes
members, the mill was used.
drilledateachendinordertopositionthem
straightlyandsecurelyintotheframe.Becausewefearedthatthebasketballmayhitthe
protrudingboltheadsattachingtheguiderodstothetopoftheframe,theflatheadboltswere
used,andthepertinentholesintheframewerecountersunksothatthetopoftheboltswould
lieflushagainsttheframe.

Figure 33. All short frame members cut to length with holes drilled.

43

Bottom Hinges
ThebottomUPFattachmentpointwasmade
fromsteelsquaretubing.Tocreateuchannel
withstraightwalls,onefaceofthesquare
tubingwascutoffusingthechopsaw,andthe
resultinguchannelwasgroundtoremove
sharpedges.Becausetheofftheshelfhinges
weremadeofanunknownmaterial,they
couldnotbeweldedtotheuchannel;instead
theywouldhavetobeheldonwithfasteners.
However,theuchannelwastoothintobe
Figure 34. The steel rectangle was Mig welded to the
threadedsoarectangularpieceofsteelwasMig
custom u-channel.
weldedtotheuchannel.Aftergrindingdown
thewelds,holesweredrilledandtappedintothepartandthehingeswereboltedontoit.The
otherendofeachhingewasboltedontoaframemember,throughspeciallydrilledholes.

Figure 35. The bottom hinge assembled to both the frame and the u-channel.

Winch Shaft and Components

Thewinchshaftwascuttolengthandtwosetscrewholesweredrilledintoitandtapped.One
holewouldlocatethespool,whiletheotherwouldlocatetheratchetflange.Ononeendofthe
winchshaftaholewasdrilledandtapped.Intothishole,acustomboltwithalongheadwas
madetoactasaninterfacebetweenthewinchshaftandratchetarm.Theboltwasmadefrom
apieceofsteelhexstock,withoneendturneddownto5/16.Thisroundportionwas
threadedtocreatea5/1624bolt.

44

Theratchetflange,whichadaptstheoffthe
shelfratchetgeartofitonthewinchshaft,was
machinedfroma1diametercarbonsteel
stockmetalcylinderonalathe,andthen
turneddownononeendto3/4diameter,and
drilledthroughat1/2diameter.Holeswere
drilledandtappedintothefaceoftheratchet
flangetofastentheratchetviasetscrews,and
anotherholewasdrilledandtappedintothe
bodyoftheflangeforasetscrewtolocatethe
flangeonthewinchshaft.Theholesonratchet Figure 36. The ratchet flange attaches to the winch shaft
via a set screw.
gearanditsflangeneededtobedrilledonamill
inordertolocatethempreciselyenough.Throughtrialand
error,wefoundthattheholeshadtobetappedwiththetwo
partsclampedtogether,sothatthethreadswouldlineup
correctly.Topreventthesharpsteelratchetfromwearing
downtheadjacentaluminumframe,aspacemadefrom
Delrinwaslathedtoserveasabarrierbetweentheratchet
gearandframe,whilealsorestrictingaxialmotionofthe
winchshaft

Figure 37. To attach the ratchet gear to its

flange, four holes were milled and

threaded.

Thespoolwascuttolengthonaband
sawfroma2diameter,4long
woodencylinder,andwassandedon
aspindlesandertoachieveatapered
diameter.A1/2holewasdrilledall
thewaythroughthespoolforthe
winchshaft,andtwo1/4holeswere
drilledinthroughtheradialdirection
ofthespool.One,throughthecenter,
allowedasetscrewtolockthespool
ontotheshaftbothaxiallyand
Figure 38. The spool attaches to the winch shaft via a set screw.
rotationally.Thesecondholewas
The
winch rope is secured around the spool through another hole.
wherethewinchropewassecuredto
thespool.

45

Pawl Block

Figure 39. The pawl block assembly mounts two a

frame member with two long bolts.

Thepawlblockwascutfromthesamestockasthe
aluminumframe.Anextraholewasdrilledona
mill,becausetheexactlocationoftheholewas
veryimportant;thepawlwouldinterlockwiththe
ratchetgearmosteffectivelywhenthecentersof
thetwopartsare15/16apart.Alongboltwas
installedthroughthishole,andactedastheshaft
forthepawl.Becausetheboltwasslightlylong,a
Delrinspacerwasmachinedonalathetouseup
theremaininglengthofthepawlshaft.This
preventedthepawlfromslidingbackandforth
alongitsshaft.Theentirepawlblockassemblywas
attachedtotheframewithlongboltsputthrough
thepredrilledframeholes.

Table Top
Thetabletopwasmadefrom
aluminumanglestock
measuring5x5x3/8thick.
Numerousholesweremilledin
thisanglestockforvarious
parts.Ontheverticalsideof
theanglestock,threeholes
weredrilledandbronzesleeve
bearingsforthepulleyshafts
werepressedin.Twosmaller
holesweredrilled,allowingthe
bracketforthereleaseleverto
beboltedon.Another1/2
holewasdrilledforrelease
cableguiding.Onthebaseof
theanglestock,tenclearance Figure 40. The table top assembly, with the pegs attached to the angle stock,
is shown. The assembly fits into the holes shown in the UPF.
holesfor5/1618boltswere
drilled.FourofthesewereforLBracketsthatholdupthesupportplate,whoseprocessis
coveredbelow.Theothersixwereforthetabletoppegs.Whilethedesigninitiallycalledfor
thetabletoppegstobeTIGweldedtothetabletop,wedecidedthatboltingthepegsonwould
allowformoreprecisealignment.Thetabletoppegsweremachinedonalathefrom11/4
6061aluminumstock.Inoneend,aholewasdrilledandtappedfortheboltconnectingitto
theanglestock.Ontheotherend,alargeamountofmaterialwasboredouttolightenthe
pegs.WhenwefirsttriedtofitthetabletopassemblyintotheUPF,wefoundthatthepeg
diameterwasslightlytoolarge.Asaresult,weturneddowneachpegslightlytoallowfora
clearancefitintotheUPF.

46

Support Plate
Theoverallshapeofthesupportplatewascutonthebandsawfrom1/8thicksheet
aluminum.Inthemill,holesweredrilledandbronzesleevebearingswerepressedintothem.
Becausethebearingswerethickerthanthesupportplate,theprotrudingpartsofthebearings
weresandedoff.ThesupportplatewasattachedtothetabletopwiththesameLbrackets
usedtoholdtheframetogether.

Carriage
Thecarriagepartsareallmadefrom1/8thickaluminumsheet.Thecuttingofthesefourparts
wasoutsourcedtoCentralCoastCreativeCuttingandwaswaterjetcut.Initially,ourteamhad
plannedtobendtheendsofthese
piecesto90degreeanglesand
thenboltthefourpiecestogether.
However,afterbendingspare
aluminumstripsitbecame
apparentthat6061aluminumwas
toobrittleandwouldsnaprather
thanbend.Oursolutionwasto
cutoffthematerialthatwould
havebeenbent,andreplaced
themwithsmallofftheshelfL
brackets.Tousethissolution,
newholeshadtobedrilledineach
Figure 41. The carriage pieces were cut and bolted together with
ofthethreesupportmembers.
L-brackets
Whiletheholesinthetopplate
weresufficient,wefoundthatthecarriagewasslightlytoolargeandwouldrubagainstthe
plasticcasingontheframe.Tofixthis,thesidesofthetopplateweresandedflatinthefour
placesthatitcouldhittheplasticcasing.Thefourpieceswereboltedtogetherandsecured
withthreadlockingglue.Linearslidebearings,boughtofftheshelf,wereinstalledintwo
placesinthecarriagetoensurethatthecarriageslidessmoothlyalongtheguiderods.

