Project Overview:

Pool is one of the most popular games at Olin. Many students and faculty members enjoy it. However, it is not beginner-friendly, especially for the disabled and people with eye diseases. To ensure that most of the community could enjoy this game, we decided to make a Pool Sniper that can make the shots without requiring any pool experience.

Team Members:

Kefan Wu, Zachary Walter, Johnathan Sun, Matthew Kwon

Objectives:

• Strong enough to break the game

• Variable force adjustment for different shots

• Compact and user-friendly design

• Chain-driven powertrain system

Mechanisms

Sliding trigger: allows variable force. The trigger can be released at any point during the travel

Adjustable tensioner: controlling the tension of the chain-driven powertrain, preventing the chains from skipping under high torque

Challenges & Solutions

Launching Mechanism: potential energy stored in two loops of surgical tubings, giving enough power for all the shots needed

Rack and Pinion: Pulling the pool cue and the trigger back and forth, sitting on top of a slide for smooth linear motion

Size Constraint:

One of our objectives is to make the Pool Sniper easy to carry. It’s difficult for us to keep all the mechanisms and the circuit within a small space.

Solution:

• Reducing the length of the wires to provide more space

• Using test-fit prototypes to check interferences

• Thinking about wiring when designing the mechanisms and structures

Tolerance:

We had tolerance issues with the plasma cut pieces and the lathed pool. The plasma cutter doesn’t meet the design requirement of 10 thou , and it’s hard to lathe a long piece with uniform diameter within 5 thou

Solution:

• Beltsanding, Angle grinding, Sand blasting

• Switch to the waterjet instead of the plasma cutter

• Checking with the shop assistant for tips on lathing long pieces