User:1sfoerster/enes100/fall2014/Puttputt golf

Problem Statement
Produce a putt putt golf green that can compete at the next ASCE tournament

Requirements:
 * par is established that is around 3 with maximum of 6 for a novice
 * fits into the back seat of a regular sized car (sedan)
 * components are light enough for one person to carry max of 2 trips
 * stores vertically as a sheet or rolls up
 * works on a carpet floor with 2 by 4 borders

Concept
Putt Putt Event at College (HCC) -Create a HCC branded putt putt golf event that raises awareness of HCC's engineering program -Collect data at the event to improve the green for the ASCE competition
 * Objective:-

ASCE Competition -Produce a putt putt golf green that can compete at the next ASCE tournament in March AND represent HCC -Positioning the golf green in the hotel means arriving at the hotel early Saturday morning .. 8am and then returning by 6pm for the official event that could last until 10 pm.
 * Objective:-

Design
Past Projects

2 designs have entered into the competition: the pendulum and bounce robot

-Problems: Pendulum


 * Arm not durable


 * Frame not stable


 * Too powerful

-Problems: Bounce Robot


 * Robot not durable


 * Course poorly made

Both of design fell apart. Students worked on them all night while people tried to play the greens. In another case, did not show up in time to position the green. All available space for greens had been claimed.

Create slot in the bottom of the ramp. The Brown represents the first part of a ramp. The Blue represents a slot in the bottom of the ramp that the second part (Magenta) can fit into.

Cardboard:

Pros: Cons:
 * Easy to find
 * Easy to bend/shape
 * Not sturdy? (Testing to be done this coming week) (Solutions: Glue layers of cardboard together; A metal cage for the structure of the head)

Plastic:

Can be modeled for the Makerbot and printed piece by piece, with interlocking pieces to keep them together. Can be painted later by hand.

Pros:
 * More detailed dragon head

Cons:
 * 3D printing time
 * Designing the interlocking pieces (how many pieces need to be spilt up? How big?)
 * Not sturdy?

For either design, need specifics on what is happening with the motor inside and how the dragon head should be designed around it (a hinge in the back of the head?) Also, serious testing needs to be done to figure out which material could take more damage.

Implement
An event (video) was held that gated access to people playing greens. It was popular. People had fun.

At the presentation night, a course was set up that required the player to putt the ball into the hole from 4 feet, 5 feet, and 6 feet away.

Operate
Requirements like golf clubs, balls and cups etc
 * Items in the back engineering room

-7 right handed

-1 left handed

-4 left/right handed

-8 total golf balls

-2 green flat plastic holes

-1 windshield wiper motor

Demo

 * First Test

Test used to find the stopping distances of the ball on different surfaces. Important for determining if the current course scale is too big or too small, or for coming up with possibilities of new obstacles based on high-friction or low-friction surfaces.

Video describes and shows the materials used for testing. Carpet

Yoga mat

Ramp


 * Second Test

First test resulted in lots of disparity in distances. Second test reduces disparity, making the average distance more meaningful.

Problems with first test:
 * Circular inside of PVC pipe causes the ball to shoot out of pipe sideways
 * Inside surface of PVC has rings and lips; causes inconsistent speeds when dropped into pipe, depending on if it passed smoothly over the rings or not

Second test uses a 24-in. flat board, with an edge propped up on a stack of wooden boards 3.625 in. high. Angle of depression for ramp was 8.8-degrees. Ball placed at top of ramp, then let go. Ball rolls down ramp and continues until the friction of the surface causes it to stop after some time. Distance recorded.

Video of a carpet test

Video of a yoga mat test

Spreadsheet of results

Rough Course
 * A rough course was create from the materials found in the engineering room


 * walkthrough


 * Presentation

Next Steps

 * Figure out size of the course
 * Learn how to program an Ardunio Uno to time the windshield motor so it opens the dragon's mouth for 3 seconds and keeps it close for 2 seconds
 * Identify more materials for building the dragon's head
 * For testing, use a pipe with a tighter fit to the ball to prevent the ball from launching sideways
 * For the distance test, try different angles for the ramp/pipe
 * See how quickly the ball can be moving while still getting in the hole
 * Talk with the Marketing department about how we can present Duncan as the dragon head