47

UJoints, Lead Screws, and Lead Screw Hinge

TwomachinableUjointswere
boughtforjoiningthepulleyshafts
totheleadscrews.A3/8
diameter,5/16deepholewas
drilledinoneendofaUjointfor
thepulleyshafttobeinserted.A
diameter,5/16deepholewas
drilledintheotherendtoinsert
theturneddownleadscrew.
Figure 42. U-joints attached to the pulley shafts, and the lead screws Theseholeswereboredoutona
above them
lathetoensuretheywerecentered
ontheUjointsaxis.Theleadscrewneededtobeturneddowntotheaforementioned
diameterononeendforalengthof5/16sothatitwouldfitintheUjointwhichwasalsodone
onalathe.ThepulleyshaftwasinsertedintotheUjointtodrilla1/16throughholefora
springpintobeinsertedbymeansofapressfitwhichfixedthetwocomponentstogether
duringrotation.ThiswasrepeatedfortheleadscrewendoftheUjoint.

Theleadscrewhingewasmadeoutofa2x1.5x0.5blockofaluminum,whichwascutouton
thehorizontalbandsawandthentheholeforthe
cylindrical3/812ACMEnutwasdrilledonamillto
ensureitwascenteredonthefaceofthehinge.A
5/16holewasdrilledthroughthebottomofthe
hinge,perpendiculartotheholeforthecylindricalnut,
foraclevispinthatattachesthehingetotheframe.
Thispinallowsthehingetopivotfreelyastheframe
tiltsforwardandback.A20holewasdrilledand
tappedinthetopandsideofthishinge,perpendicular
totheholeforthe
cylindricalnut,sothatset
screwscouldbeusedto
Figure 43. Lead screw hinges with the ACME fastentheACMEnut
nut imbedded
insideofthehinge.One
hingewasmadeforeachleadscrew.

Safety Casing
Two1/16thick,2x3sheetsofpolycarbonatewereboughtand
cutintofiveseparatepanelstomakeupoursafetycasing.Three
ofthosepanelswerecuttobe13.5x24,oneofwhichhadsome
slotsmilledontoitforourreleasecable.Thispanel,whichfaces
theuser,hasaseriesofslotssothatthereleasecablecanbe
adjustedtodifferentheightsasthecarriageispulledback
48

Figure 44. Back safety casing

with the release cable slots

differentdistances.Byhavingtheslots,wewereabletokeepthereleasecablepullingdirectly
inlinewiththequickrelease,springloadedpin,thusreducingtheforcenecessarytopullthe
pinout.Theothertwopanelswerecuttobe13.5x12,oneofwhichwasmadetobeour
accessdoor.Usingastandardboltlatch,theaccessdoorallowsanassistanttoeasilyadjustand
resetthelauncherorsafelyreleaseamisfire.Thepolycarbonatesheetshadseveral5/16holes
drilledthroughtheminordertofixthesheetstotheframeusing5/1618boltsandnuts.This
casingpreventsanypotentiallyharmful,fastmovingpartsfromfailingandhittinganyoneinthe
vicinityaswellasstoppingpeoplefromstickingtheirhandsintothedevice.

Release Bracket

Ourreleasebracketwasmadefromapieceofsquare,6061
aluminumbarstock.Itwasfirstcutonthecutoffsawtoa
lengthofapproximately1.5.Itwasthentakentoamilltofirst
havebothendsfacedtoensureallfaceswereparallelor
perpendicular.Oncethepieceofaluminumwasfacedtosize,a
5/16throughholewasdrilled3/8fromthelongedgeand
1.25fromoneoftheshortends.Thisholewasthentappedto
Figure 45. Release bracket,
have3/816threadssothatourspringloadedquickrelease
freshly milled and tapped, with
pincouldbeinserted.Theringonthequickreleasepinis
the pull pin installed.
weldedsothatitdoesnotcomeapartwhenitispulledfor
launch.Thenadiameterthroughholewasdrilled,perpendiculartothetappedhole,3/8
fromalongedgeofthebracket,and3/8fromthesameshortedgeasthetappedhole.This
holewasfortheropetoconnectthereleasebrackettothewinchshaftspool.Aftertheholes
weremade,a7/8deepslotwasmadeperpendiculartothetappedholeusingtheedgeclosest
tothetappedholeastheopenendoftheslot.Thisslot,ratherthanbeingcentered,was0.22
fromalongedgeofthebracket.Thisslotismeanttofitapieceofthecarriageinitand
thereforemustbeatleast1/8wide,soa1/8or3/16endmillissufficientforthejob.Either
canbeusedasonewillnotdiminishorlimitthefunctionalityofthebracketorthereleasepin.
A3/16endmillwasusedforthereleasebracketcurrentlyinuse.

Cable and Rope Attachments

Thereleaseleverisa1longDelrincylinder,whichhasoneendmachinedflatonbothsideson
amillandaholedrilledthroughitforthepivotonthetabletop.Aholeisdrilledthrough2
abovethispivotforthereleasecabletogothrough.Fromthereleaselevertotherelease
bracket,thereisasteelcablewithacablestopatoneendtokeepitslippingthroughthelever,
whichrunsthroughthetabletopandisloopedwithacableferruleandarubberendcapto
keepitfromfraying.Thisloopstopsjustshortofthesafetycasing,whereitconnectstoa
carabineertiedtoanylonropewhichrunstotheweldedringonthereleasepin,loopedaround
thiswithaferrule.Anothernylonropesegmentloopsthroughthereleasebracketbottomhole
withaferrule,extendsdowntothespoolandloopsthroughaholeinthespoolwhichwashand
drilled,andsecuredinplacewithaferruleaswell.Anextraferrulewasincludedontherelease
bracketendofthenylonropetoholditmoresecurely,asthisropeundergoessignificant
tension.
49

Changes Made During Manufacture

Throughoutthemanufacturingprocess,werealizedthatpartsofourdesignwereinsufficient
forasuccessfulprototype.Asaresult,wemademanychangestothedesignofourfinal
prototype.Thesechangesareshowninthedrawingpacket,foundinAppendixE.Adescription
ofallchangescanbefoundbelow.

Stronger Elastic
WehadcalculatedearlyonthatfoursinglebandsofelastictubingwithandIDof1/8andan
ODof3/8wouldbesufficienttolaunchthebasketballfromthethreepointarc,butthiswas
notthecase.Wetrieddoublingtheelasticanditstillwasntenough.Atthatpoint,however,
thebungeehookswerefailing;thewireclipscouldnttaketheloadwithoutslippingoutofthe
bungeehooks.Thisrequiredanewmethodtosecuretheelastic.Wedecidedwirecableclamps
couldprovideenoughholdingforceandalsomadetheelasticmorereadilyadjustableand
removable.Togetenoughpowerwehadtostepupourelasticfromthesizementionedbefore
tohaveanIDof1/8andanODof1/2.Thisprovideduswithenoughpowertomakeabasket
fromthethreepointline.

Carriage Bending
Ourcarriagewascutwithawaterjetandmadeof1/8thick6061aluminum.Ourdesign
requiredtheverticallyorientedmemberstobebent90attheends,but6061aluminumistoo
brittleforthatandbreaks.WedecidedtogrinddowntheendsandusesmallLbracketsto
connectthecarriagetogether.

