2 in 1 Golf Ball Placement / Retrieval Device “The Freedom Tee”

Final Design Report

2 in 1 Golf ball placement / retrieval device “The Freedom Tee”

Cory Jamieson Caleb Meighen Nick Semanek

Sponsored by: Penn State Dubois

December 12,2016

Table of Contents

● Executive summary 2 ● Introduction 2 ● Problem Definition 2 ● Background 3 ● Objectives 3 ● Concept selection / Concept A 4 ● Concept B 5 ● Concept C 6 ● Concept D 7 ● Concept development design 1 8 ● Technical approach 1 8-9 ● Figure 5: Tri-claw attachment 10 ● Figure 6: Ball plunger attachment 11 ● Figure 7: Tri-claw 2 in 1 ball/tee placement and retrieval system 12 ● Tri-Claw prototype fabrication and testing 13 ● Concept development design 2 13 ● Technical approach 2 14 ● Figure 8: claw/arc attachment 15 ● Figure 9: base plate 15 ● Figure 10: Push rod 16 ● Figure 11: Arc/claw affixed to base plate and push rod 16 ● Figure 12: Couple 17 ● Figure 13: Ball retrieval device 17 ● Figure 14: Final assembly exploded view 18 ● Figure 15: The “freedom Tee” 18 ● Freedom Tee prototype fabrication and testing 19 ● Acknowledgements 19 ● References 19 ● Appendix A quality functional development (QFD) 20 ● Appendix B Scoring Matrix 20 ● Appendix C Material list A Tri-claw 21 ● Appendix D Material list B Freedom Tee 21

1 Executive Summary

Penn State Dubois, Engineering Design students get an opportunity to work in groups with Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) students, and collaboratively create a product that will improve an individual's life during and after a medical complication. The overall objective for this project is to improve the quality of an individual's golf experience when medical conditions prevent them from bending or kneeling. The two in one golf ball placement and retrieval system is designed for someone to play golf without experiencing any pain or discomfort from aliments restricting a player's ability to bend over inhibiting normal play. To meet project objectives many designs were considered, built and tested. The design needed to be cost effective, simple to use and sturdy. Though market research and practical application, four initial concepts were developed and methodically worked over to produce our final design, the Freedom Tee.

Introduction:

The project to create a device that will assist with golf ball placement assigned to engineering design students is a cooperative endeavor with the OTA program. The OTA students presented the engineering students with a particular problem and we worked as a team to find the best possible solution. Our team reviewed existing products geared toward solving similar situations. The existing products either place a ball and tee or they retrieve the ball, not both. This is a problem because any one product only solves half the problem. For the past semester our team has been working on formulating a design based off existing products, but with considerable augmentations and improvements. These improvements will allow the user to place and retrieve a golf ball without requiring the player to bend over and without causing any delay during game play.

Problem Definition: The project was to design and fabricate a type of “nail gun” that releases golf tees into the ground (for someone who has trouble bending/stooping). After meeting the OTA students presenting the problem and discussing their intentions; we quickly dismissed the “nail gun” and started looking at a more practical approach. The project's overall objective is to eliminate the need to bend or kneel while playing golf, so our goal is to produce a product that does just that.

2 Background: Golf is a pastime enjoyed by all ages, especially older retirees of our community. We all know with age comes aches and pains, followed by the inability to bend and kneel with ease. There is a need for this product among individuals with arthritis, cartilage degeneration and any other debilitating conditions preventing them from easily bending over. The team conducted market research in order to find products available to facilitate a solution to this problem. While searching we found four companies with similar products:

● Upright Golf makes a product called Joe's Original Backtee. This is a clip on device that attaches to your golf club utilizing a hammer type claw to input the tee and an open circle to place the golf ball. (Figure 1: Provides an image of the product along with optimization features for Joe's original backtee. ) ● Tee pal pro makes a product that encompasses the ball and tee in a cylinder attached to the bottom of a push rod. (Figure 2: Provides an image of the product along with optimization features for the tee pal pro. ) ● Ez-tee produces a product very similar to the Tee Pal Pro only using a half cylinder attached to a push rod. (Figure 3: Provides an image of the product along with optimization features for the ez-tee.) ● Northcroft Golf has a product called the Tee-Up Foldaway utilizing a two claw design that houses the ball and tee simultaneously. (Figure 4: Provides an image of the product along with optimization features for the tee-up foldaway.)

Objectives: After completing market analysis and reviewing existing products; The team intends to improve upon all four of the previous designs in order to create a product that emcompasses all the solutions into one manageable system. The objectives for this project will therefore be as follows:

1. Redesign the clamping/clawing attachment 2. Redesign ball/tee pick-up attachment 3. Keep cost under $60 4. Make the product durable 5. Simple and easy instructions 6. Tee a ball in less than 20 seconds

3 Concept selection:

Concept A.) Adaptation of Joe's Original Backtee.

