PHASE 1 DESIGN PROJECT

 

EGR 3380

Spring 2001

 

 


GOLF BALL COLLECTOR

 

Phase 1 design teams shall design, construct, and test a device that will move golf balls from the tabletop into a box according to the specifications below. The device shall be powered by the potential energy of a raised mass.

 

 

  1. BOX: The box is rectangular, has an open top, is made of 1/4 in plywood, and has outside dimensions of 12 5/8 in long x 6 3/8 in wide x 6 ¼ in high.
  2. GOLF BALLS: The golf balls shall be (and remain) unmodified standard golf balls.
  3. ENERGY SOURCE: The energy used to move the golf balls must come solely from a ½ lb weight moving through a vertical distance less than or equal
    to 12 ½ in.
  4. SETUP: Before operation, the device shall be assembled and all the golf balls placed in their initial positions. The device and all the golf balls shall be at rest at the time of initiation.
  5. INITIATION and AUTONOMY: The mass shall be released by cutting a sewing thread with scissors. After the device is initiated by cutting the thread, no other human interaction is allowed until the device has completed its operation.
  6. OPERATION: Under the power of the falling mass, the device shall move as many golf balls as possible, from their initial positions on the tabletop, into the box. The initial position of the golf balls is defined as being anywhere outside the box and less than or equal to ¼ in from the surface of the table upon which the box rests. A ball is inside the box if it lies entirely beneath the plane of the top edge of the box.
  7. RESET: The device shall be capable of operating multiple times with a time period between operations of less than or equal to one minute. (Provision must be made in the design for quick replacement of the thread cut during initiation.)
  8. PERFORMANCE TARGET: The device shall deliver 12 or more golf balls into the box.