Carriage Top Plate

Thetopplateofthecarriagewasoriginallysupposedtobecompletelyround,butasweputon
thesafetycasing,wefoundthatthetopplateinterferedwiththepolycarbonate.Tomitigate
thisproblemwegrounddowntheproblemareastoaflatedgetohavesomeclearance
betweenthecarriageandthesafetycasing.Wealsochangedthemethodusedtoconnectthe
elastictubingtothecarriagewhicheliminatedtheneedforbungeehooks.Instead,wedrilled
twoholesthroughthetopplatesothatwecouldfitournew,largerelasticthroughthem
anduseourwirecableclampstosecuretheelastictothecarriage.

Release Bearings
Weplannedonpressfittingasleevebearingintothereleasebracketandtheholeinthe
carriageforthereleasepininordertoreducethefrictiononthereleasepin,thusreducingthe
activationforce.However,wefoundthatthebearingsactuallyincreasedthefrictionbecause
therewasnotenoughclearancebetweenthebearingsandthepin.Weleftoutbothbearings
whichmadetheactivationforcemorereasonable.

ReleasePin Ring
Duringinitialtestingofourdevice,wefoundthatthekeyringthatattachedthepullpintothe
releasecablewasnotmeanttohandletheforcerequiredtopullthepinfromtherelease
bracket.Asaresult,whenthereleasecablewasfullyloaded,thereleasepinunwound.This
meantthereleasecablewasnolongerconnectedtothepullpinandthedevicecouldnotbe
50

shot.Tofixthissolution,weusedaMigweldertotackthetwoendsofanewringcoil
together.Thispreventedtheringfromunfoldinginfuturelaunches.

Spool Hose Clamp

Atfirstwewantedtouseahoseclamponthespooltosecuretheropetoit,butwefoundthat
theropewasrubbingagainstthewormonthehoseclampwhichwascausingtheropetofray.
Topreventtheropefromfrayingandsnapping,wedrilledanoffcenterholeinthespoolbig
enoughfortheropetofitthrough.Wefedtheropethroughthisholeandthroughaloopofthe
ropetosecuretheropetothespool.Theloopofropewillnotcomelooseasitisclampedbya
ferrule,ametalsleeveyouflattenovertheropetoholditinplace.

Location of Ratchet Arm/Winch Shaft Parts

Weoriginallyhadtheratchetarmonthesamesideasthereleaselever,buttheyinterfered
witheachother.Wehadtomovethereleaseleverfartheroutwardbecauseapersonshand
wouldhavehititwhileusingthecrankhandleifitwereplacedintheoriginallocation.Flipping
thewinchshaftandhavingtheratchetarmontheleftwasaneasysolutiontoprevent
interactivepartsfrombeingtooconfined.

Hex Bolt
Inordertocrankbackthecarriage,weintendedtouseastandard5/1624hexboltwithour
socketwrenchratchetarm.Wefoundthatthesocketwasunstableasitrestedontheheadof
thebolt,sowemanufacturedourownhexboltwitha1longhead.Thisextralengthmadethe
ratchetarmfarmorestablewhilecrankingthecarriageback.

Winch Shaft Hole for Ratchet Flange

Inourfirstdesign,weplannedtosecuretheratchetflangetothewinchshaftbyasetscrew.
Therewasinitiallynocorrespondingholeinthewinchshaft,andtherigidityoftheflange
dependedontheforcebetweenthetightenedsetscrewandthewinchshaft.However,dueto
thehightorsionloadsontheratchetgear,andthereforeontheflange,wedecidedwewould
feelmorecomfortablehavingthesetscrewthreadthroughthewinchshaft.

Pawl Block Shaft

Originally,theshaftforthepawlwasdesignedtobeashoulderscrewthatrunsthroughone
sideofthepawlblock.Weencounteredtwoproblemswiththis.First,becausetheshaftwas
onlysupportedbyonesideofthepawlblock,itwasinherentlyunstable.Second,theshoulder
screwweorderedwastoolargeforthepawl.Insteadoforderinganappropriatelysized
shoulderscrewfromMcMasterCarrandwaitingforittoarrive,weoptedtogotoalocal
hardwarestoreandpurchasealong1/420boltwithalongunthreadedportion.Thisboltwas
longagotorunthroughbothsidesofthepawlblock,andthepawlwasabletorotatefreelyon
theunthreadedportion.

51

ACME Cylindrical Nut Assembly

Initially,weplannedtopressfitourcylindricalACMEnutsintotheleadscrewhinges.However,
theholewedrilledendedupjusttoolargeforapressfit.Instead,weusedsetscrewstohold
thecylindricalnutsintotheleadscrewhinges.

Clevis Pin Length

Forourleadscrewhingesweinitiallyhad1.75clevispinsbecausewedidntintendonputting
thepinsthroughtheentireframe,onlyonewall.Welaterdiscussedthatthepinswouldbetoo
unstablelikethat,sowepurchased3.5longclevispinssothattheywouldhavetwosupport
pointsfromtheframeratherthanone.

Pulley Sizes and Belts

Fortheaimingmechanismweplannedonusingfourpulleys;twowith10teethinthecenter,
andtwowith14teeth,oneoneitherside.However,our20.2beltwastoobigandwouldslip
duringoperation,soweorderedanew19.5belt.Thisnewbeltwastoosmall,sowehadto
ordertwopulleyswith12teeth.Ourfinalorientationwaswithtwo10toothpulleysinthe
middle,a12toothpulleyoneithersideofthesmallpulleysandthe19.5belt.

Table Top Pegs

Weweregoingtoweldthetabletoppegstotheanglestock,butwewereconcernedabout
howstraightthepegswouldbeafterwelding.Insteadwedrilledandtapped5/1618holesin
oneendofthepegstosecurethemtotheanglestock.Weboredouttheotherendinan
attempttoreducethetotalweightoftheaimingmechanism.

Eye Strap
Toroutethereleasecabletothereleaselever,weinitiallyplannedtouseabrasstubetoguide
thecable,butsecuringthebrasstubetotheanglestockseemedproblematic.Insteadweused
aneyestopwhichwescrewedintotheanglestocktosecureitinplace.Theeyestopprovidesa
curvedsurfaceforthecabletoslideoverandalsofeedsthecabledirectlytothereleaselever,
preventingitfrombeingpulledtothesideatsomeangle.

Release Lever Length

Initially,thereleaseleverwasdesignedtobesixincheslong.Thiswasbecausewehadplanned
tosecurethereleasecabletwoinchesfromtheleverspivot,anda3to1mechanical
advantagewascalculatedassufficienttolowertherequiredforceto5pounds.However,the
shortestlengthofthematerialwewantedwasonefoot.Wedecidedtousethewholelength
becausethereseemedtobenodownsidetoimprovingtheusersmechanicaladvantage.This
laterprovedtobeanecessarychange,becausethefrictionalforcegeneratedwhenthicker
elasticwasemployedwasmuchgreaterthanbefore.

UChannel Set Screws

Wethoughtaboutdrillingandtappingsomeholesintheverticalfacesofthehingesthatmount
ontotheUPF,butthematerialisnotthickenoughtohavetheminimumthreethreadsactive.
52

WedecidedtoforgousinganyfastenersonthehingesandhaveitrestingontheUPFfront
member.

Countersunk Screws
Whenshootingtheball,wefoundthattheballoftenhittheheadoftheboltthatwentthrough
theguiderodcausingittonotproperlyfire.Toreducetheprofileofthisbolt,wereplacedit
withaflatheadboltandaddedacountersinktotheinsideholesothattheboltwouldbeflush
withtheframemember.Thisallowedthebasketballtobeshotwithoutanyinterferencefrom
thebolt.