Figure 1: (https://www.uprightgolf.com)

The original Backtee from Upright Golf is a great product, however customer reviews indicate the clamping mechanism that attaches the device to your club becomes easily worn and weakened from repeated use. Another flaw associated with this product is ball retrieval; balls can easily be scoped off the ground but the attachment can not operate inside the cup. To optimize this design, we concluded that we need to secure the device to a push pole and attach a retrieval device that could get a ball in the cup.

4 Concept B.) Adaptation of Tee Pal Pro.

Figure 2: (http://www.teepalpro.com)

Tee Pal Pro customer reviews indicate this is not the easiest product to use. The bulky attachment that houses the ball and tee easily knocks the ball onto the ground when removing the device once the ball and tee are placed. This leaves the the ball on the ground with no mechanism to retrieve and reposition. We concluded that attaching the ball housing unit onto a plunger so the device pulls up and over the ball once in position would be optimal.

5 Concept C.) Adaptation of the Ez-Tee.

Figure 3: (http://www.ez-tee.com)

Like many other designs reviewed the Ez-Tee has a hard time retrieving the ball from the cup on the green. To optimize this product, we concluded that attaching a plunger type device to the opposite side of the push rod for ball retrieval would help with the noted problem.

6 Concept D.) Adaptation of Tee-up Foldaway.

Figure 4: (https://www.northcroftgolf.com)

The Tee-Up Foldaway is a great product as indicated by customer reviews, however the ball and tee could be more secure when positioning. To optimize this design, We concluded that scaling down the size of the individual fingers and adding and an extra digit keeping 120 degree angle between each appendage would secure the ball. An additional improvement could come from lining the inside with a rubber coating to improve traction while grabbing onto the ball.

7 Methodology Design 1:

Concept Development: Two in one ball placement and retrieval

The team will design a three claw system. This will help with ball placement, provide stability and allow for adjustable height placement of the tee. The claw will utilize a system of grooves at the tips that coordinate with the size and shape of a standard golf tee. As we work up the claw itself, the grooves widen to the dimensions of a standard golf ball. Designing the claws in this way will allow the ball and tee to be positioned and placed at the same time. The claw system will be attached to a pushrod housing with the opening and closing mechanism operated by a trigger. Opposite the claw attachment, just above the operating handle, the team will attach a rubber plunger. The plunger will have the ability to grab a ball off the ground or out of the cup after putting. The plunger will also have a claw hammer like appendage affixed with rubber fingers to easily pick up a tee.

Technical Approach: Complete each of the above objectives as follows:

(1) Redesign the clamping/claw attachment. (reference Figure 5) ● New Design Ideas ○ Take the old clamping/ claw attachments and use three appendages opposed to two. ○ Use a 120 degree angle between each appendage and also line the appendices with a rubber material to offer full containment. ● Strategy ○ Devise a new part using the existing design. ○ Research appropriate materials that would be sufficient for the products use. ○ Make a decision on the most feasible design. ○ Execute the manufacturing of at least two prototypes of the design. ● Testing ○ Install prototype ○ Fit golf balls and tees. ○ Check for easy operation with respect to inserting a golf ball and tee into the ground.

8 (2) Redesign the ball/tee pick up attachment (reference figure 6) ● New Design Ideas ○ Attach “claw like fingers,” along side the rubber plunger attachment enabling the system to grasp balls and tees. ● Strategy ○ Research dimensions of tees and golf balls to find dimensions of the rubber plunger and spacing of rubber fingers. ○ Create prototype for testing. ● Testing ○ Install prototype. ○ Check for comfort and ease of use. ○ If not successful modify design.

(3) Product assembly (reference figure 7) ● Build Design ○ Attach the tri-claw to the bottom of the push rod ○ Attach ball plunger behind the operating handle ● Strategy ○ Assemble the whole product and prep for testing. ● Testing ○ Take prototype to a golf course and test the ball/tee insertion along with the retrieval of balls and tees. ○ Note any problems and make changes.

9 Figure 5: Tri-claw attachment

10 Figure 6: Ball plunger attachment

11 Figure 7: Tri-claw 2 in 1 ball/tee placement and retrieval system 12 Tri-Claw prototype fabrication and testing:

During production of the tri-claw system the team encountered may unforeseen issues. The main body for the tri-claw is a hollow aluminum cane. When modifying the housing unit for the moving parts of the attaching claw, the tubing began to fall apart and crack. Which added additional material cost to the project. The claws themselves made from PLA plastic could not be modified because of the porous material. When the team tried to mold the claws for the optimal fit the plastic began to flake and break apart. The retrieval attachment on the other hand was a different story. The retrieval attachment is made of Polyvinyl chloride and was easily modified using a dremel tool and cutting tip. Once the tri-claw was assembled the action to place the ball and tee was not up to the performance standard set, yet the retrieval attachment worked flawlessly. The tri-claw was a good design in theory, but with the material cost rising and unacceptable performance while testing, the design team decided to abandon the tri-claw and come up with a new solution to place the ball and tee.

