Poof Ball Dynamics

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

Edit- As to #32's misbehavior- I hadn't thought about the CG being a factor, but it makes some sense.

It's obvious, a disgruntled worker at the Poof Slinky(r) factory tossed a rat into the plastic molding machine. I bet if you cut Old 32 apart, you would find the modern equivalent of a Dutch sabot in the works.

I am interested if anyone is considering a multi stage acceleration, either by using multiple wheels or some kind of catapult launcher? Also is anyone thinking about adding a spin to the ball by either a rifled barrel or having paired wheels at a slight skew?

[BrianR]

[quote=Dr.BotAlso is anyone thinking about adding a spin to the ball by either a rifled barrel or having paired wheels at a slight skew?[/QUOTE]

We are considering putting spin of the ball, but it would not be due to skew, as it can be done in multiple ways. We are thinking that we could run two wheels, one above the other, with the top going slower, providing backspin, or simply having a plate above one wheel, which also provides backspin. Having the wheels aligned on the same axis allows them to be controlled off of the same motor, which saves weight and complexity.

[Eric Scheuing]

I'm not sure if you said this or not, and if you did, I probably missed it somehow, but do the balls stay slightly compressed permanently?