BALL-IN¶
Summary Slide¶
Summary Video¶
What does it do?¶
This a game machine. Players can get points by catching balls.
Detailly, BALL-IN, is a game machine, where users get points by catching the ball using the control stick, and there is a brushless DC motor which makes the ping pong balls fly. If the ball goes through the IR sensor in the hole on the end of the control stick, the IR sensor will send a signal to the ESP32. And the score will show on an I2C LCD.
Why I am doing it?¶
When I was the age about 8, my family could not afford a smartphone for entertainment. However, kids need to play, so I always go to the arcade game center and play physical game machines there, and I love that. Then how about make my own one.
Also, many children around the world can’t afford a smartphone, console, or such games, so it will be great to have an inexpensive plan to entertain.
Who has done what beforehand?¶
In the first week, I did an initial research for the project. I’ve found video that match with “Catch Ball Game Machine” but isn’t portable, and it’s definitely for commercial.
I’ve also looked up the FAB Academy site to see is there any similar topic that I can reference. And I’ve found this from Yoshihiro Asano, Fab 2021:
https://fabacademy.org/2021/labs/kamakura/students/yoshihiro-asano/projects/final-project/
Although it’s not exactly what I want to do, it’s worth to be referencing.
What will you design?¶
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The Project logo (Adobe Illustrator)
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The Game Machine Enclosure (Fusion 360)
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The 3D Printed Control Stick, Motor Stand/Holder, Door Hinges and Door Handle (Fusion 360)
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The ESP32 PCB Board (Fusion 360)
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The Game Program (Arduino IDE)
What materials and components will be used?
Where will they come from?
How much will they cost?¶
3D Printing Parts¶
- Control Stick Body | .3mf
- Control Stick Hole | .3mf
- Control Stick Handle | .3mf
- Door Handle | .3mf
- Door Handle Frame | .3mf
- Door Hinges | .3mf
- Motor Stand | .3mf
2D Laser Cutting & Milling Parts¶
Fusion 360¶
Mods¶
Codes¶
- BALL-IN Arduino file | ino.
BOM¶
| Part | Item | Quantity | Source | Cost Per Unit(USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enclosure | OSB 4000 x 2000 x 18mm | 1 | Local wood supplier | $25 |
| Enclosure components | PLA filament(white) 0.5kg | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $4 |
| PLA filament(black) 0.2kg | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $1.6 | |
| PLA filament(orange) 0.1kg | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $1.2 | |
| Acrylic Sheet 800 x 600 x 3 mm | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $9 | |
| Game Objects | Styrofoam Balls | 10 | Local Sport Gear Shop | $0.013 |
| Electronic components | Copper Board 100×150×1.6mm | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $1.5 |
| ESP32 | 1 | School Lab (iSPACE HongKong) | $3 | |
| 1206 Resistors | 3 | TaoBao | $0.1 | |
| 1206 3.3V Regulator | 1 | TaoBao | $0.1 | |
| 1206 Capacitors | 2 | TaoBao | $0.1 | |
| 1206 Switch | 2 | TaoBao | $0.1 | |
| Headerpins | 6 | Rs components | $0.1 | |
| Devices | I2C LCD | 1 | TaoBao | $1.5 |
| IR sensor | 1 | TaoBao | $2 | |
| Brushed DC motor | 1 | TaoBao | $6.5 | |
| Push button | 2 | TaoBao | $0.3 |
Total costs of my project is 57.43 USD
What processes will be used?¶
Input Device:
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IR sensor
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Push button
Output Device:
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I2C LCD display
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Brushed DC motor
Additive:
- 3D print using RAISE3D N2 Plus
Subtractive:
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Milling PCB board by Roland Modela Pro MDX-500
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Milling the enclosure by TigerCNC
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Laser cut for front cover and panel cover using GCC LaserPro Spirit
Programe:
- Embedded programming using Arduino IDE
What questions were answered?¶
How to detect the ball through the ring/hole?
using IR sensor which installed inside the control stick.
Is the lever stable and safe enough?
Play several times without breaking tne control stick.
Who can play? Playable for children?
Everyone can play. Children are safe to play with because all the edges are rounded and the excess removed, so there won’t be any shape edge or excess to harm anyone.
What worked? What didn’t?¶
Most of it worked fine except for:
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Portable
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The Turnable Motor Stand
How was it evaluated?¶
- Functional success? like can it count the score by detecting the balls through the IR sensor…
Yes, the program works very well.
- Could the balls fly?
Yes, but not stable.
I decideed to make a shell for the motor so the wind will mainly going up in the middle, but it’s still testing.
- Is it safe enough?
I’ve rounded it to revent shape edges and excess to harm anyone. And also there are no wire exposed.
License¶
The Creative Commons Licences suit for this project is …
Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International
Special Thanks¶
Thanks for the help of all the weeks and assignments, I learned a lot!
Best Helper
- Andy LAM
Hong Kong iSPACE Fablab Instructors
Asia Review Instructors
iSPACE Teammates