Engineering Applications

Pinball project brief

Pinball!

This year we are being challenged to make a pinball machine for our culminating project for our Engineering Pathway.

REquirements!

Above is the requirements list for our project!

Steam1

This project will use all disciplines of STEAM!

stoplight start

To start we used the Raspberry Pico motherboard to make a working stoplight with Python.

Final stoplight

We wired our leds through the breakout board which we put our pico into so that we could have more space for wires.

Led Chaser pattern

We used our prior knowledge from coding the stoplight to make a chaser pattern around the whole breakout board. And this is the code for it --->

Start button

The start button is used to start the machine and your turn and also turn some of the lights on while also giving you your first ball. It uses many mechanical components to work and start the machine such as switches that turn on to give certain parts power.

Launcher

The launcher is a main component used to launch the first ball into play. In order to use it you have a spring on a rod that you pull back to compress the spring and once you release it the potential energy is released and launches the ball up the ramp and into the top of the field of play.

IMG_1456.MOV

Target

The target is a main componet that when hit by a ball it flips down by using a motor and it causes the score to go up and when you get all of them the score goes up. It moves with a motor that retracts it when a sensor on the target is hit and then it goes back up either when all of the targets have been hit or when the game is over.

Bumper

The bumper is a common component in all pinball machines that moves when the ball hits the bottom and top of the bumper metal pieces it completes the circuit causing the solenoid to pull the top part down causing the ball to be pinched away extremely fast.

Wiring best practices

We were introduced to some best practices such as using certian colors for each function

Pt 2

We also learned that you should label where each wire is going and where it is coming from n case a connection comes lose

9/13/23 Onshape drawing in Engineering

Rectangles

We used corner rectangles, center point rectangles and dimension tools.

Rectangles and Circles

We used corner rectangles, center point circles and the dimension tools.

Robot sides

We used the linear pattern tool, corner rectangle an center point rectangle.

Stairs

We used the linear pattern tool, the corner rectangles and center point rectangles, and the extrude tool.

LCD with two buttons

We used our prior knowledge from making one button work to program our lcd to react to the buttons changing the ball count and the score.

Drawing practce Engeneering 9/27/23

Pyramid

For this we used the linear pattern tool, the corner rectangles and center point rectangles, and the extrude tool.

Doughnut

We used the center point circle and the revolve tool.

Disc

We used the line tool to make a triangle and then revolved it to make a disc.

Target

We made a target by using the linear pattern tool, corner rectangle tool, and the extrude tool.

Thing with holes

For this I used the rectangle, line, filet, center point circle, and rim tools.

Horse shoe

For this I used the center point circle, trim, extrude, and corner rectangle tools.

FLipper

What is the function of a flipper?

Describe in your own words, once your flipper is installed, how you will consider it to be successful.

I will consider my flipper to be successful if it is very durable and works exactly every single time the button is hit causing the flipper on the side to hit the ball also it will have to look good and fit well into the game board.

As of this year, one of the expectations of your engineering knowledge is that you can develop your own set of constraints. Use the target constraints as a guide. Develop a comprehensive list of project constraints for your flipper (10-20 requirements).

Able to withstand thousands of whacks
Ball does not go over or get stuck on flippers
Make connections with wood glue and joints when necessary
When the button is hit it will make the flipper move
All wires are either soldered or crimped
Wires are color coded
All parts should be made of wood
Do not install screws parallel to the plane
Flipper size is appropriate
All parts should be installed using a machine screw and a nut or appropriate length wood screw when attaching to the gameboard bottom.

What is the “switch” that controls the mechanism? Describe it. Add an image of one.

It is the button on the side of the machine that closes a circuit every time you hit it causing the selenoid to react.

What is the electromechanical component that creates the movement? Add an image of one.

The electromechanical component that creates the movement is the selenoid which uncompresses the spring hitting the flipper.

What is the mechanical component that hits the ball? Describe it in words, but also draw a 3D Sketch of the assembly (on paper). Add this sketch to the entry.

The mechanical component that hits the ball is the actual flipper which is a round triangle-shaped piece that is used to hit the ball.

Video 1

The solenoid pulls back a spring and releases it when it is pressed.

Video 2

You can put the solenoid up at the top or underneath depending on your game board

Video 3

When you press the button it closes a switch causing the circuit to close causing the selanoid to snap.

