In this project, my group elected to create a projectile launcher that can launch a ball at least 15 feet, with an adjustable axis. Our original idea was to push the ball through a channel into two wheels, which would launch the ball out using motors and a gear ratio. After we constructed this, we found that the motor, even with the gear ratio we had constructed, was not nearly strong enough to propel the ball 15 feet. However, this wasn't all bad, as we still had a viable mechanism for adjusting the axis. Our next idea was to create a ballista to launch the ball.
Our initial idea, while it did fail, provided us with some insight about how friction and weight would affect our design. By the time we had created the first design, our machine weighed too much, and was inefficient in many other ways. The redesign provided us with information about what would work better in our restructure. Compared to other machines, ours launched the ball the farthest, but it wasn't as accurate as other groups launchers. To further improve upon our design, we could rework the rubber band system and attach some parts in a more sensical manner.
Below is our groups engineering notebook, including thinking and calculations. Also below is an image of our movie, as well as an overview video.