Fling Machine

Statistics and Results

Nicolas Antoshak & James Graham

Problem
Design a device that
would launch a ping
pong ball 9-11’ ten
times in a row.
Constraints
SELF-IMPOSED:

● The device should be made out of household objects.

● The device should do ALL of the launching work.
Idea #1: Crossbow
Crossbow
Pros:

● Easy to set up and operate.

● Nothing is left up to human
guesswork.
● Ball always sits in one spot.

Cons:

● More complex than other designs.

● The angle is a huge factor in distance
traveled by the projectile.
Idea #2: Catapult
Catapult
Pros:

● Simple concept, can draw from many different ideas online.

● Several different methods for making the launching
mechanism.

Cons:

● More unpredictable than a crossbow.

● Distance traveled is fairly dependent on where the ball sits in
the catapult, which is hard to account for during a timed test.
Final Design:
Crossbow
 Within 9- Decimal Within 9- Decimal

Pretesting Trial

1
11"?

Yes
Feet

9.50
Trial

11
11"?

Yes
Feet

9.92

2 Yes 9.75 12 Yes 9.42

3 Yes 9.83 13 Yes 10.00

● Overall, the device
4 Yes 10.17 14 Yes 9.83
performed admirably.
5 Yes 9.83 15 Yes 9.50
● Trial #16 didn’t succeed
since the paper holder 6 Yes 9.92 16 No 11.17

broke. 7 Yes 9.33 17 Yes 9.00

● Repaired for Trial #17 8 Yes 9.42 18 Yes 10.08

● Readjusted for Trial #18 9 Yes 9.17 19 Yes 9.92

10 Yes 9.58 20 Yes 10.00

Test Day
● Stayed within 9-11’ on all 10 trials
● Four consecutive trials hit 10’ 1”
● Median and Mode were identical
Comparison to Other Tested Devices

● Most accurate out of all devices tested.

● Second most precise device.
● Clearest Mode out of all devices.
Major Takeaways
● Multiple minds are always better than one.
● Having multiple different concepts is important.
● The testing phase extremely important.
Conclusion
Our design is the best out of the ones tested due to its:

● Accuracy
● Versatility
● Potential