The Golf Ball Detector
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THE GOLF BALL DETECTOR ME 1501-1502 Technical Design Report Final Report Design Advisor: Mohammad E. Taslim Design Team Asli Savran Matt Matlo Kevin Abdul-Ghaffar May 29, 2002 Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering College of Engineering, Northeastern University Boston, MA 02115 TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................................... Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................................................................................3 Copyright ...................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Abstract......................................................................................................................................................................................................4 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................................................................5 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY ...........................................................................................................................................................6 History of Golf.......................................................................................................................................................................................6 A History of the Golf Ball .....................................................................................................................................................................7 Typical Golf Ball construction...............................................................................................................................................................8 Current Trend and Statistics ................................................................................................................................................................11 RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................................................................................13 Golf Ball Composition.........................................................................................................................................................................14 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................................................14 Initial Design Concepts............................................................................................................................................................................15 Capacitance Detection .........................................................................................................................................................................16 Radiation Detection .............................................................................................................................................................................16 Radio-Frequency Identification ...........................................................................................................................................................17 Infrared Spectroscopy..........................................................................................................................................................................18 Global Positioning Systems .................................................................................................................................................................18 Gas Sniffers .........................................................................................................................................................................................20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (CHOSEN DESIGN) ..................................................................................................................21 RFID COMPONENTS ............................................................................................................................................................................21 Reader..................................................................................................................................................................................................21 RFID Tags ...........................................................................................................................................................................................22 GOLF BALL DETECTOR R.F.I.D. DESIGN CRITERIA.....................................................................................................................24 RFID: GOLF APPLICATIONS ..............................................................................................................................................................24 Cost Benefit: Golf Ball Locating System ................................................................................................................................................30 Prototype Design .....................................................................................................................................................................................33 Testing .....................................................................................................................................................................................................34 Finite Element Analysis with ANSYS.....................................................................................................................................................35 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................................................................................38 References................................................................................................................................................................................................39 APPENDIX..............................................................................................................................................................................................40 2 Acknowledgments We would like to thank Professor Taslim for his continuing help and support, and we also express our gratitude for the companies who provided the necessary materials for this project, Topflite and Intersoft. Copyright “We the team members, Matt Matlo Asli Savran Kevin Abdul-Ghaffar Mohammad E Taslim Hereby assign our copyright of this report and of the corresponding Executive Summary to the Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) Department of Northeastern University.” We also hereby agree that the video of our Oral Presentations is the full property of the MIME Department. Publication of this report does not constitute approval by Northeastern University, the MIME Department or its faculty members of the findings or conclusions contained herein. It is published for the exchange and stimulation of ideas. 3 The Golf Ball Locator Design Team Matt Matlo, Asli Savran, Kevin Abdul-Ghaffar Faculty Advisor Mohammad E. Taslim Abstract The following document contains the final report for the Golf Ball Detector Senior Capstone Design Project. This Senior Capstone Design Group has proven the concept for a device to consistently locate golf balls. The golf ball detector is portable, easy to use, reliable, applicable in various situation and conditions, affordable to most golfers and safe for its user and the environment. The report discusses relevant background information on golf and golfers and presents the design developed by this Senior Capstone Design Group as a guide toward the solution. Preliminary researches on patent and exsisting alternatives are presented. Several preliminary design solutions that were eventually rejected are discussed in detail. After rejecting the earlier proposals, the design group decided to pursue the implantation of radio-frequency identification equipment within the ball as a solution. It has been shown that the RFID tag can still receive and transmit signals from inside a golf ball, that a passive RFID tag can survive the impact of a golf club from inside a ball, and that the addition of the tag does not significantly disrupt the physical properties of the golf ball. An RFID kit with suitable range is not currently available to the design group, but future advancements in RFID technology will complete the long- range golf ball locator. In addition to locating lost balls in play, this technology can be applied to prevent the theft of golf balls from driving ranges, saving the owners of these establishments thousands of dollars per year. 4 INTRODUCTION The importance of practice is always emphasized in golf. Professional PGA Tour player spend as much as 4 hours daily at the driving range. Not including putting, chipping, and mental preparation. In the US alone, there are over 10000 driving ranges. Most are accessible to the public. Golfers can rent golf ball in numbers