STONY POINT HS -- ROUND ROCK ISD

Ballistic Design - VEX

Project 4.2.3 VEX and RobotC

[Aaron Flowe]
[5/15/2014]






TABLE OF CONTENTS
Design Brief
Brainstorming Ideas
Decision Matrix
Pictures
RobotC Code
Discussion Questions
Reflections
Recommendation Page



DESIGN BRIEF
Client Company:
Hobby Spectacle, INC
Target Consumer:
Society
Problem Statement:
A top of the line hobby company is trying to improve on a
previously designed and manufactured launcher. Along with
looking better, it must be able to be adjustable and accurate
at different angles and distances. Members from the winning
company will not only be present during the actual
launching of the product but will also receive a cash prize
and patent that will allow the product to be mass produced
and sold to the general public.





Design Statement:
Look over a previous design and form ideas on how to
improve it. After you have redesigned the product, build and
test the device. Be sure that the device can in fact launch the
projectile precisely and accurately at different angles and
distances.






Constraints:
The product must be developed and built using materials
approved and outlined by instructor only.
The projectile must be adjustable to different angles in
intervals of 10 degrees up to 80 degrees.
The initial velocity must be constant at each angle.
The projectile must launch a minimum of 15 feet.




BRAINSTORMING IDEAS
1 2

3 4
DECISION MATRIX



PICTURES


This part was not always this long. We had to elongate it so that the spinner could have enough room to
spend to achieve maximum launch distance.



We changed this motor to a fast motor so that it could spin a lot faster and create more projectile power.



The automatic loader was included simply as a wow factor. It also was quite helpful when trying to
repeatedly fire the projectiles.
ROBOTC CODE


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
[Answer the conclusion questions here. Use complete sentences with proper grammar and spelling.]

1. What was the most challenging aspect of this design problem?
In my opinion, there were two parts that compete for the most challenging aspect.
1. Getting the program to cooperate: Writing our program definitely took the
majority of the time while doing this project. We continuously had to re-write or change parts of the
program and in a couple of instances, we were required to delete the entire program and
completely restart.
2. Getting the projectile to launch 15 feet: Various modifications had to be made to
our initial design so that we could get the projectile to launch the required distance. Some of these
may include adding slack to the gear systems, adding weight to the part that launch the projectile by
adding different types of pieces to it, adding height to some areas, etc.
2. What are some creative changes that you would make to the design solution if you could
start over?
One thing that I would change is either the location of some of the gears or their sizes. On our
final design the gear is too big to allow it to reach any angle greater than 70 degrees without
destroying other parts of the projectile launcher.







REFLECTIONS
While our design may not fully satisfy the design requirements and constraints, I believe that we attempted
to do so to the best of our ability. While working with a group on projects such as these may be difficult,
since I have worked with the same partner/group for the majority of the year, it is very easy to get certain
things accomplished as well as compromise on things that we may not fully agree on. Having a dependable
partner is key when working with a group and I have full confidence that my partner was 100%
dependable 100% of the time. I believe that our final projectile launcher design is accurate to our highest
potential at satisfying the requirements. Our final program does run smoothly and does not glitch or have
any problems what so ever while running. Our program may appear to be extremely simple however, I
believe that it maximizes our final projectile launchers capabilities. We did encounter multiple problems
while creating our program due to the fact that the majority of the time, you wont be able to get your best
product on the first couple of tries. There were times where we simply wanted to change only one part of
the program and doing that caused the rest of the program to be completely dysfunctional. While causing
frustration and confusion, we did end up identifying what changes were affecting certain parts of the
program and how to work around these points of error.


RECOMMENDATION PAGE
A recommendation I would make to the teacher is to help to keep us on specific deadlines. While this would
upset many people, work would be done more efficiently and something wouldnt just be conjured up at
the end.
The main recommendation I would give a student who will have this project next year is to take your time.
Rushing only brings more anger and frustration to you at the end and may even result in you receiving a
grade that is unsatisfactory. Take time to plan and, should they occur, to evaluate the problems that you
may face and determine the best way to improve on them.