eng applacations

Pinball Project brief

In this project we will be making a pinball machine. We will be using wall power in the pinball machine. We will be working in groups but will have separate jobs up until the final. This project will show our mastery over STEAM.

LCD working

This is our LCD screen we are able to display text on the LCD. We will be using the our LCD to display score later.

IMG_3239.MOV

LCD button

Our LCD is now changing text with a button press. We will use this to control the amount of balls left and score.

Pinball research

Today we went to a pinball arcade. Our goal was to learn more about pinball machines, The components, the insides, and what code makes them work.

all pinball machines have

bumpers(m)
flippers(m)
ball slides
scoreboards
ball guide with shorter(m)
start button(m)
ball guides
launcher(m)
on off switch
coin slots(we wont use)
flashing lights
sound effects
theme
graphics
information about machine
different ways to sore and different score values

bumpers

The bumpers are what push the ball around when you hit them. They are often near the top of the machine and located in clusters. They often give points when hit.

flippers

The flippers move up and down in around a 90 degree angle. They are controlled by buttons that also move. The flippers are moved by a angle servo to control how far and fast they move. The flipper themselves move the servo moves and the button moves when it is pressed.

launcher

The launcher puts the ball in to play. The launcher uses a spring as its main mechanic. In our pinball machine we will be using a manual launcher as that allows the user to control the ball more.

ball guides with shooter

The ball guides with shooters are placed near the bottom. They change the trajectory of the ball when hit. This creates different oputunites of gaining points and losing.

start button

The start button does move by using the start button is what allows the machine to "start". The start button allows the machine to load a Ball in the shooter and for the player to score points

buttler.jaylor gameplay.MOV

The lighting display

The lights would change and react when scoring or losing a ball. IN more complicated machines the lights would change when you would get a ball drop or hit a enemy.

points

Points would increase when hitting bumpers or when beating bosses. Points would also increase when entering a slide or a different lane. On our machine they were multipliers as well that could be earned through different series of events.

patterson.felix gameplay.MOV

Gameplay

this is a video of my partner playing the pinball machine.

patterson.felix ball trap/boss fight screen.MOV

unique mechanic

This is a ball drop which is unique to our machine. When hit the ball would drop down and activate a boss fight on the screen.

IMG_3466.MOV

LCD mount

This is a prototype holder for our LCD screen. We will later be using the same cutting file in the CNC machine.

Solenoid epoxied

I 3d printed 1 half of our solenoid. They will be used to control the bumpers and other game play mechanics. We used epoxy because they will need to be able to withstand high heat.

Pinball Prototype Assembled

Our prototype for our pinball machine is assembled. We have installed a power supply ,a switch and our scoreboard. We will later be wiring the power supply up as well as adding the more "pinball features".

Switch Mount Installed

This is our switch to control the power. The switch has been mounted with our laser cut wood piece, then we put a outlet cover over it.

Scoreboard Mount Installed

This is our score board that is used to mount the scoreboard. The laser cut wood piece is held to the score board with nuts and bolts while the wood is screwed on.

Arduino mount

This is a mount for the scoreboard that i made in on shape. It has 4 holes for nuts and bolts from the screws, it will be screwed onto the main body.

IMG_3710.MOV

Power source Installed

We striped a wall power cord and attached it to our power supply and switch. This will power all the electronics in our pinball machine. The switch controls the on or off for the power supply and therefor the entire machine.

Brief for targets

To make a target for a pinball machine that meets the requirements met above.

research for targets

When looking at pinball machine targets there look to be two types, a drop down and stationary. I will be making a stationary target they function by having a paddle that gets hit by the ball this paddle is on a lever that the presses a switch. Some ditch the switch and just have two wires connected to metal tape that then touches saving space. I would like to do this however i believe my first iterations should start out with just the button. The target moves along a bar that is attached to the paddle this bar is free to move around. When hit the target area of the paddle moves back while the lower part of the paddle moves forward pressing a switch sending a signal.

idea development

In my idea development I had a idea about how I wanted the pivot to work. I did have to end up changing the measurements and other things but overall the design is the same.

prototype 1

In this prototype i used cardboard and my measurements are off. I learned what to use for measurements in this iteration. It function well to help me envision what i wanted more.

prototype 2

In this prototype i was able to get the measurements right and was able to put the paperclip through the holes to act as the fulcrum. I also knew that i needed to add a way to secure the switch after this prototype.

