Ping Pong Ball Turret Competition

COMPETITION OVERVIEW

We heartily invite you to join in our Ping Pong Turret Challenge! This challenge is here to help spark your creativity by allowing you to invent your own ping pong ball launcher to compete against others. This competition is perfect for all ages and all budgets as none of the components needed are expensive and, the complexity of your design depends on YOU! There are two categories to compete in, although you can enter in both. The monthly winner will receive a R1000 voucher for components of your choice from Leobot Electronics!

1)Furthest Shooting Ping Pong Turret

-The goal of this challenge is to build a device that shoots a ping pong ball the furthest. There are some rules as to what you are allowed to use, but essentially you have full freedom to invent a turret/cannon of your design.

2)Most Accurate Ping Pong Turret

-The goal of this challenge is to be able to control the distance of your turret accurately. You will be asked to shoot your turret at various targets painted on the ground. The closer your ping pong ball lands to the target the more points you are given. You do not have to be able to move sideways, only accuracy to distance is measured. For example, you will be asked to shoot 5meters, and if your device can shoot exactly 5meters, then you will get full points; if you shot 4meters or 6 meters instead of 5meters you will receive less points. We will ask you to shoot a random integer number of meters 5 times to determine your score.

Competition Rules

1. 1. You are not allowed to use any combustible or explosive materials. Exploding capacitors are also not allowed as a means of propulsion.
2. 2. Ping Pong balls used are roughly 40mm in Diameter.
3. 3. You are free to use rubber bands, air compression, magnets, fluids, springs, motors, and any other non-explosive/non-combustible source as the actual firing propulsion mechanism.
4. 4. Your device may not run at higher than 12 volts and is required to have a connection point for us to use our benchtop power supply to power your device (essentially, just leaving two contact points for crocodile clips to connect to for the positive and negative wires would be sufficient).
5. 5. Your device may not draw more than 5A amperes of current. Our benchtop power supply will be set to be limited to 5A during any trials.
6. 6. Your device may not be powered by hand. It may also not use a pre-usage hand-winded mechanism.
7. 7. You are not required to use any electronic components if you so choose.
8. 8. Your device must make the shot within 2minutes of being asked to do so.
9. 9. Your device is not allowed to use any additional batteries or power supplies other than the 12V/5A input power provided.
10. 1. Your device may not weigh more than 10KG in total.
11. 11. You may use any design, whether it is your own unique design or an existing design from the internet.
12. 12. You need to have either assembled or built most of the device yourself.
13. 13. A single person is only allowed to win one out of the two categories per month.
14. 14. All official trial runs will take place on the premises of Leobot Electronics (Waverley, Pretoria). You are invited to bring your Ping Pong Turret for a trial run any time during 2pm-4pm on any Friday; you are also welcome to just come and social with us during this time. We not only chat about the competition but see it as a general get-together, where all is welcome.
15. 15. These rules may change at any time and, your device may be disqualified if we feel any of these rules have not been adhered to.

Competition Prizes

Prizes will be awarded on the following occasions & conditions:

1. 1. Prizes will be given at the end of each month. Winners will be announced on Facebook
2. 2. Each month, each category winner will receive a R1000 voucher from Leobot Electronics
3. 3. At the Grand Final event, (date to be determined) the winner will receive a R1000/pm gift voucher for 12 months from Leobot Electronics

Ideas & Examples

Here are some ideas, taken from the internet, as you how you may go about approaching this competition:

Conclusion

Anyone of any age and background is welcome to take part of this competition. This initiative by Leobot Electronics is new and will be refined in the future. For now, we simply wish to use this opportunity to assemble a group of like-minded individuals; for us to have the opportunity to interact and discuss projects and compete on a practical and fun level without having to break the bank to buy components to be able to participate, all while being able to win free components for your next project! You are welcome to use our Discord Channel to discuss the competition as well.

Thank you

Thank you for your support! Feel free to share this page with anyone you think may be interested. We hope to continue to provide you will all the latest components, at affordable prices, along with the best possible service we can offer. Good luck with the competition! 😊

Kind Regards
Leon Botha
Leobot Electronics