FInished pinball machine

Final code

# code-lcd-i2cimport board

import digitalio

import time

import busio

import pwmio

from adafruit_motor import servo

import board

# For more information on how to use digitalio on Circuit Python, see

# https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-essentials/circuitpython-digital-in-out

# For more information on how to use the neopixel library on Circuit Python, see

# https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-essentials/circuitpython-neopixel

import neopixel

# Here are some RGB values for some common colors.

# 0 == LED off and 255 == full brightness

PURPLE = (255, 0, 200)

GREEN = ( 0, 255, 0)

RED = (255, 0, 0) # 100% red, 0% green, 0% blue

BLACK = ( 0, 0, 0) # 0% of all colors (turns the LED off)

# LCD Source code is at https://github.com/dhalbert/CircuitPython_LCD

from lcd.lcd import LCD

from lcd.i2c_pcf8574_interface import I2CPCF8574Interface

from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Direction, Pull

pwm = pwmio.PWMOut(board.GP19, duty_cycle=2 ** 15, frequency=50)

# Create a servo object, my_servo.

my_servo = servo.Servo(pwm)

score_button1 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.GP3)

score_button1.direction = digitalio.Direction.INPUT

score_button1.pull = digitalio.Pull.UP

score_button2 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.GP5)

score_button2.direction = digitalio.Direction.INPUT

score_button2.pull = digitalio.Pull.UP

score_button3 = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.GP2)

score_button3.direction = digitalio.Direction.INPUT

score_button3.pull = digitalio.Pull.UP

ballcount_button = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.GP20)

ballcount_button.direction = digitalio.Direction.INPUT

ballcount_button.pull = digitalio.Pull.UP

flipper1_solenoid = DigitalInOut(board.GP16)

flipper1_solenoid.direction = Direction.OUTPUT

flipper1_solenoid.value = False

flipper1_button = DigitalInOut(board.GP12)

flipper1_button.direction = Direction.INPUT

flipper1_button.pull = Pull.UP

flipper2_solenoid = DigitalInOut(board.GP14)

flipper2_solenoid.direction = Direction.OUTPUT

flipper2_solenoid.value = False

# Initialize the flipper button as an input

flipper2_button = DigitalInOut(board.GP6)

flipper2_button.direction = Direction.INPUT

flipper2_button.pull = Pull.UP

bumper1_solenoid = DigitalInOut(board.GP4)

bumper1_solenoid.direction = Direction.OUTPUT

bumper1_solenoid.value = False

# Initialize the flipper button as an input

bumper1_button = DigitalInOut(board.GP28)

bumper1_button.direction = Direction.INPUT

bumper1_button.pull = Pull.UP

#ballcount_button.value

#print(ballcount_button.value)

#time.sleep(0.5)

# Initialize the score variable

score = 0

old_score = score

ballcount = 3

old_ballcount = ballcount

# Initialize I2C bus.

# The Raspberry Pi pico has a number of pin pairs that can be used for I2C.

# One pin is SCL (clock) and the other is SDA (data). See

# a pin diagram at https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/pico/Pico-R3-A4-Pinout.pdf

i2c = busio.I2C(board.GP1, board.GP0)

# Talk to the LCD at I2C address 0x27.

lcd = LCD(I2CPCF8574Interface(i2c, 0x27), num_rows=2, num_cols=20)

lcd.set_backlight(True)

led_strip1_pin = board.GP18

led_strip1_num_pixels = 18

led_strip1 = neopixel.NeoPixel(led_strip1_pin, led_strip1_num_pixels, brightness=0.3, auto_write=False)

led_strip2_pin = board.GP22

led_strip2_num_pixels = 10

led_strip2 = neopixel.NeoPixel(led_strip2_pin, led_strip2_num_pixels, brightness=0.3, auto_write=False)

led_strip3_pin = board.GP27

led_strip3_num_pixels = 12

led_strip3 = neopixel.NeoPixel(led_strip3_pin, led_strip3_num_pixels, brightness=0.3, auto_write=False)

led_strip4_pin = board.GP17

led_strip4_num_pixels = 12

led_strip4 = neopixel.NeoPixel(led_strip4_pin, led_strip4_num_pixels, brightness=0.3, auto_write=False)

led_strip5_pin = board.GP13

led_strip5_num_pixels = 12

led_strip5 = neopixel.NeoPixel(led_strip5_pin, led_strip5_num_pixels, brightness=0.3, auto_write=False)

def update_lcd():

if score != old_score or ballcount != old_ballcount:

lcd.clear()

lcd.set_cursor_pos(0, 1)

lcd.print("Your Score: "+ str(score))

lcd.print(str(score))

time.sleep(0.05)

lcd.set_cursor_pos(1, 2)

lcd.print("Ball Count: ")

lcd.print(str(ballcount))

time.sleep(0.05)

