Air Trajectory B/C

[windu34]

Was that kind of what you were looking for? I don't have any other pictures, but we could discuss possible improvements to this design.

I was pondering a design that utilized a piston that is capped of so when pulled by the mass, it would create slack in a string attached to the arm and when the mass released, the piston would spring back due to the reverse pressure created and propel the arm and throw the ball.

After reading that once and not understanding it entirely the first time through, I think what you're describing might be rather complex, not that I doubt your ability to do it, but because I've seen very simple designs work very well, and it's usually much easier to troubleshoot when issues arise. Did you do this event this season, and if so, what approach did you use?

This year I was in this event and used the standard 2-liter bottle method and did manage to perfect it to the point where we were "sniping" the target vs what most teams do in that we were pointing our barrel downwards and shooting the golf ball at high speeds. In worked relatively well and got second place at states, but it still wasn't as consistent as we would have liked and it was rather large. Our school regularly attends nationals and 1-2 invitationals in which we have to take apart builds and fly them which is why we have a more compact device in mind. We are also trying to get away from the entire "air pressure" part of the event which is why we are switching to commercial pistons for consistency.

[bernard]

This year I was in this event and used the standard 2-liter bottle method and did manage to perfect it to the point where we were "sniping" the target vs what most teams do in that we were pointing our barrel downwards and shooting the golf ball at high speeds. In worked relatively well and got second place at states, but it still wasn't as consistent as we would have liked and it was rather large. Our school regularly attends nationals and 1-2 invitationals in which we have to take apart builds and fly them which is why we have a more compact device in mind. We are also trying to get away from the entire "air pressure" part of the event which is why we are switching to commercial pistons for consistency.

I agree with you on the commercial pistons part - I was planning on attempting to make a piston from scratch because I could make it larger, but my bike pump worked so well that I went with it. If you are traveling and taking apart builds, you probably wouldn't want something so complex to take apart, but that's just a guess since I haven't had to travel far with my builds.

How consistent was your device, what did you try to make it more consistent, and what worked/didn't work?

[windu34]

This year I was in this event and used the standard 2-liter bottle method and did manage to perfect it to the point where we were "sniping" the target vs what most teams do in that we were pointing our barrel downwards and shooting the golf ball at high speeds. In worked relatively well and got second place at states, but it still wasn't as consistent as we would have liked and it was rather large. Our school regularly attends nationals and 1-2 invitationals in which we have to take apart builds and fly them which is why we have a more compact device in mind. We are also trying to get away from the entire "air pressure" part of the event which is why we are switching to commercial pistons for consistency.

I agree with you on the commercial pistons part - I was planning on attempting to make a piston from scratch because I could make it larger, but my bike pump worked so well that I went with it. If you are traveling and taking apart builds, you probably wouldn't want something so complex to take apart, but that's just a guess since I haven't had to travel far with my builds.

How consistent was your device, what did you try to make it more consistent, and what worked/didn't work?

The device itself wasn't too consistent, but I tested it so much that I could predict reasonably well the adjustment needed to make the second shot perfect. The device I described wouldn't really be all that complex and since I have access to a 3D printer, I can make everything able to come apart well for easy storage. I just want to see if anyone else has built a device like this yet.

[bernard]

The device itself wasn't too consistent, but I tested it so much that I could predict reasonably well the adjustment needed to make the second shot perfect. The device I described wouldn't really be all that complex and since I have access to a 3D printer, I can make everything able to come apart well for easy storage. I just want to see if anyone else has built a device like this yet.

When your device was off, was it off along the length of the track or along the width of the track? Or both?

[windu34]

The device itself wasn't too consistent, but I tested it so much that I could predict reasonably well the adjustment needed to make the second shot perfect. The device I described wouldn't really be all that complex and since I have access to a 3D printer, I can make everything able to come apart well for easy storage. I just want to see if anyone else has built a device like this yet.

When your device was off, was it off along the length of the track or along the width of the track? Or both?

Both; more so with distance than aim, but because the plastic practice golf balls are so light, they could easily curve in trajectory even when wind isn't present. That is why we are switching to raquet balls.

[plaid suit guy2]

Anyone know what the winning score was for nats?

Well... I don't remember the exact point value of the winning score... it was over 6000, but, I do know the distances off. Far target: 143mm, Near target: 0mm, both bucket shots hit the bottom.

The next team down had about 400 points less...

[chalker]

Anyone know what the winning score was for nats?

Well... I don't remember the exact point value of the winning score... it was over 6000, but, I do know the distances off. Far target: 143mm, Near target: 0mm, both bucket shots hit the bottom.

The next team down had about 400 points less...

C
6670
6285
6275
6205
6198
6176

B
6465
6345
6295
6262
6241
6220

[RBears6]

Anyone have any idea of whats going to change next year? Probably dimensions and maybe scoring, but nothing major should change I would expect.

[chalker]

Anyone have any idea of whats going to change next year? Probably dimensions and maybe scoring, but nothing major should change I would expect.

You should expect the unexpected;) We've come up with a couple interesting ideas to change up the challenge a little bit;)

[zyzzyva980]

I would think the elevated near target would come back, unless they took it out because event supervisors had trouble setting it up. There might be a change to the device rules so the teams don't just use the same device again next year. Looking forward to seeing what changes.