Design and Test a Ping-Pong Paddle
Ping-pong paddles made with biocomposite materials.Copyright 2018 Kelsey Mongeon North Dakota State University RET
Emphasizing the design, build, and test steps of the engineering design process, groups create a ping-pong paddle. After building their paddle, students conduct tests and compare their design to a store-bought paddle and use a Venn diagram to organize their information. Based on their results, students write product reviews for their paddle. This project allows students to build and test a design, iterate upon that design as well as explore how data analysis of a product works.
In this activity, students are shown how materials scientists, materials engineers, and mechanical engineers work together to help innovate the ping-pong paddle for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Like engineers, students collaborate to study, design, build, and test ping-pong paddles made out of different materials. After testing, students analyze results and redesign their prototype to create the most control-friendly and durable ping-pong paddle. Throughout the project, students learn to document like an engineer and record their findings in a modified engineering notebook. Students also learn the importance of communicating with other engineers, which allows progress to continue.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the engineering design process.
- Compare designs of ping-pong paddles.
- Think and outline design iteration suggestions.
- Write product reviews of paddles.