#if ballcount != old_ballcount:

#lcd.clear()

#lcd.set_cursor_pos(1, 2)

#lcd.print("Ball Count: ")

#lcd.print(str(ballcount))

#time.sleep(0.05)

#if ballcount == 0:

# lcd.set_cursor_pos(1, 2)

# lcd.print("Game Over")

# score == 0

# ballcount == 3

#lcd.print("Ball Count: ")

#lcd.print(str(ballcount))

#time.sleep(0.05)

lcd.set_cursor_pos(0, 0)

lcd.print("Starting Pinball")

time.sleep(1)

led_strip1.fill(BLACK)

led_strip1.show()

while True:

led_strip3_color = BLACK

#print(ballcount_button.value)

if score_button1.value == False:

score = score + 2

led_strip3_color = RED

if score_button2.value == False:

score = score + 3

#time.sleep(0.5)

led_strip3_color = PURPLE

if score_button3.value == False:

score = score + 5

led_strip1.fill(RED)

led_strip1.show()

else:

led_strip1.fill(BLACK)

led_strip1.show()

if ballcount_button.value == False:

ballcount = ballcount - 1

if ballcount == 0:

lcd.clear()

lcd.set_cursor_pos(1, 2)

lcd.print("Game Over ")

time.sleep(2)

score = 0

update_lcd()

ballcount = 3

#print("Ball count Button is PRESSED")

#time.sleep(0.075)

#time.sleep(0.05)

if (flipper1_button.value == True):

led_strip5.fill(BLACK)

led_strip5.show()

# The input has a pull up, so this means

# the value is True when the button is not pressed

flipper1_solenoid.value = False

else:

# The button is pulled to ground, so the switch is pressed

led_strip5.fill(RED)

led_strip5.show()

flipper1_solenoid.value = True # Make the screen scroll sideways

if (flipper2_button.value == True):

# The input has a pull up, so this means

# the value is True when the button is not pressed

flipper2_solenoid.value = False

led_strip4.fill(BLACK)

led_strip4.show()

else:

# The button is pulled to ground, so the switch is pressed

led_strip4.fill(RED)

led_strip4.show()

flipper2_solenoid.value = True

if (bumper1_button.value == True):

# The input has a pull up, so this means

# the value is True when the button is not pressed

led_strip2.fill(BLACK)

led_strip2.show()

bumper1_solenoid.value = False

else:

# The button is pulled to ground, so the switch is pressed

score = score + 5

led_strip2.fill(RED)

led_strip2.show()

bumper1_solenoid.value = True

led_strip3.fill(led_strip3_color)

led_strip3.show()

update_lcd()

my_servo.angle = 0

#time.sleep(2)

#my_servo.angle = 180

#time.sleep(2)

# Write your code here :-)

Bumper Top

Bumper Bottom

Target Top

Target Bottom

Flipper Top

Flipper Bottom

Launcher

Unique Mechanical Component

Neopixels Bottom

Neopixels Top

Servo Top

Servo Bottom

Scoreboard Top

Scoreboard Bottom

Ball Return Top

Ball Return Bottom

Bottom of machine

Top of machine/graphic

How the Machine works

The Launcher starts the game by being pulled back compressing the spring and when released puts the ball into play. The targets increase the score when hit by the pinball, and so does the bumper but the bumper also launches the ball by closing and pinching it away both of these things trigger their own LED strips. The flippers react to a button and when pressed the solenoid attached goes forward flipping the flippers. The servo spins through the game and the ball return decreases the score by 1 when the ball comes in contact with it. Lastly our unique mechanical component spins whenever the ball goes under it.

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

This has been one of the most challenging projects that I have ever done in life or school due to the length and amount of new things that we had to learn in order to complete this year long project. But I have gained a lot of valuable problem-solving skills as well as better work ethic.

2) How did it feel to complete this project.

It was great to finally have this huge project complete and to see everything come together to make an amazing pinball machine.

3) What are you most proud of about your project?

I am most proud of the end result of the project because though we encountered difficulties along the way we worked around them and put everything together to complete the machine and make it work as efficiently and also as well as possible.