Shoeball

Designed and manufactured a version of the Brazilian game Tamancobol that is more mobile than your traditional table tennis, table soccer or Tamancobol set. I used TIG welding to manufacture the paddles (pictured below) and the materials used were steel, aluminum and birch. Made for the freshmen of Trancos, the dorm I was a Resident Assistant in, so that I could share a game from my home country of Brazil that I played growing up with the community I was a part of.

Lessons Learned

This was an individual project so I had to learn how to program myself. I had to set deadlines for myself and hold myself accountable to those as I progressed through the weeks I spent designing and manufacturing the game.

I learned to be intentional about materials when designing. This was for three reasons: aesthetics, purpose and cost. It was balancing these attributes that I decided upon what to use:

I chose aluminum for the curved playfield and gutter for the game as they were both large pieces that needed to be bent. Aluminum was a lightweight material that could be formed to the shape I desired. Sandblasting the surface produced a finish that would persist as the game was played and wouldn't be distracting to the players.
The paddles were made of steel and birch wood. These are the parts that see the most impact and are what the user interacts with directly. The steel allowed for easier manufacturing than aluminum, as it is easier to weld and it is harder to bend, which is good for the intended purpose.
Birch plywood was used for the outer casing of the game. Plywood is cheaper than the solid pieces used for the paddles and they provide a good balance of strength and weight, as well as coming in large pieces that can be attached together.
I considered using bearings for the paddles but they would be a very expensive solution. Nylon bushings proved to be perfect for the task, they were cheap and easily assembled with a press fit at the ends of the paddles.
Finally for improved gameplay, I chose to use tennis grips on the paddles adding a sporty feel to the game and providing good grip to the combined torsion and lateral movement required to play. The choice of the ball was also intentional. A normal foosball ball is very loud to play with. My choice of a squash ball worked like a charm to drastically decrease the noise so the game was not distracting to other people in the room. This was particularly important as it would be used in a common space of a freshman dormitory and would allow for other activities to be carried out in the same room.