Publication Date

Fall 2023

Document Type

Final Report

Embargo Date

12-8-2023

Problem Statement

This report documents the design process of our ”Piston Pong” device. Our device was designed to be an educational demonstration of pneumatics and energy transformations using work and fluids models. The concept is that a bike pump will pump air into a holding container. After enough pressure is built up inside, the air will be released from the holding tank to a pneumatic cylinder. The cylinder will be released, hitting and launching a ball into the air. Additionally, force and pressure sensors would allow the energy to be calculated to fully understand the energy transformation. Our priorities for this design were safety, educational value, the ability to launch a ball, and pressure and force measurements. Throughout the design process, our goals and design were altered to best meet these priorities. Our final prototype was able to safely launch a ball while measuring the energy introduced to the system via the bike pump. While we have a functioning program and pressure sensor, we were not able to measure the pressure within the holding tank due to concerns about maintaining the airtight system.

Author's School

McKelvey School of Engineering

Author's Department

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Class Name

Mechanical Engineering Design Project (MEMS 411)

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