Engineering ApplicationS

BUmpers

These are the caps for the 3 bumpers, each cap is a different color to represent a different variation of an shell item in Mario. To construct these caps I first laser cut a circular piece of wood with two holes that are the same size as the top of the screws to make a press fit. I then painted it then proceeded to 3D print all three shown shells and then painted them. I used super glue to attach two of the shells to the circular piece of wood and I screwed a nail into the other one from the bottom. I finally put glue in the press fit hole to permanently attach the bumper camps to the bumper model.

To construct my bumper I first designed a cone with two holes on Onshape then 3D printed it out. After I inserted two factory screws inside those two holes, I layed copper tape around the cone, and copper tape over the provided precut holes in my board for the screws. Then I soldered wires to the copper tape on the cone and on the board.

After I disassembled my solenoid by taking the snap ring off, I put a circular piece at the bottom of my solenoid with an opening for the solenoid and two holes for factory screws to go through. I laser out a mount off off of Glow Forge that was digitally fabricated on on shape. Then I screwed the reassembled solenoid into the mount and drilled the munt into the bottom of my board with wood screws. Finally I installed my bumper by sliding the factory screws through precut holes in my board and through the circular wood piece at the bottom of my solenoid and finally screwed nuts on the end.

Launcher

These are the paddles that are in the frame of the target holder and are in front of a limit switch. Here are all three paddles with desing incorp

Final Installed Wooden Target

This is my final installed target with a score that goes up when the limit switch is activated with integrated paddles. It is a seamless compact design that utilizes finger joints and minimizes space.

Target Wood Prototype 2 Side View

Target Wood Prototype 2 Top View

This is the second version of my target made with plywood and has premade holes for screws and finger joints. This version has a bottom connected with finger joints and I've pushed the premade wholes closer to the edge for a better fit.

Target Cardboard Prototype Side View

Target Cardboard Prototype Top View

This is the first prototype of my target constructed out of cardboard with premade holes for screws and finger joints. It does not have a bottom and the premade wholes are too far from the edge.

Pinball launcher

Pinball LanCher Brief

This brief explains the needed requirements for our pinball laucnhers.

Pinball museum Launcher

This resource presents a possible design for a pinball launcher that is both simple and uses easily accessible tools. The design allows for plenty of personal aesthetic customization. I appreciate its basic structure which included a metal rod and a spring on the inside.

Launcher Sketch

This sketch is a strong option for a prototype pinball machine. It utilizes consistent alignment, but the design can also serve as inspiration for building a version with more durable materials.

Prototype Launcher 1

For this first design, we used a metal screw with a smooth and rough side. We used a long spring on the inside and a short one on the outside. We also used a spherical ball as the handle for a comfortable grip and laser-cut a wooden hitter on the end. And finally, to make the knob secure we screwed a nut onto the end and added washers for impact.

Prototype Launcher 2

For the second iteration, we kept most of the same features but made slight variations by implementing our game design into the launcher. We did this by painting the hitter and knob. We also glued the nut inside of the handle to be able to screw it on and make it more secure.

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Launcher testing

This is a video showing our design being implemented into the test pinball machine. The launcher is able to effortlessly and consistently shoot the pinball to the top of the machine.

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Final Working Launcher

For our final launcher, we used the base aspects of our previous launcher. Some additions we made were engraving a coin onto the wooden hitter from Glow Forge and spray painting it gold. Another addition was a 3D-printed knob to fit our theme. Finally, we removed the short spring on the outside to increase power.

Additional Pictures

Pinball Flippers

PinbalL Flipper brief

This brief explains the needed requirements for our pinball flippers.

IMG_7219.MOV

Pinball museum FLipper

This resource shows how the functionality of a pinball flipper works. It is able to consistently and effectively hit the pinball to with a enough force to push it back into the game board.

Onshape flipper design

This is the brief for the flipper requirements. I followed these measurements on Onshape to laser cut out 12 wood pieces from Glow Forge to construct two flippers.

Onshape Base design

The solenoids will be secured into a wooden base with factory screws and that base will be screwed into the game board form underneath. The wooden base is constructed and held together by wood glue and finger joints.

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Solenoid wiring

This video includes the wiring of the solenoids used to move the flipper. Each solenoid is wired to a corresponding button on the same side. When installed the solenoid will hit a piece of wood connected to a shaft going through the board in order to rotate the flipper.

IMG_9044.mov

Final Working Flipper

To create our final flipper we uninstalled both of the base flippers to implement our theme into this component. We did this by spray painting the right flipper green and the left flipper red to match its corresponding button. After we cut out the Mario and Luigi logo with the laser cutter, spray painted it white, and then glued it onto the flipper. Finally, we reinstalled both flippers to get two working flippers controlled by solenoids and activated by buttons that can consistently hit the pinball to the top shown in this video.

Final semester pinball presentation

IMG_6811.mov

IMG_9042.MOV

Problem 1

The first problem we encountered during designing our flipper was power. We originally used two springs, 1 smaller spring on the outside to cushion the handle then a long spring on the inside. This would not create enough power due to too much resistance.

Solution

The solution to this problem was removing the spring next to the handle and using a washer on the outside. Then on the inside, we added d another spring to increase the force.

Problem 2

The second problem we faced was the end piece of our launcher that hit the ball falling off after multiple uses. We attached the wooden hitter with wood glue to the top of a screw but it would not properly hold the wood to metal.

Solution

To solve this problem, we used a superglue that works with both materials. Then to reinforce that we glued wooden pieces above and below the top of the screw to secure the hitter.

Problem 3

The final problem we dealt with was our handle coming off. We attached the wooden hitter with wood glue to the bottom of the screw. But this would not support multiple uses of pulling.

Solution

To change this we drilled the inside of our handle and with super glue, glued 4 nuts that went to the screw's rough part. Then we screwed the screw into the nuts to make a strong consistent handle.

Summary of Process:

We addressed three key flipper issues: increasing power by modifying the spring setup, reinforcing the launcher hitter with superglue and wooden supports, and securing the handle by adding glued nuts for durability. These changes greatly improved performance.

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