Cricket Bowling Machine

This project was made as a part of a senior capstone project. The goal was to create a bowling machine that could replace machines that are commercially available for a cheaper price. This is the first iteration, therefore it is not perfect. It is unable to reach speeds that are needed (current max is around 45 mph), and it lacks the ability to adjust in height.

Motor: https://www.vevor.com/brushed-dc-motor-c_11226/dc-motor-1-2hp-56c-frame-90v-1750rpm-tenv-magnet-durable-equipment-continuous-p_010202270802

Power Supply: Any supply will work, as long as it is compatible with the motor. We used this one: https://a.co/d/ancJ9wZ

Shaft Coupler: https://a.co/d/5RJvkkS

Pillow Blocks (x3, total 6)): https://a.co/d/ancJ9wZ

Plywood Sheets (for wheel): https://a.co/d/0Jsp79P

Split Clamp Shaft Collars: https://a.co/d/c2y8YDt

2x4s as needed to construct base

3/4" Diameter PEX pipe, 5 feet long, from Home Depot/Lowe's

MC Product Name, MC Product Number, Amount:

1. 1.5" 3/8"-16 Thread Size Steel Hex Head Screw, 92865A628, x1
2. 3.5" 3/8"-16 Thread Size Steel Hex Head Screw, 91247A638, x1
3. 7" 3/8"-16 Thread Size Steel Hex Head Screw, 91247A650, x1
4. Steel Hex Nut 3/8"-16 Thread Size, 95505A603, x1
5. 1045 Carbon Steel Keyed Rotary Shaft 5/8" Diameter 9" Long, 1497K108, x1
6. 1045 Carbon Steel Keyed Rotary Shaft 5/8" Diameter 12" Long, 1497K141, x2
7. Machine Key 1008-1045 Carbon Steel 3/16" x 3/16" 2" Long Oversized, 98870A375, x1
8. Machine Key 1008-1045 Carbon Steel 3/16" x 3/16" 2" Long, Undersized, 98870A180, x1
9. Machine Key 1008-1045 Carbon Steel 3/16" x 3/16" 3" Long, Undersized, 98870A192, x1
10. Off-White Nylon Unthreaded Spacer 3/4" OD 5/8" Long for 3/8" Screw Size, 94639A851, x2
11. Aluminum Mil. Spec. Aluminum Wasger for 3/8" Screw Size, 94589A638, x1
12. L Series Timing Belt Trade No. 255L100, 6484K35, x1
13. Light Duty Vinyl Foam Strip Adhesive Black 3" Wide 3/8" Thick 25 Feet Long, 8512K53, x1

Autodesk Fusion 360 Model Links:

Gear Mechanism: https://a360.co/49ScO2q

Flywheels: https://a360.co/3K3brTS

Wheel plates and the metal mounting plates are given as .dxf files. The belt and pulley pieces, meant to be 3D Printed, are given as .stl files. The amounts needed for each part are given below.

x4 - Wheel Large Piece (x4).dxf (WOOD)

x6 - Wheel Small Piece (x6).dxf (WOOD)

x1 - Hegde_Abhiram_NewPlates1.dxf (METAL)

x1 - Hegde_Abhiram_NewPlates2.dxf (METAL)

x2 - Hegde_Abhi_WheelHub.stl

x2 - Hegde_Abhiram_SRTIV_Gear.stl

x2 - Timing Belt Pulley.stl

Pillow blocks need to be mounted onto metal plates. 1.5" nuts can be used for this. Shafts need to be keyed with gears and pulleys. Top shaft is coupled with 3" shaft on the motor, and is fitted with the first pulley. Middle shaft is fitted with the second pulley and first gear. Third shaft is fitted with second gear, making sure that the two gears are meshed together. Shafts will fit between plates just around 7" apart. Do not alter shafts in any way. Pulley should fit snugly into the gears. Make sure to attach pulley before mounting second metal plate. Middle shaft should stick out less than top and bottom. Use model as reference (3D Model: https://a360.co/49ScO2q).

The wheels mount onto the top and bottom shafts. There should be 4 larger wheel plates and 6 smaller wheel plates. This is enough for two wheels. However, if all parts are ordered as listed, you should have enough to make a third if you can produce a third wheel hub piece. Each wheel requires 2 large plates (one on top, one on the bottom), and 3 smaller plates (all in between). 8 3.5" nuts will be needed. Line them up as shown in the image. Stack nylon spacers between each layer. Insert the hub piece before the top plate is put on. Bolt everything tightly. The wheels can then be wrapped in the adhesive foam (cut as needed). The adhesion on the product is questionable so an external glue or tape may be needed to keep them in place. Both wheels need to be keyed onto these shafts.

This step wasn't really planned out. The focus was on the projection of the ball so we didn't focus as much on this aspect. As long as the base is sturdy and doesn't fall with weight added on, it shouldn't matter. We roughly constructed this frame using 2x4's. Our frame was around 50 inches tall and had a platform on top to mount the motor. In future iterations, the frame would get much more focus as there are many aspects of it that could improve the overall product.

The motor should be mounted directly onto the plates. Then, the whole system needs to be attached to the frame. The motor comes with mounting holes so this should be fairly simple. The motor itself should be attached to the frame and a small piece of wood can be wedged between the inner metal plate and the frame to provide sturdiness. At this point, things should be fairly completed. The last thing would be to cut the PEX pipe into 4 (it should be 6, but the middle set of holes is too close to the gear system, so this needs to be adjusted in future iterations) 7" pieces. Then, the 7" bolts can be run between the two metal plates and covered with the pipe. The bolts can then be fastened with nuts from the other side. This acts as a standoff mechanism to keep the system in place.

The power supply can then be connected, and balls can then be fed between the wheels. Theoretically, this machine can, at maximum capacity in perfect conditions, reach around 45 mph. However, this likely won't be the case. Realistically, it will deliver around 30-40 mph at 90 V due to slippage. There is also a chance that the machine completely falls apart at high voltages. Overall, there is much to improve on, but there is proof that this concept does work.