We decided to make an automatic ping pong ball launcher. This is to have a machine that can launch ping pong balls to us without having to face another player. The ball is set to come through a flywheel setup that has multiple ping pong balls preloaded and ready to launch, so you will get multiple hits during each run.

Supplies

For this project we used a variety of materials and tools, such as: popsicle sticks, batteries, plastic water gallons, rubber wheels, wires with coding plate, hot glue gone, band saw, tape, exacto knife

Step 1: The Body

For the body we used a water jug/container that was decent sized. This was to be able to store the ramp and balls in it, but also have it small enough to easily move around. We cut the bottom off the main container and super glued it upside into the bottom of a small plastic bowl, with a hole in it, that way it would fit easier. Also this provides a more stable bottom for balance. Then we cut a hole big enough for the ping pong ball to come out on the side of the top container.

Step 2: DC Motor Launcher

First we soldered two dc motors to a switch and then a battery. Then we mounted them with popsicle sticks making a ramp. Finally, we attached two rubber tires to the ends of the DC Motors to launch the ball.

Step 3: Plastic Helix Spiral

First you draw a circle on a large thin plastic sheet. Next we cut it out using the band saw also cutting out an inner circle. This way we measured it to fit a plastic bottle that the helix can wrap around. Then we heated it with a heat gun to form the plastic to be able to spiral downward. After we superglued to the center bottle so the ping pong ball has ramp to go downward.

Step 4: Ramp From Helix to Launcher

This piece we made so when the ball comes out of the body it has a ramp to go on before being launched from the dc flywheel setup. We cut a thin piece of wood on the band saw and hot glued together so the ball would have barriers, then glued the whole thing to the outside of the body. After that we connected the motors by gluing them to popsicle sticks so the space could tightly fit the ping pong ball.

Step 5: Putting It All Together

Now that we have all the individual pieces we want to put them all together. First set the plastic helix around bottle in the center of the body. To make it stay in place, hot glue the bottom of the bottle to the floor of the body container. make sure where the spiral ends is in the same place as the hole on the body, that way the ping pong ball will just roll out.

After, attach the wood ramp with the dc motors right below the hole so when the ball comes out it will roll down the ramp and launch. You may want to adjust the angle at which you place the ramp onto the body and how upward the flywheels are pointing that way the ball doesn't go straight down. As long as the ball carries enough speed from the spiral down you should be good to angle the launch a good amount either way.