MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN: GOLF BALL LAUNCHER

My group in the course MAE 151: Mechanical Engineering Design was tasked with designing a device capable of launching a standard golf ball into a bucket at 5 feet and 10 feet distances. Also, we had to launch the ball into a bucket that is 15 feet away, but it must bounce on the ground before going into that bucket. This device must be able to read the initial velocity of the golf ball and the angle at which it is being fired. It was also required to be launched by a pull of a string. Over the course of 10 weeks, my team followed the Engineering Design Process in order to meet the requirements of the problem. This included clearly defining the problem (the objectives, constraints, and requirements), generating conceptual and preliminary design options, consolidating the design options in to a detailed design (with analysis, calculations, a Bill of Materials, instructions, and a dynamic model), and redesign. By following this methodology, the design process was utilized effectively for ease of colloaboration and best results.