[RogerR]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

95 measured the dimensions of 48 balls. While I do not have the raw data, there was one interesting note.

On average, the balls are slightly oblong. In one axis, their diameter is about a 1/16th smaller. I believe this corresponds to the injection spot. The other two axis where on average within a 64th or two of each other.

There where a few outliers, perhaps 4% to 6% that had at least one dimension up to an 8th off from the other two. They where just visibly oblong. We noted one ball that was much stiffer and harder to compress then the others. Many balls where very soft, which likely had much to do with the outer skin being torn on arrival. We noted at on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being near perfect and 5 being trashed, the 48 balls we have averaged around a 2. Most defects occurred around the balls equator, and consisted of torn skin. A few voids or dent's were noted.

We had one ball that consistently preformed poorly in our shooting tests. We had already numbered the balls and #32 was widely unpredictable. Of roughly 1 dozen shots fired where over %80 of other balls scored, it failed to score once. It either would fire much faster or much slower then the other balls. All the other balls where quite consistent. I examined #32, but couldn't come up with any explanation. With out dissecting it, it seemed identical to every other ball in our collection.

I experimented on one ball quickly by stabbing it perhaps 2 dozen times randomly around it's surface with my knife. I found that it quickly became softer, as the air in the ball escaped much faster. Competition balls will probably follow a similar route as the skin is ripped off.

So, overall the balls are pretty consistent out of the box. They are on average a little oblong and will soften up over time. If our collection is Representative, then it's possible that a very small percentage (.5%) of balls are demonicly possessed and simply will not go in the goal.

I'll see about getting the .xls of the measurement data and methods posted. Right now it is stuck on a Windows ME machine that doesn't recognize USB hard drives.
-Andy A.

could the air trapped in the ball explain the the behavior of the poof-balls under impulse loads? and if so, do you think that the difference between a new and 'compromised' (i.e., missing chunks of foam and skin) poof ball might be enough that their behavior under impulse loads might change (i.e., compromised poofs won't regain as much energy as was invested in the compression by the rollers, and therefore won't shoot as far or as fast?)?