Intro Slide (1)

Hi, I’m Jamie Graham

And I’m Nick Antoshak
This is our fling machine

The Fling Machine Design Challenge is an excellent exercise in using the Design Process. All
sections of the Process are crucial to the success of anyone doing this project, and as we begin
the final step, Presenting our Solution, we’ll go back and see how we accomplished the task at
hand.

Problem Statement (2-3):

The problem requires that a device be designed to shoot a ping pong ball 10 feet, plus or minus
12 inches both ways. A deceivingly simple task, much thought, research, and trial and error
went into this project. Since the test requires ten consecutive trials, we quickly determined that
the most important aspect of our device would have to be consistency, which actually leads into
our first constraint.

Constraints (4):
Now, all projects have constraints attached to them. For example, newly designed cars must
meet certain fuel efficiency criteria in order to be marketable to the general public. For our fling
machine, there were no official constraints, but we decided to impose our own anyway. Our first
constraint was that the device must do ALL of the launching. This meant that all that was
required of us was to either pull something back to a clothespin, hook, or clip, OR hold
something in a designated spot, and then let the device do the rest of the work. This would
ensure consistency with each trial, and minimized the amount of human error that could go into
each trial. Our second self-imposed constraint was that the device should be made out of
household materials. After some initial research, we figured that in order to simplify the project
AND save on costs, the device should be able to be made with simple materials like popsicle
sticks, hot glue, etc. that could be found around the house.

Idea #1 - Crossbow (5-6):

The first concept we came up with was a crossbow. (Go through points one by one)

Idea #2 - Catapult (7-8):

The second concept we came up with was a catapult. (Go through points one by one)

Final Design - Crossbow (9):

After weighing the pros and cons of each design, we eventually came to the conclusion that the
crossbow was the best option for the fling machine, and chose to develop this idea further. The
initial prototype we made was small and weak, and it was immediately apparent that it was
never going to reach the 10 ft requirement despite our best efforts. Therefore, we promptly
began to build a bigger, more powerful crossbow, and this is where we truly found success.

Pre-Testing (10):
Overall, the device performed admirably.
All but one trial hit within the 9-11’ range
The only trial that didn’t succeed, #16, was due to the paper holder for the ping pong ball
actually breaking off of the rubber band. Testing was then immediately stopped, and repairs
were quickly made using a stronger adhesive.
The next trial, #17, was the first test with the newly repaired holder, and nearly fell short of the
9-11’ range. The knots on the rubber band were then adjusted, and the device hit extremely
close or right on 10’ for the last three trials.

Test Day (11):

On the test day, the device started out a little shaky, nearly overshooting the designated range.
However, this merely proved to be a fluke, and the device then hit well within 9-11’ on the next 9
attempts. In fact, it hit the exact same distance four trials in a row, and this resulted in our
device having an identical median and mode as shown in the table.

Comparison to other tested devices (12):

Out of the 6 devices tested, ours was the most accurate out of them all, possessing the smallest
magnitude of standard error at 0.29 inches. Additionally, it was the second most precise device
tested, possessing a standard deviation of 0.35 inches. Furthermore, it has the clearest mode
out of all of the devices tested, and was the ONLY device tested to have an identical median
and mode.

Major Takeaways (13):

Multiple minds: Allows people to bounce ideas off of each other, engage in discussion that leads
to new ideas that wouldn’t have been thought of by either person by themselves.

Concepts: Coming up with multiple concepts is very important in the development of an effective
solution, but some of these concepts must also be completely different from one another as
well. These wild, often infeasible ideas can contain aspects that will bolster the effectiveness of
a more tangible concept, or can even be taken and scaled down or adjusted so that it becomes
a credible possibility.

Testing: This phase allows the design team to discover the strengths, weaknesses, and flaws of
their design, which was especially true for our team. As shown previously, we discovered that
the adhesive holding the paper on our rubber band wasn’t strong enough to withstand the
multitude of trials required. The issue was quickly fixed by applying another adhesive over top of
the weaker one, and the rest of the testing phase went smoothly.
Conclusion (14):
Accuracy: As stated before, our device was the most accurate out of any device tested, which is
crucial designing machines with specific tolerances.
Versatile: The adjustability of the rubber bands on the sides of the device allow for it to be easily
modified for longer or shorter distances. For example, if the distance required was increased
from 10 feet to 15 feet, the addition of a knot on each side of the rubber band can get it there
quickly and effectively.
Potential: Has to the potential to be accurate at even greater distances. It isn’t maxed out at 10
feet, and with a few adjustments in the knots of the rubber band and the angle of launch, it can
reach new distances just as accurately and precisely.