The objective of this project was to create a automatic pool cue that would both have enough force to propel pool balls a sufficient distance as well as package it all within a lightweight and portable package. While we achieved all of the objectives of the project we believe there still is room for improvement within optimizing for light weighting and making our design more compact. The main skills I developed through this project are manual machining, CNC machining, mechanical design, and assembly design within SolidWorks.

The part that I was design lead on was the variable trigger. Since in pool one needs to adjust the amount of force used within a shot, the trigger of our automatic pool cue needs to have the ability to release the cue at any point within the draw distance. I created a rail along which the trigger latch slides and can be pulled up no matter how far drawn the cue itself is.

A challenge that I encountered during this project was ensuring that the complex mechanical aspects of my part of the design integrated well with the parts my teammates designed. This issue was resolved through careful communication, planning, and setting deadlines for design locking each of our individual parts. Another challenge was the lack of tolerancing possible with using the plasma cutter. We resolved this by using the waterjet instead to cut the portions of our design that needed tight tolerances. Our final challenge was machining some of the more complex parts of our design as we needed parts that could tolerate high forces. To resolve this we consulted with the shop staff and found out that our parts could be machined via the CNC mill.