IMG_3826.MOV

prototype 3

In this prototype i added two holes on the side to hold the switch in place as well as printed out of wood. This prototype works well, I do need a way to mount it to the machine and a way to make it easier to wire.

Mounting prototype 1

I made L brackets in on shape. i ended up not printing them due to time constraints and due to my lack of Knowledge with 3d printing.

Mounting prototype 2

I realized i had a area in which i could put a mounting screw. However i needed to make a piece for the screw to fit in securely. In this part i printed to large due to having a 2:1 scale on accident.

Mounting Prototype 3

I have the paddle taken out in this one but i glued two paddles together and made a correct sized piece for the screw holder. After this the base stayed the same but my paddle was too short to fit though the mock piece of wood.

Final un wired

I have my final done and mounted. The paddle is able to hit the switch and all parts function and meet the constraints. I was unable to wire it to my Arduino in time however i have wires sorter on, so it is ready to be wired.

prototype 8

The paddle I had to change from the start I originally moved the holes down only. After realizing I wanted more length I added that and used it in the final.

prototype 9-15 or 9

These are al the variations of the side walls. The most changes were to the holes locations. I did make a change to size once but after I continued to change the location of the holes. after the wood one was cut I measured with two wood pieces for where the screw hole should be and cut 1 more piece. This piece is used in the mount but I ended up needing to used wood to get better measurements.

prototype 10 &11

This is the screw mount i had to make it smaller after doing that once I then wanted it smaller to allow more space for the target paddle.

prototype 12-14

The only change to the switch mount was changing the size and spacing of the holes.

prototype 15

I printed two target pieces to glue together and while fitting the wire through it broke. I ended up making the holes slightly closer to the center as well as changing up how I glued them together. I did add the extra length to these pieces and they fit better.

prototype 16

This is the mount finished. The mount is a lot smaller and harder to work with, however the size works better and fits the target well.

P 17

In this prototype i began to add the finger joints for the back plate.

p 18

I next began to add the finger joints for the screw hole.

p 19

I had to redo my piviot mechansim due to not meting the requirements. I changed the wire to a screw.

p 20

I then added a front bar to help hold it all together. I also added a screw in the middel of the design to help make the padle stand stright up.

p 21

I then added a second screw into the bottom hole to help move the paddle closeer to the switch and make it easier to touch.

Mounted Target

This is my final mounted target. I'm very happy with what I ended up with and it meets all the constraints present.

1st prototype

This is a rough cutout prototype that was more of a proff of concept.

2nd prototype

This was meant to be a improvment on the dowels weakness however the spring woundlt fit comfortably around the peices and i didnt want to go smaller with the peices.

3rd prototype

I weant back to the dowels but got the sizing wrong.

4th prototype

In this protoype i got the sizing of the dowels corect but i realized i was wasting alot of space using a circle.

5th prototype

In this prototype I built a track to help with launching and changed the circle to a square to help with wasted space.

6th diagonal prototype

I had most of the measurements done by this point but I still had 1 slight problem there was a lot of wiggle room in the front piece of the paddle when the dowels are in line horizontality. To mend this I had them lined up diagonally , the holes have about a 1 ince distance between each other horizontally making enough space for a 3/4 inch ball. The paddle is alot more stable now and has less wiggle room.

side by side.

These are my two final products im happy with how they came out and they both work pretty similar but slightly different. The one with horizontaly alligned dowels has more wiggle room and play in where it can move sided to side and verticaly, however it is extremly smoth and semeless. The digonal one is more sturdy and has little to no wiggle room but can be a little more clunky. They both luach the ball the same disstance and both launch it consitanly. The fix for the horiontal one is to allow less wiggle room but i still feel it is less stable than the digonal one.

IMG_5216.MOV

Neo pixel

I have coded a neo pixel strip to turn on with a button press. I am able to change each pixels color indidualy as well.

Neo pixel Holder

I created a cad filed that is able to hold my neo pixel strip in place.