53

Design Verification
Therewerenumerousdesignrequirementsthatneededtobetested,somequantitativelyand
othersqualitatively.AsummaryoftheresultsisfoundinTable3below.Acceptancecriteriaare
definedbythesamemethodasourdesignspecifications:Inspection(I),Analysis(A),Test(T),
andSimilaritytoExistingDesigns(S).Foralltests,theteststageisDV,whichstandsfordesign
verification.
Table 3. Design verification table, listing testing of all components and mechanisms.
Item
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Specification

Test Description
Activation Force
Weight

Force Gage
Scale

Storage Space
Set-up Time
Reset Time
Shooting Range
Angle of Motion
Guide Rails
Parallel
Winch Shaft
Deflection
Rope Strength
Elastic Durability
Elastic Stationary

Test
Acceptance
Responsibility
Criteria

Test
Stage

SAMPLES

TIMING

Quantity Type Start date

5
B
6/2/2014
1
B 5/29/2014

TEST RESULTS
Quantity Quantity
Finish date
Pass
Fail
6/2/2014 20 lbs avg
0
5
5/29/2014
27.2 lbs,
1
0
15.6 lbs
5/30/2014
Fits
1
0
5/26/2014 3:17 mins
3
0
max time
5/26/2014
30s avg
3
1
6/3/2014
20.78 ft*
0
4
5/23/2014
60
1
0
Test Result

T
T

Ricky
Brett

DV
DV

Place on Storage Cart

Set up Device

I
I, T

Ricky
Brett

DV
DV

1
3

B
B

5/30/2014
5/26/2014

Reset Device
Shoot Device
Move Frame with Aiming
System
Run Carriage Along Rails

I, T
A, T
I

Brett
Ricky
Brett

DV
DV
DV

4
4
1

B
B
B

5/26/2014
5/24/2014
5/23/2014

I, T

Brett

DV

5/8/2014

5/8/2014

Fuly Load Shaft

A, I

Brett

DV

5/24/2014

6/3/2014

Fully Load Rope

Fully Load Elastic
Fully Load Elastic and
Shoot Device

I
A, I
I

Brett
Brett
Brett

DV
DV
DV

5
5
5

B
B
B

5/24/2014
5/24/2014
5/24/2014

6/3/2014
6/3/2014
6/3/2014

Smooth
travel
No visible
deflection
Intact
Intact
Intact

5
5
5

0
0
0

Thefirsttestonthislististheactuationforcetest.Atthefullstrengthofthelauncher,thelever
waspulledwiththeforcegaugeonitinordertomeasuretheforceittakestopullthequick
release.Theaverageforcetoactivatewas20pounds,whichiswelloverthe5poundmaximum
setbyourteamearlierintheyear.Thebasisforthe5poundrequirementwasthefactthatthe
wheelchairathletescanuseotherdevicesthatrequireatleastthatamountofforce,thoughthe
forcegaugeweusedtotestatthetimemaxedoutat5pounds.Fortheactualabilitytousethe
device,twodifferentwheelchairathleteswereabletoactivatethedeviceontheirown,
showingthatourinitial5poundrequirementwasfartoolow.Despitefailingthistest,the
deviceisstillusable.

Theweightofeachseparatesubsystemofthedevicemustnotweighmorethan30pounds,so
thatitiseasierforonepersontosetitupalone.Thetwosubsystemsmeasuredwerethe
frame,27.2pounds,andthetabletop,15.6pounds,whichpassed.

Timetrialswereperformedwitheachoftheteammemberstomeasurethesetuptimeand
resettimeofourdevice.ThisdoesnotincludethesetupoftheUPF.Theresettimewas
measuredastimeinbetweentheuserhavinganyactivity,sofromthepreviouslaunchtobeing
readytocrankback.

Theshootingrangeofourlauncherwasmeasuredfromwheretheballhittheground,which
cameouttoanaverageof20feet.Thisdoesnotpassourrequirementshowever,becausethe
ballmustbeatleast10feethighinordertomakeabasket,sotherealrangeoftheshotwas
somewherearound15feet.Notethatthisisfromwhattheteamconsideredareasonable
54

amountofwindingoftheropetolaunchit.Muchmorethanthedistancethatitwaspulled,
andthehigherlikelihoodoffailureofparts,sinceitisnotdesignedtogopastthedistancewe
pulledit.Thelauncherhasbeencapableofshootingthreepointers(20feet),butduetofailure
oftheropestopperonatestlaunch,thesafedistancetoshootitfromhasbeenscaledbackto
15feet.

TheangleoftheframewasmeasuredusingalevelapponaniPhone,whichwhenatfulltiltwas
showntobeexactly60degrees.Thecarriagetravelssmoothlyovertheguiderails.

Throughouttesting,therewasnodeflectionobservedinthewinchshaft,nofrayingoftherope,
andnoslippingofelasticoncetheUboltsweretightened.Itwasobservedthatsomeminor
crackingwasoccurringononepieceoftheelasticduetothetightnessoftheUbolts,which
wasminimizedbyreclampingtheUboltsensuringpinchpointsontheelasticareavoided.

AfterconductingourofficialtestingourdevicewastestedwiththeFridayClubmembers,and
thenwithmembersofthegeneralpublicattheSeniorProjectExpo.Overall,thedevice
receivedpositivefeedbackandatExpoabouttensuccessfulbasketsweremadefromthefree
throwlineoverathreehourperiod.

Figure 46. Testing at the Friday Club

55

Figure 47. The Engineering Team at the Senior

Project Expo

Recommendations and Conclusions

Whileourdevicemeetsmostofthecustomersrequirements,itslargestfaultisthatitcannot
shootfromthethreepointline.Thefinalprototypecanshootabasketsafelyfromadistance
of15feet,whichisthedistanceofafreethrow.Toexpandtherangeofourdevice,theheight
oftheframecouldbeincreased,allowingformoreroomtopullbacktheelastic.

Lookingbackonthedesignoftheproject,thereweresomepartsthatcouldbeimproved.
Particularly,thedesignofthecarriagecouldbeupgraded.First,theoriginaldesignwasforthe
carriagewastobendthe6061aluminumintoshapeandthenboltthemtogether.
Unbeknownsttotheteam,6061cannotbend90degreeswithoutbreaking.Also,theshapeof
thecarriagecausestheballtosittooneside,causingmisfireswhentheUPFisnotonlevel
ground.Thecarriagealsohasbeendeformingduetotheimpactforce,soathickertopplateof
aluminumthan1/8orpossiblystrongermetalsuchassteelmaybetterbeabletohandlethe
forceofimpact.Anotherpossibilitytoreducethisimpactdeformationistoincludetwomore
rubberstoppersontheothersidesoftheframe,distributingtheload.

Anotherrecommendationwouldtochooseadifferentwaytomakethetabletopratherthana
hugeanglestockpiece.Thisisalittlebitcumbersomeandwasteful.Theleadscrewsalsotakea
longtimetogettheframeintotheproperposition,soadifferentpulleyratiocouldhelpwith
thespeed.Also,theframeofourdevicecancurrentlymovebackandforthalongthelower
frontbaroftheUPF.Inthefuture,itwouldbeusefultoaltertheuchannelattachmentpoints
sothattheyclampontotheUPF.Duringtesting,wenoticedthattheratchetarmwould
sometimesrunintotheadjacentleadscrewhinge,scoringthewoodenlever.Thiscouldbe
fixedinafewdifferentways:thehexboltcouldbelengthened,theleadscrewhingecouldbe
madethinner,orsomematerialcouldbeplacedonthehingetoguardtheleverfromdamage.
Drillingholesinthepolycarbonatesafetycasingsheetswastimeconsuming,soaquicker
methodofattachment,likehighstrengthVelcro,maybeaneasierwaytoattachthesafety
casingtotheframe.Oneotherthingwenoticedwasthatthesharpedgesontheferrules
holdingtheropeonthewinchshaftcoulddamagetherope.Awaytoavoidthiswouldbeto
usestrongknotsinsteadofferrulestosecuretherope.

