Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Line
Once you have fired a ball, a given amount of energy is transferred from the flywheel to the ball. Regardless of whether your shooter slows down a little (heavy shooter) or a lot (light shooter), you'll need to use your motors to add that same amount of energy back into the system. The same amount of energy is removed from both systems, so the motors will have to work just as much in either case to add it back in.
|
I think a shooter with a flywheel can transfer a little more energy than without a flywheel. I am assuming that the rate of energy transfer is proportional to the difference between wheel speed and ball speed. Imagine two identical shooters A and B, except that shooter B has a flywheel. Shooter A will slow down during the launch process, so it will be adding less energy near the end of the launch. Shooter B will maintain its speed (nearly), so it continues adding energy to the ball at a higher rate than A.
What I don't know is, does the flywheel help the launcher behave more consistently with balls of different stiffness? "Consistent" meaning balls exiting the launcher at the same speed, regardless of stiffness.