AUTOMATED BASEBALL FIELD

LINING DEVICE

Ryan O’Connor

The Problem The problem identified is that it is difficult

to effectively lay down straight and accurate foul lines on a baseball field, making it difficult for player and umpires to distinguish between batted balls which fall fair or foul down these lines.

The equipment used to draw these lines is heavy, difficult to push, and generally uncooperative

The Solution I have devised a machine that uses

electrical motors to pull a chassis along a guide-wire, allowing it to pull a basin of chalk and a can of spray paint for the dirt and grass portions of the line, respectively.

The wire would reach from home plate to the foul pole, and would be strung very tightly to minimize path deviation.

The Project The Project was initially planned to be a

production-based project with a functioning robot

The robot was to be built from steel components and a single AC motor that would be incorporated into a gearbox that would drive a pair of pulleys on the top of the machine.

The Project The primary objective of this project is to

produce a functioning robot system capable of traveling in a straight path while laying down chalk and spray paint for baseball foul lines

The Engineering Electrical – The robot will be powered by

a DC battery mounted on the chassis. This battery will be used to power the motor that will drive the gears that pull the robot along the guide wire

Mechanical – The motor will be incorporated into a gearbox that will allow for the pulley system to pull the robot along the wire

The Budget The original budget for this project was

about $50.00 My plan was to use parts from my SRC

project last year to build the chassis and gearbox

I would spend the $50 on scrap and sheet metal that would be used to build the superstructure

All chalk, paint, and the basin would be provided by the Landstown Baseball team

The Budget Unfortunately, I had to wait until

December to confirm whether or not I would be able to use the chassis

I was then informed that I could not I then looked into potentially buying the

parts myself

The Budget The robot chassis would cost between

$350 and $550 Each high-torque motor would cost

between $50 and $150 The gears, hardware, and electrical

supplies would total to approximately $50

In total, a functioning machine would cost between $500 and $900 to build

The Budget This budget made self-funding the

project entirely unfeasible I was then forced to reevaluate my

Senior Design Project

The New Project As such, I had to transition my

functioning project to a series of 2D and 3D CADD drawings (Computer Aided Drafting and Design)

The Learning Curve Unfortunately, in nearly four years at

Landstown, I have never taken a CADD class, and have never used the intricate, advanced drafting software needed

As such, I had to teach myself how to use AutoCAD to produce 2D drawings

I also had to teach myself how to use Autodesk Inventor Professional to produce my 3D drawings and models

My first “CADD”

My initial technical drawings

The Design Process I began by designing the chassis for the

robot, based on the GearsED I measured the specifications from the

GearsED chassis I used last year

The Design Process I used these specifications to design a

to-scale model of the chassis

The Design Process I took these designs and created a 3D

version, along with two axels and 4 wheels to complete the chassis

The Design Process After completing the Chassis, I devised

the superstructure of the robot

The Design Process I again incorporated these designs into

my 3D model of the chassis

The Design Process After the Superstructure was complete, I

designed a model of the motor that I would buy and utilize in my robot

The Design Process I then took the motor and incorporated it

into the superstructure assembly

The Design Process Following completion of the

superstructure, I began devising the chalk basin

I used the specs from the LHS Baseball team’s chalk basin for my model and created 2D drawings based on my measurements

The Design Process

The Design Process

The Design Process After designing the components that

would form the basin structure, I integrated them into a 3D model

The Design Process I then created my own wheels to replace

the stock wheels on the basin These wheels would have low friction

and high traction in both dirt and mud

The Design Process I then added these wheels on low-

friction axels mounted on the basin

The Design Process I then had to devise a way of mounting

the chalk basin to the chassis. I custom-designed a piece that would do

this

The Design Process I then built a 3D model of this part and

affixed it to the chassis

The Design Process Next, I attached the Chalk Basin to the

chassis via the custom basin mount

The Design Process This left only the spray paint that would

draw the outfield lines Again, I had to engineer a custom piece

that would mount the spray can This piece would also need to be able to

hold the can in the “on” position while it moves

The Design Process

The Design Process I then incorporated this piece into the

chassis

The Design Process

The Final Design With all of the components assembled

and integrated, the design was complete The robot design is now capable of

pulling itself along a guide wire It is also capable of pulling a basin filled

with chalk, as well as a can of spray paint

The Final Design

The Final Design

The Final Design

The Final Design

The Final Design