Inall,thetaskofdevelopinganadaptivebasketballlauncherwithforce,size,andattachment
constraintshasbeenachallengingproblem.However,withextensiveresearchofpreexisting
designsandcustomerrequirements,webelievewehavemadeabasketballlauncherthatis
safe,fun,andmeetsmostcustomerrequirements.ThetwoFridayClubparticipantswetested
withbothfoundthedevicetorequireanappropriatelevelofphysicalactivityandhadfunusing
thedevice.Inall,FridayClubparticipantswilluseandenjoyourdeviceforyearstocome.

56

References
"BasketballShooterforR&CExpo."YouTube.OhioUniversity,11May2010.Web.23Oct.2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFfmGFWOMvo>.

"CaptainsChaiseLoungeChair."PlasticLumberYard.N.p.,n.d.Web.1Nov.2013.
<http://www.plasticlumberyard.com/FURNITURE/captainchaiseloungeCH7826.htm>.

CompressiveStiffnessofNeopreneRubber.EngTipsForums.6Aug.2003.Web.4Feb.2014.
<http://www.engtips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=66682>.

"FRC2012BallLauncherbyIR3Creative."YouTube.IR3Creative,09Jan.2012.Web.23Oct.
2013.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO0XzkthMUs>.

Gode,Yash."BasketballCourtDiagramwithLabels."Buzzle.N.p.,30Mar.2010.Web.03Oct.
2013.<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/basketballcourtdiagram.html>

Hansen,ChristopherL."SportsBallLauncher."GooglePatents.N.p.,14Oct.2004.Web.23Oct.
2013.<http://www.google.es/patents/about/
7028682_Sports_ball_launcher.html?id=yhh3AAAAEBAJ>.

"JawCoupling."ABSSACPowerTransmission.N.p.,n.d.Web.12Nov.2013.
<http://www.abssac.co.uk/s/Jawcoupling/3/39/>.

Locatelli,Roberto."PivotPointsandAngleofRotation."Cornucopia3D.N.p.,3Jan.2006.Web.
07Jan.2014.<http://www.cornucopia3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12037&highlight=>.

NormalforUs:TheMillerTwins.PBS.Southberlington,Vermont,2002.Television.

"RuggedRidgeATV/UTVHDWinch."CARID.com.N.p.,n.d.Web.1Nov.2013.
<http://www.carid.com/universalwinches/ruggedridgewinches4430897.html>.

"ShootAWay."OriginalShootAWay.N.p.,n.d.Web.23Oct.2013.
<http://www.shootaway.com/equipment/originalshootaway>.

StumpfBalloons.""ThreeRingCircus"QuickRelease."NebraskaBalloonClub.N.p.,n.d.Web.3
Nov.2013.<http://www.nebraskaballoonclub.org/photoview.html?image=glossary/images/
3ringcircus_lg.jpg?caption=%22Three%20Ring%20Circus%22%20Quick%20Release%20
%20photo%20courtesy%20Stumpf%20Balloons>

Sprave,Joerg."HowtoMake+UseaMechanicalSlingshotRelease."YouTube.N.p.,15Aug.
2010.Web.21Oct.2013.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ics5W9K0YNM>.

57

Appendix A QFD and Pugh Matrices

QFD (House of Quality)
QualityFunctionDeployment(QFD)isatoolthathelpsdemonstrategraphicallythe
relationshipsbetweentherequirementsdesiredbythesponsorandengineeringspecifications.
Therequirementsdesiredbythesponsorareshownontheleftmostcolumn,andthe
engineeringspecificationsaretheverticalcolumnsatthetop.Weightingwasdeterminedby
comparingallrequirementsagainsteachotherandrankingtheirimportance.Higherpoint
valuecorrelatestomoreimportance.Eachsponsorrequirementwascomparedagainsteach
engineeringspecificationtodeterminehowmuchofacorrelationthereisbetweenthetwo.
Levelsofcorrelationareshownwithdifferentsymbols.AkeyisfoundbelowtheQFD.Strong
correlationbetweenthecustomerandengineeringrequirementsshowsthatmeetingthe
engineeringrequirementwillensurethatthecustomerrequirementismet.

Ontherighthandside,thebenchmarkcolumnsaredisplayed.Thesebenchmarksarepre
existingproductsthatperformsimilartaskstotheproblemathand.Thenumberingwithinthe
columnsdescribeshowwellthoseproductsmeetthesponsorrequirements.Thisallowsusto
seethebenefitsandpitfallsoftheexistingproducts.

Thebottomsectionquantifiesourengineeringrequirements.Itgivesspecificgoalsthatwill
ensurethecustomerrequirementsaremet.Belowthesetargetvaluesaretheexisting
solutions,withtheirestimatedspecifications.Again,thisallowsourteamtoeasilycompareour
targetspecificationstothepreexistingproductstoquantitativelydeterminetheirbenefitsand
pitfalls.

TheQFDisattachedonthefollowingpage.

58

Quality Function Deployment - UPF Ballers

=9
=3
=1
Blank

7.7

12.1

6.6

8.8

14.3

10.4
13.2

0.0

0.5

25 30 18

24

feet

4 Flywheel Mech.

number

2 1500 2

1.4

dollars

20 30

years

Ohio U: Bball Slingshot

pounds

inches

30

seconds

Target

feet

Units

1 x 1 x 0.75 1 x 3 x 3 2 x 3 x 3 ft x ft x ft

5.5

4
1
3
5
2
1
1
5
5
4
5
5
4
5

4 Flywheel Mech.

Ohio U: Basketball Slingshot

Max Height

Benchmarks

2.2
4.4

Compartments

Cost

Time Before Maintenance

Operating Force

Hand Motion Sphere

Reset Time

Max Launch Distance

Dimensions

Set-up time

Weight

3.3
10.4
1.1

minutes

Quick & Easy Setup

Attach to UPF
Fit in Storage Area
Play Game of "Horse"
Use in Joystick chair
left- or right-handed
Adjustable (size)
Physical Activity
Least Restr. Envr.
Safe
Fun
Durable
Cost-Effective
Retain line-of-sight

pounds

Customer Requirements

Customer Requirements (Whats)

Weighting (Total 100)

Engineering Requirements (HOWS)

3
1
5
5
1
5
1
2
2
2
5
3
5
5

Strong Correlation
Medium Correlation
Small Correlation
No Correlation

Benchmark Ratings
Doesn't meet requirement
1
Moderately meets requirement
3
5

Meets requirement extremely well

59

Pugh Matrices
APughMatrixisdecisionmakingtoolwhichlaysoutmanydifferentconceptsforagivenidea
andcomparesthemtoastandardwhichiscalledadatum,ratingthemaseitherbetter(+),
thesame(S)orworse().Thismethodisnotadefinitivewayofdeterminingwhichsolutionis
mostappropriate.Rather,ithelpsourteamtoseethebenefitsanddeficitsofeachindividual
concept.PughMatricesfortwomainfunctions(aiming/mountingandrelease)canbefoundin
thefollowingpages.

