Design of a Hockey Face-off Simulator
Date
2015-12-07
Authors
Bruchanski, Bradley
Desmarais, Justin
MacDonald, Jack
Vis, Matthew
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Abstract
The team designed a hockey face-off simulator, a project proposed by client Zeljko Djuric, which allows a user to individually practice and improve their face-off skills. The design realistically replicates the referee and the opposing player in a hockey face-off. While meeting the majority of the needs and adhering to the constraints and limitations, the team has chosen concepts that satisfy the design objectives of portability, stability, and a variety of face-off strategies. The team is providing the client with a SolidWorks model of the design in addition to this report which discusses the details of the design, an initial bill of materials with associated costs, and future recommendations. The face-off simulator has two overarching design features: the puck dropping mechanism and the face-off motion. The puck dropping mechanism consists of a bridge and a supporting column connected via a spring-loaded pin. On the bridge, a puck storage cylinder feeds a puck so that an electric actuator can push it to the puck drop location where a pneumatic piston forces the puck down towards the face-off surface. The face-off motion has four degrees of freedom (identified in parentheses) via a five bar linkage that is supported by an upper body structure, which is connected to a motor (rotation about the x-axis) that is mounted on top of a column. The column is fixed to a bevel gear (rotation about the y-axis) on top of the base. Four of the five links of the linkage act as arms and forearms with pins as elbows (translation in the x-and z-directions). The forearms meet at a common shaft which holds a hockey stick. When in use, the machine stands at 53.15 inches tall, 64.17 inches wide with the footings fully extended, and 83.46 inches long with the arms fully extended. The machine can be collapsed into a smaller configuration for transportation that will be 49.61 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and 32.28 inches long. A face-off can be performed every 24 seconds, based on the assimilated speeds of components of the puck dropping mechanism. The pneumatic system and all electrical components are […]