Methodology Design 2:

Concept Development: Two in one ball placement and retrieval

The team will design a system utilizing more of a “hammer type” claw and push rod for tee placement. This will help stabilize the tee during insertion and also allow a greater force to be applied while powering through hard ground. For ball placement after the tee is inserted, the team has designed an arc to hold the ball in place over the tee, allowing for easy placement. The hammer claw and arc will be formed on opposite sides of the same attachment to minimize material cost. The claw/arc system will be attached to a pushrod allowing the user to apply the necessary force for either application. Opposite the claw/arc attachment the team will affix the retrieval device previously built for the Tir-claw system.

13 Technical Approach: complete each of the above objectives as follows:

(1) Redesign the “hammer claw” attachment. (reference Figure 8) ● New Design Ideas ○ Mold/form the one attachment having the arc and claw on opposite ends ○ Use a standard golf tee to measure the angle created by the claw for a snug fit. ○ Use a standard golf ball with a diameter of 4.27 cm to design the arc need to place the ball. ● Strategy ○ Devise a new part using the existing design. ○ Research appropriate materials that would be sufficient for the products’ use. ○ Make a decision on the most feasible design. ○ Execute the manufacturing of at least two prototypes of the design. ● Testing ○ Install prototype ○ Fit golf balls and tees. ○ Check for easy operation with respect to inserting a golf ball and tee into the ground.

(2) Product assembly (reference figure 8-15) ● Build Design ○ Attach the claw/arc to the bottom of the push rod ○ Attach ball retrieval device to opposite side of the push rod. ● Strategy ○ Assemble the whole product and prep for testing. ● Testing ○ Take prototype to a golf course and test the ball/tee insertion along with the retrieval of balls and tees. ○ Note any problems and make changes.

The following References Figures 8-15 were created in Solidworks to give a basis for dimensions and the limitations of the device. This helped our team ensure the device would be as efficient as possible before fabricating.

Figure 8: claw/arc attachment

Figure 9: base plate

Figure 10: Push rod

Figure 11: Arc/claw affixed to base plate and push rod.

Figure 12: Couple

Figure 13: Ball retrieval device

Figure 14: Final assembly exploded view

Figure 15: The “Freedom Tee”

18 Freedom Tee prototype fabrication and testing:

Our team designed the Freedom Tee in solidworks to evaluate dimensioning and functionality prior to fabrication. The base plate, couple and push rod were produced from hardwood; the claw/arc and ball retrieval devices were both created using Polyvinyl chloride, a plastic polymer. There were no complications during production and once the product was fully assembled testing was completed. While testing, the Freedom Tee performed above expectations; the team was able to tee up a ball in well under 20 seconds, and ball retrieval was also efficient. With costs down and outstanding performance the Freedom Tee has hit all the benchmarks set for our project. The Freedom Tee is the pinnacle of a low cost design and super effective while performing the task it is designed to do. Our team is very satisfied and proud of our product. The design gives everyone the freedom to comfortably play a round of golf without experiencing any pain or discomfort from ailments making bending or kneeling difficult or impossible. With material cost down and performance up the expected retail price of twenty US dollars is reasonable and competitive among similar products on the market. The Freedom Tee will provide its users with a sense of independence while playing golf, a feeling the design team believes is priceless.

Acknowledgements:

We would like to thank Penn State Dubois for sponsoring this project and Dr. Daudi Waryoba for guiding our team. Also, we would thank Glenn Rishel for ordering the supplies needed to complete this project. We would also like to thank the OTA students, Ty Scott and Ashley Mangiantini, for presenting us with a great problem and all their contributions along with their support during this project. With all the great support and teamwork, the Freedom Tee is already a success.

References:

"Www.uprightgolf.com." Upright Golf Products, Putter Pick up Tools, N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

http://www.teepalpro.com N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

http://www.ez-tee.com N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

https://www.northcroftgolf.com N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.

Smith, Karl A., Karl T. Ulrich, and Mike W. Martine. Introduction to Engineering Design, Path of Motion. 5th ed. N.p.: McGraw Hill Learning Solutions, 2008. Print.

19 Appendix A : Quality Function Deployment chart.

Appendix B: Scoring Matrix

20 Appendix C: Materials list A (Tri-Claw)

Appendix D: Materials list B (Freedom-Tee) Item # Item Vendor Quantity Unit Price US $ 1 (1.25 x 48 in) Lowe’s 1 2.50 Wooden Dial Rod 2 (1x2 in) Lowe’s 1 8.00 wood plank

3 Polyvinyl Lowe’s 1 5.00 chloride Plastic 4 wood screws Lowe’s 2 0.32

5 Gorilla Glue Lowe’s 1 9.00 Total 24.82 Material cost Estimated 6.00 cost per unit