60

61

62

63

64

Appendix B Bill of Materials

Table 4. Full Bill of Materials
Part
LongFrameTube
TopFrameTube
TopFrameTube2
BottomTube1
BottomTube2
PawlBlock
LBracket
EndCapforLongFrameTube
BoltsforFrame
NutsforFrame

Frame

Part#

TotalCost

AluminumBoltTogetherFraming

McMaster

8809T11

$24.44

$122.20

90deg.CornerConnectingBracket
EndCapforAluminumBoltTogetherFraming
BlackOxideAlloySteelSocketHeadCapScrew,5/16"24Thread,
7/8"Length
PlainGrade8SteelHexNut,5/16"24ThreadSize,1/2"Width,
17/64"Height

McMaster
McMaster

8809T62
8809T41

$5.19
$1.16

16
4

$83.04
$4.64

McMaster

91251A382 $5.61

$11.22

McMaster

90499A810 $4.93

$4.93
$31.66

McMaster

1502A21

$15.83

IntermediateHingeSteel

LowCarbonSteelRectangularBar,1/4"Thick,11/2"Width

McMaster

8910K553

$4.07

$4.07

HingeUPFUChannel

2X2X11GA(.120wall)A500SteelStructuralSquareTube

MetalsDepot

T12211

$10.12

$10.12

91771A191 $5.80

$5.80
$10.02

HingetoFrameNuts
5/16_24ElasticEyeBolt
NutsforEyeBolt
PolycarbonateCasingFront
PolycarbonateCasingBack
PoylcarbonateCasingRight
PolycarbonateCasingLeftUpper
PolycarbonateCasingLeftLower
HingeforPolycarbDoor
ScrewsforHinge
NutsforHinge
BoltsforPolycarb
NutsforPolycarb
LatchforPolycarbDoor
BoltsforLatch
NutsforLatch
GuideRod
BoltstoHoldGuideRodtoFrame
NutsforGuideRod
RubberStopper
BearingforPrimarySupport
CarriagePrimarySupport
CarriageSecondarySupport
CarriageTop
CarriageBolts
CarriageNuts
LinearSleeveBearing
BoltsforLinearSleveBearing
NutsforLinearSleeveBearing
LatexTubing
HextoRatchetAttachment
RatchetWrench
RatchetLever
RemovableCrankPin
CollarWoodtoWrenchHandle

188StainlessSteelFlatHeadPhillipsMachineScrew,832
Thread,5/16"Length
188StainlessSteelFlatHeadPhillipsMachineScrew,832
Thread,2"Length
ZincPlatedGrade2SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,832Thread
Size,11/32"Width,15/64"Height
SteelEyeboltwithShoulderforLifting,5/16"24ThreadSize
Grade8SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,ZincYellowPlated,5/16"
24ThreadSize,1/2"Wide,11/32"High
ImpactResistantPolycarbonateSheet,1/16"Thick,24"x36",
Clear
MortiseNontemplateHingewithNonremovablePin,Square
Corners,PlainSteel,1"Height,1"Width
AlloySteelFlatHeadSocketCapScrew,440Thread,5/32"Long,
BlackOxide
ZincPlatedSteelMachineScrewHexNut,440ThreadSize,1/4"
Width,3/32"Heigh
AlloySteelButtonHeadSocketCapScrew,BlackOxide,5/16"24
Thread,2"Long
PlainGrade8SteelHexNut,5/16"24ThreadSize,1/2"Width,
17/64"Height
SteelBarrelSlideBolt,BlackFinish,13/4"x11/2"Plate
Type316StainlessSteelPanHeadPhillipsMachineScrew,632
Thread,1/4"Length
ZincPlatedGrade2SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,632Thread
Size,5/16"Width,11/64"Heigh
1/2"dia.303StainlessSteelTGPPrecisionShafting
AlloySteelButtonHeadSocketCapScrew,BlackOxide,5/16"24
Thread,2"Long
Grade8SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,ZincYellowPlated,5/16"
24ThreadSize,1/2"Wide,11/32"High
BlackPolyurethaneTubing,11/4"OD,1/2"ID,6"Long
GraphiteSAE841BronzeSleeveBearingfor1/4"ShaftDiameter,
5/16"OD,3/4"Length
.125(1/8)thick6061AluminumSheet
Type316StainlessSteelPanHeadPhillipsMachineScrew,1032
Thread,1/2"Length
ZincPlatedGrade2SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,1032Thread
Size,3/8"Width,15/64"Height
SteelFlangeMountLinearBallBearing,SquareFlange,1/2"Shaft
Diameter,11/4"OverallLength
Type316StainlessSteelPanHeadPhillipsMachineScrew,832
Thread,5/8"Length
ZincPlatedGrade2SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,832Thread
Size,11/32"Width,15/64"Height
SuperSoftLatexRubberTubing,1/8"ID,1/2"OD,3/16"Wall
Thickness
1/2"SquareDriveSocket,6PointStandard,9/16"Size,11/2"
OverallLength,ChromeFinish
Stanley919301/2InchDrivePearHeadQuickReleaseRatchet
Wood,OakDowelRod,11/2"Diameter,36"Length
316StainlessSteelClevisPinwithCotterPin,5/16"Diameter,1
3/4"Long,11/2"UsableLength
WormDriveHoseClampwithZincPlatedSteelScrew,13/16"to1
3/4"ClampDiameterRange,5/16"BandWidth

65

UnitCost QtyReqd

SteelMortiseMountHingew/Bearings,RemovablePin,Dull
Bronze,31/2"High,31/2"Wide

HingetoFrameBolts

Carriage

Vendor

MainHinge

HingetoIntermediateBolts

RatchetHandle

StockTitle

McMaster
McMaster

91771A205

$10.02

McMaster

90631A009 $2.35

$2.35

$5.11

$20.44

McMaster

97135A225 $3.88

$3.88

McMaster

8574K245

$21.98

$43.96

1598A12

McMaster

McMaster

3014T257

$0.77

$1.54

McMaster

91253A111 $9.20

$9.20

McMaster

90480A005 $0.81

$0.81

McMaster

91255A042 $8.29

$33.16

McMaster

1441A12

McMaster

ListedAbove

$2.66

$2.66

91735A144 $4.16

$4.16

McMaster

90631A007 $2.67

$2.67

MetalsDepot

R412303TP $14.00

$28.00

McMaster

91255A042 $8.29

$8.29

ListedAbove

McMaster

87235K12

$16.02

$16.02

McMaster

9368T105

$0.86

$0.86

MetalsDepot

S3186

$52.92

$52.92

McMaster

91735A829 $4.98

$4.98

McMaster

90631A411 $2.81

$2.81

$32.67

$65.34

91735A196 $8.11

McMaster
McMaster

6483K63

ListedAbove

$8.11

McMaster

5234K65

$2.45

McMaster

5545A14

$6.24

$6.24

Amazon
McMaster

96825K85

$13.99
$26.44

1
1

$13.99
$26.44

McMaster

92401A662 $6.05

$6.05

$8.30

McMaster

5388K26

$8.30

$
$12.25

Part
WinchShaft
WinchBearing
WoodenSpool
SpoolSetScrew

WinchShaft

Ratchet
RatchetFlange
RatchetFlangeSetScrew
BoltsforRatchetFlange
NutsforRatchetFlange
SpacerbetweenRatchetandFrame
Pawl
PawlSpacer
PawlShoulderScrew
BoltsforPawlBlock
NutsforPawlBlock
HexBoltforShaft
LeadScrewHinge
PinforLeadScrewHinge
LeadScrewHingeSpacer
LeadScrewCylinderNut
LeadScrew
ShaftCollarsasLeadScrewStops
UniversalJoint

