Test Procedure and Results

Our test rig allowed a ball to be swung from a pendulum from 11 different heights which corresponded to hitting the bat in 11 different spots. These spots were from 0-10 inches away from the bottom of the bat. For each trial, a ball was released from 40 degrees to ensure that the bat would be hit with a constant force. While the ball was released, the accelerometer that was mounted to the handle of the bat was turned on, recording 3 seconds worth of data.

The data that came from our testing was raw accelerometer data in the X, Y, and Z directions. The data was “raw” because it was unprocessed values that came straight from the accelerometer. Over the 3 second period that each test was being administered, the accelerometer took 300 readings in each the X, Y, and Z directions. The next step is to process that data and further analyze it to find the sweet spot of each bat.  

Test Rig

Our test rig was designed on the principle of a pendulum. We chose this for two reasons, first was for its ease of repeatability with consistent results. Secondly it allowed us to hit the bat at different locations while providing a consistent force. When a pendulum of the same length is released from the same angle it will strike the bat with the same force. In order to strike the bat at different locations the height of the pendulum was raised while holding the length of the pendulum. Each bat was hit at one inch increments for the lower third (barrel part) of the bat starting at the bottom of the bat. This procedure was repeated for each bat. More information about pendulums can be found here.