Flipper research

Pinball machine flippers work by having rod attached to a solenoid. The bar in the solenoid is attached to a lever with a rod down the bar. The bar inside the lever is attached to the flipper the bar attached to the flipper and lever will not be free spinning.

https://pinballcastle.com/how-do-pinball-flippers-work/

Flipper research 2

You would need a solenoid a button ,a lever, and a bar. Flipper solenoid are special and use two different coils. 1 coil is a high power coil used for power, while the other I used to hold the flipper in the starting position. The button sends power to the high power coil Turing off the low power holding coil. This fires the solenoid which has a bar attached to a lever attached to a flipper above the pinball machine.

https://homepinballrepair.com/how-pinball-flippers-work/

Flipper research 3

2 solenoids are needed, One a hold coil and the other a powerful power coil. These are the base electronic of the flipper. The mechanics are the same across most machines. We cant do two different types of solenoids how ever we can have the solenoid start in the held position.

Flipper drawing

This is a early drawing of the flipper. I would need a solenoid,1 cydrical bar, a flipper piece, and a lever piece.

1st prototype

In this i started to deesign around a circuar drive shaft bu ended up scratching the idea due to sliping.

2nd prototype

In this i designed around a square drive shaft but it ended up breaking after being pushed by the solenoid due to stregnth.

3rd prtotype

In this one i doubled up on the pecies as well as making it all the same size

4th protype

In this one im using a ruberband to pull the fliper back into place but in my final i will use a spring to pull it back.

IMG_5336.MOV

Final product

ips-452E2ACC-5239-4BA8-BC66-646EFE9BF5BA.mov

filtered-3B1C36E3-EEF1-4426-822C-BC24A72B842E.MP4

flipper

The flippers aren't the same as my original design. I printed out all the pieces for the flippers and dropped the parts that go around the underside of the flippers. I was unable to use the laser cutter and due to time constraints just used the printed out paddles.

Neo Pixel

The neo pixels were a different type of battle. After researching about neo pixels on Arduino I discovered a problem. If you use the delay command in Arduino it pauses the entire code, It makes it so that anything done in that time period isn't register. Mr.Ayers then created a library for Arduino to blink/flash neopixels without the use of delay.

Bummper

My partner made the design of the bumper on his own so I personally don't now much about it. How it works is the metal ball comes in contact with two sheets of copper, one on top and one on the bottom acting like a switch. This then triggers the solenoid to fire and push the ball out.

Target

The target works as a paddle that sticks up from the board. This paddle presses a button to increase the score, and activate the corresponding neopixel. The mounting mechanism is a screw on the top and wood glue.

Launcher

THe launcher is a siple design, It is two springs behing the front plate that hits the ball. Then there are two springs on the other side of the pinball machine to help keep it in place.

Struggles

Towards the end I encounter 1 problem, everything would work with the power supply off but turning the power supply on and using the solenoids would cause the Arduino to soft lock and reset it self. After talkin to Mr.Ayers he told me that the Arduino might be losing power when the solenoids fire. To fix this I added capacitors and that helped slightly. Then I added another wire that powers the bread board with wall power. This fixed the power drooping issue, however another issue presented itself in the way of electro magnetic fields. Solenoids are wires wrapped around a tube putting electricity though the wires created a EM and pulls the object through the solenoid. These EMF travels through the wires and disrupts all the other wires. I posted on the Arduino forms to hopefully find a fix for the issue. I was told about putting diode between the solenoid wires. This fixed the issue immediately.

Wrap up

How has this project compared to other projects that you have undertaken (in life/in school).

I feel as if this project was like my child. I spent the whole year working on it and i spent personal time on it. Normal school projects are 3 weeks max and really only need class time to finish. This project was a massive undertaking compared to other school projects.

How did it feel to complete this project.

Completing this project was a blissful feeling. I felt so relived when I completed it, The gratification you receive for finishing something that you spent so much time on is amazing.

What are you most proud of about your project?

The rush to finish and being able to finish. Towards the end of the project I encountered many problems that I didn't think about. The EMF and the power drop of the Arduino. I'm proud that i was able to finish it even encountering these issues towards the end.

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