Aiming/TableTop

SpringyPinforUJoint

Vendor
MetalsDepot

Part#
UnitCost QtyReqd TotalCost
1
$14.00
R412303TP $14.00

McMaster

9368T157

$2.44

$4.88

BairdBrothers

DR2OAK

$6.84

$6.84

92313A549 $6.43

McMaster

$6.43

$37.11
$15.26

1
1

$37.11
$15.26

McMaster

92313A106 $3.45

$3.45

McMaster

90910A741 $9.12

$9.12

McMaster

90631A007 $2.67

$2.67

$11.55
1
$45.22
1
ListedAbove

$11.55
$45.22
$

McMaster
McMaster

McMaster
McMaster

6283K24
6628K54

8576K17
6283K32

McMaster

97345A707 $7.16

$7.16

McMaster

91255A042 $8.29

$33.16

ListedAbove

McMaster
McMaster

6512K181
8975K741

$13.57
$4.01

1
1

$13.57
$4.01

McMaster

92390A234 $12.42

$12.42

ListedAbove

McMaster

95100A101 $4.99

McMaster

93410A609 $18.97

$
$9.98

$18.97

McMaster

9410T3

$8.53

$17.06

McMaster

6443K12

$43.27

$86.54

McMaster

92373A109 $6.78

$6.78

HighStrength1144MediumCarbonSteelRod,3/8"Diameter

McMaster

6628K264

$10.85

$21.70

CrankHandle

AluminumCrankHandle,3/8"UnthreadedThroughHole,
Relvolving,3.49"Handle

McMaster

6473K76

$19.38

$19.38

PulleySpacerLeftShort
PulleySpacerLeftLong
PulleySpacerRightLong

BlackDelrinAcetalResinRod,5/8"Diameter

LargePulleyandSetScrew
SmallPulleyandSetScrew
Belt

LBracketBoltsLong
LBracketBoltsShort
L_BracketNuts
TableTop
TableTopPegs
AimingSupportBearings
AimingTableTopBearings
LeverBracket
LeverArm
BoltforLever
NutforLever
PullCableandSleeve
Carabiner
WinchNylonRope
PullPin
ReleaseBracket
BearingforReleaseBracket

LandHSeriesTimingBeltPulley,LSeries,Fit1/2"BeltWidth,
McMaster
1.672"OD,12Teeth
LandHSeriesTimingBeltPulley,LSeries,Fit1/2"BeltWidth,
McMaster
1.438"OD,10Teeth
TrapezoidalToothNeopreneTimingBelt,3/8"Pitch,TradeSize
McMaster
195L,19.5"OuterCircle,1/2"Wide
.125(1/8)thick6061AluminumSheet
McMaster
90deg.CornerConnectingBracket
McMaster
188StainlessSteelButtonHeadSocketCapScrew,5/16"24
McMaster
Thread,7/8"Long
188StainlessSteelButtonHeadSocketCapScrew,5/16"24
McMaster
Thread,3/8"Length
PlainGrade8SteelHexNut,5/16"24ThreadSize,1/2"Width,

17/64"Height
5x5x3/8AlAngle6061
MetalsDepot
Multipurpose6061AluminumRod,11/4"Diameter
McMaster
GraphiteSAE841BronzeSleeveBearingfor1/4"ShaftDiameter,
McMaster
5/16"OD,3/4"Length
SAE841BronzeSleeveBearingfor3/8"ShaftDiameter,1/2"OD,
McMaster
3/8"Length
PanelHangingBracket,ChromePlatedZinc,1"Maximum
McMaster
Thickness,21/2"Deep(comeswithscrews)
BlackDelrinAcetalResinRod,11/4"Diameter
McMaster
BlackOxideAlloySteelSocketHeadCapScrew,1/2"20Thread,1
McMaster
3/4"Length
PlainGrade8SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,1/4"20ThreadSize,
McMaster
7/16"Width,5/16"Height
ShimanoBrakeCableandHousingSet(Universal)
Amazon
BlackPowderCoatedSteelCarabinerConnector,1/4"Snap
McMaster
Opening,1/4"EyeDiameter,175lbWorkLoadLimit
TwistedShockAbsorbingNylonRope,3/16"Diameter,75lbWork
McMaster
LoadLimit
3/8inchHandRetractableSpringPlunger
FasteningSolutions
Multipurpose6061Aluminum,1/2"Thick,2"Width,1'Length
McMaster
GraphiteSAE841BronzeSleeveBearingfor1/4"ShaftDiameter,

5/16"OD,3/4"Length

ListedAbove

66

6495K24

$22.85

$45.70

6495K23

$17.99

$35.98

6484K113

$10.11

$20.22

8809T62

$
$5.19

1
4

$
$20.76

92949A859 $7.14

$7.14

92949A595 $5.92

A35538
8974K16

ListedAbove
$57.18
$20.89

1
1

$5.92
$
$57.18
$20.89

9368T105

$0.86

$0.86

6391K172

$0.83

$2.49

1755A32

$8.77

$8.77

8576K23

$7.37

$7.37

91251A018 $5.70

$5.70

90630A110 $3.18

$3.18

$12.97

$12.97

3079T41

$1.35

$1.35

3827T31

$9.15

$9.15

RET375

$7.55
1
ListedAbove

$7.55
$

ListedAbove
Total:

PulleyShaft
CrankShaft

SupportPlate
LBracket

Release

StockTitle
1/2"dia.303StainlessSteelTGPPrecisionShafting
GraphiteSAE841BronzeSleeveBearingfor1/2"ShaftDiameter,
5/8"OD,1.5"Length
2"RedOakDowelRod
Type316StainlessSteelCupPointSetScrew,1/4"20Thread,1
1/2"Long
303StainlessSteelRatchet,16Pitch,11/2"OD
HighStrength1144MediumCarbonSteelRod,11/4"Diameter
Type316StainlessSteelCupPointSetScrew,440Thread,1/4"
Long
LowProfileButtonHeadTorxMachineScrew,188Stainless
Steel,632Thread,3/4"Length
ZincPlatedGrade2SteelNylonInsertHexLocknut,632Thread
Size,5/16"Width,11/64"Height
BlackDelrinAcetalResinRod,5/8"Diameter
3/8"ThickStainlessSteelPawl
BlackDelrinAcetalResinRod,5/8"Diameter
Type316StainlessSteelShoulderScrew,1/2"Diameterx3/4"
LongShoulder,3/8"16Thread
AlloySteelButtonHeadSocketCapScrew,BlackOxide,5/16"24
Thread,2"Long
PlainGrade8SteelHexNut,5/16"24ThreadSize,1/2"Width,
17/64"Height
LowCarbonSteelHexBar,1/2"HexSize
Multipurpose6061Aluminum,1/2"Thick,2"Width,1'Length
188StainlessSteelClevisPin,5/16"Diameter,31/2"Length,3
1/4"UsableLength
BlackDelrinAcetalResinRod,5/8"Diameter
BrassGeneralPurposeACMECylinderNut,RightHand,3/8"12
ACMESize
ASTMA193GradeB7ACMEThreadedRod,AlloySteel,RightHand,
3/8"12ACMESize,3'L
OnePieceClamponShaftCollarfor3/8"Diameter,Nylon
PinandBlockUJoint,UnboredEnds,Steel,SingleJoint,3/8"
ShaftDiameter
188StainlessSteelSlottedSpringPin,1/16"Diameter,1/2"
Length

$
$1,347.87

Appendix C Supporting Analysis

Energy Required to Shoot 3Pointer
Given: Fromexperimentation,weknowthetimetogettothebasketisapproximately1.5
seconds.Theheightofthelauncherwillbe4feet,andthebasketheightis10feet,andthe
distancetothebasketis20feet.Theballweighs22oz.

Find: Initialspeedofball,energyrequired

Analysis:
Kinematics

1.5
20
32.2 / ^2
22 / 16 /

1.375

/
1.375 / 32.2 / ^2
0.0427

:

_
_
_
_

/
20 /1.5
13.3 /

10 4

6

1/2 ^2 _
6 16 / ^2 1.5 ^2
_
28 /

1.5 _

Magnitude:
_ ^2 _ ^2 ^1/2
13.3 / ^2 28 / ^2 ^1/2
. /

Energy:

/
1.375 / 32.2 / ^2
0.0427

1/2 ^2
1/2 0.0427
31.0 / ^2

.

67

Total Potential Energy Required (+ Carriage)

Inordertogetourballuptospeedwewillneedtoputenergyintonotonlytheball,butthe
carriageaswell.

Find:Energyneededtogetballandcarriageuptospeed

Analysis:

Energy:
1.375/32.2

32.2

31

14
sin 60
12

32.2

1
2

1
2
1
1

2 32.2

31

1 1.375

32.2
2

31

1.375
32.2

32.2 /

14
12

sin 60

ResidualEnergyinCarriage:
Attheveryfirstmomentofimpacttheballwillnolongerbepartofthesystem,butthecarriage
willstillhaveresidualenergythatwillbedispersedthroughourrubberstoppers.

2

1
1

31

2 32.2


.

68

Impact Loading of Frame, Lead Screws, and Base Hinge

Given: RubberisPolyurethane,40A
YoungsModulus=E=1.5MPa,orE=217.6psi

Usingthistoobtainanestimateforthestiffness,k:

/

/
/

DimensionsofRubberStopper:
0.5 ,
1.25 ,

4

216 / ^2

/4 1.25^2 0.5^2 /3

/
74.8 /

. /

Usethiskvaluetofindtheexpecteddeflectionoftherubberduetotheimpactofthecarriage.
Thecarriagesresidualenergywascalculatedearlier.Thisenergywillbeassumedtobe
distributedequallybetweenthetworubberstoppers.

14.2
170

2 ^2

/ ^ 1/2

170
/74.8 / ^ 1/2

1.51

2 74.8 / 1.51

69

Finding Reactions due to Impact Force

Given:

Figure48.FBDoftheframeatimpact,withrelevantdimensions.
226
Geometry:

60

0.5

60

70

2
60

0.75 2.165

1 2.6

0.5

60

SumoftheMomentsaboutPointo:

0.75

2.165 226
1 2.6
:

97.85

60
0

2.6

226

60

SumoftheForcesintheXdirection:
226

60

37.6

SumoftheForcesintheYdirection:
226

60

Friction Between Pull Pin and Carriage

The force to activate the launch is dependent upon the friction between the pull pin and the
carriage.

Where isthefrictioncoefficientbetweenthepullpinandthebrackethole,andNisthe
normalforce,whichisthesameasthestaticloadingrightbeforelaunch.
is0.16betweensteelandbronzewhenlubricated,accordingtoEngineeringToolbox.
65

0.16 65
10.4

71

Latex Tubing Energy Storage and Size Selection

Threelatextubingsampleswereprocuredandtheirdimensionsareasfollows:
Small:

3/8OD,1/8ID

Medium:

9/16OD,1/8ID

Large:

5/8OD,1/8ID

Foreach,oneendwasclampedtoastaticsurfaceandacertainamountofforcewasappliedto
theotherend,stretchingthebands.Theresultsofthetestsareshownbelow:

Table 5. Testing the elastic.

Small
Medium
Large
Force(lb) Length(in) Force(lb) Length(in) Force(lb) Length(in)
0
5.7
0
6.9
0
6.4
5.125
7.3
5
7.7
4.9375
6.8
6.875
9.2
10
8.6
9.9375
7.4
9.9375
10.7
14.875
10.1
14.8125
8.3
11.875
13.9
19.9375
11.7
19.125
9.6
14.6875
15.9
24.9375
14.2
25
10.6
15.1875
17.8

17.5625
21.8

Theseresultswereplottedbelowtodeterminetheenergycurve.Thecurvecanbefound
below.

72

Figure 49. Testing the elastic available to use for launch.

11.95

29.158

130.21

11.95
3

28.392

29.158
3

57.478

130.21
3

113.95
36.3

28.392
2

425.6

Assumingfourelasticbandsrequired:
,

425.6
4

106.4

AfterplugginginandsolvingforLforeachbandwegetthefollowing:
13.168
12.058
10.305
73

57.478
2
113.95
2

Pluggingeachlengthvalueintothecurvefitforeachband,wecanfindtheforcerequiredto
stretchoneband.Multiplyingbythenumberofbandsgivesthetotalstaticforcerequired.
16.07

24.72
24.24

.
4

98.88
96.95 f

Thebestchoicehereisthesmallbandbecauseitcanprovidetheenergyrequiredinthespace
wehaveandrequiresthelowestamountofforce.

74

Static Analysis of Winch Shaft

Weneededtocheckthestrengthofourwinchshafttomakesureitdoesntdeflectunderour
expectedmaximumloadof65lbf.Ashearmomentdiagramoftheshaftisshownbelow:

Figure 50. Shear and moment diagram of winch shaft.

65

4
4
3
90000
2

4 32.5
3

130
3
65
2

130
3

Solvingforr:
0.140 ,

0.28

Asaresult,wehavechosenawinchshaftwitha1/2"diameter.Thefactorsafetyisasfollows:
0.5
0.28

75

Press Fit Calculations

SamplecalculationforACMECylinderNuttoHole

Given: (mediumdrivefituseH7/S6fromShigley)

0.75

Analysis:


: 7, 0.75 .
:
0.0008 .
0.7508 .
0.7500 .


: 6, 0.75 .
:
0.0005 .

0.75 .
, 0.0014

0.7514

0.7519
: .
: .

76

.
.

.
.

Guide Rod Buckling

Assumeguiderodssupportentiretyofstaticload.Therefore,eachrodmustsupport32.5
poundsforce.
30 10
0.5 ,
4

0.25

0.25

0.003068

24
Becausetheguiderodisattachedintwoplacesoneachbaroftheframe,treatitasafixed
fixedbeam.

Figure 51. Effective length for a fixed-fixed beam. Image from Beers Mechanics of Materials, 6th Ed.

12

Theforcerequiredtobuckleaguiderodintheworstcasescenariois:

30 10
0.003068
12

6308

32.5

77

Appendix D Gantt Chart

TheGanttChartonthefollowingpageshowsourteamsexpectedtimelinefortheentiretyof
ourproject.ItwaslastupdatedinFebruary.Whilealltaskswerecompletedontime,wedid
notcompletethetasksintheorderlistedontheGanttChart.

Boldedtasksarelargetasksandareshownonthechartasgraybars.Eachofthelargetasks
arebrokenupintomultiplesmallertasks,whichareshownonthechartasbrightbluebars.
Ourteamsmajorduedatesareshownasbrightbluediamonds.Ifonetaskmustbefinishedin
orderforanothertobegin,thisisshownonthechartviaanarrowdrawnbetweenthetwo
tasks.

78


79

Appendix E Drawing Packets

Thefollowingpagescontainpartdrawingsofallpartsthatourteammusteitheralteror
manufacturefromscratch.Theinformationinthesedrawingsaremeanttoprovideenough
detailthatanoutsidercanbuildourbasketballshooterwithnoexternalinformation.
Additionally,assemblydrawingsaregiventoshowhowallparts,bothmanufacturedand
purchasedofftheshelf,areassembledtogivethefinishedproduct.

80