String Pinsetter

[theultimateandy]

I wanted to throw this topic out there. I know many of us want a pinspotter, but a free falling pinsetter has many parts, takes a long time to build, and is very complex. Has anyone considered a string setting machine? All you need is a ball return and the mechanism to set the pins, no sweep, pinwheel or distributor to worry about. What do you guys think?

[Stevejt66]

Maybe if I had a second lane, but would definitely want a lane with no strings...it affects the pinfall.

[brokenpin]

I have thought about a building a string pinsetter but as Steve said it does effect pinfall. So Andy, you going to show us how to do it?

[theultimateandy]

I have thought about a building a string pinsetter but as Steve said it does effect pinfall. So Andy, you going to show us how to do it?

That is why I threw this out there. I studied Qubica's TMS pinspotter, and I think that it would probably take about 3-4 weekends to build a string setter. This project would use some Arduino boards for the brain. A majority of the parts would be available at your local hardware store, everything else I would be able to tell you where to get it. If there were enough people interested, I would do an actual tutorial for the various parts of the pinsetter. I don't foresee any specialized fabrication requiring specialized tools. I think basic wordworking tools, a drill, and maybe some tin snips, a hack saw, and other small tools would do it for this project. I would estimate the cost for materials for this project will be around $1000, with most of the cost going to the Arduino boards and solenoids (the price varies a lot, but for non surplus solenoids they are running around $35 each, and you will need 10 of them.)

The best thing about this project is all you need is the pinsetter, no moving carpet/ pit, no sweeps, distribution or pinwheels, and you probably don't need a ball return either, you could design a gravity feed ball return that would be adequate for returning the ball without the need of a motor.

I do believe the strings can affect the pinfall, but I believe the effect is minimal, and the advantages of a machine setting the pins far outweighs the disadvantage of the strings interfering with pinfall, IMO.

[ModelTech]

Ya know, Andy I had thought of that myself. It would not work in 1/12th scale. I tried it. It DOES work in 1/6th, and I had plans to build a manual system. No motors or any complicated stuff. A grand??? Can't do that! Ha ha! It would be really easy to run the strings back to the bowler, and a very simple system would work.

Doug

[brokenpin]

There is a video on youtube of a a string setter that uses legos or something like that and he used weighted string and an arm to hold the knocked down pins in the air. Would something like that be able to be done bigger?

[theultimateandy]

I believe this is the one you are talking about.

That is an interesting concept. The only problems I see with it is with the amount of room the unit would take up and the untangling sequence. It would be more complex to run a untangling sequence with the respotting arm on the second ball. His strings are quite short, so he shouldn't get too many tangling issues. Check out this video as well, this is a fully automatic 5 pin lego setter. Check out the pin orentation system on it, it scans each pin and rotates it accordingly.

[9-pin Kegler]

I built a 1/3 scale string pinsetter for 9 pin bowling:
www.fewokatalog.com/bowlingalley/

See also:

http://www.bowltech.com/forums/showthread.php?20432-Homemade-Bowling-Alley-and-Pinsetter

[ModelTech]

OMG...This is...I don't know what to say! I have never seen anything like that 5-pin Lego! That is darn scary. And 9-pin Kegler has just the system I wanted to do. I could not find the pins, nor do I have electronics knowledge. Makes me want to hang my head. My little project is NOTHING like these...not even in the same league...

Doug

[dberber]

They'll put a string pinsetter on my mini lane...after they pry the Linds mini pins out of my cold, dead hands!

I don't mind setting pins. It's fun and I can do it at speeds that rival the AMF 8800 Gold's 8.5 seconds.

[brokenpin]

LOl dberber, I my self being the only one that would mostly be using my mini lane would get tired of walking back and forth each frame setting pins.

[theultimateandy]

Well, so much for the string pinsetter idea. I was working on another idea for a pinsetter though. I know a lot of people here want a pinsetter, and there really is no pratical way of reproducing the machine that I am working on and still make it somewhat affordable, so here is the other idea I have been kicking around. Some people thought it would be a good idea to have a kit type assembly that could be put together. I was thinking about designing a hybrid pinspotter which would use a deck and turret similar to the A2, except less mechanical. The respot cells (one of the most complicated parts of the pinspotter) would be fixed similar to that one that dberber had posted on my 1/2 scale thread that can only pick up 9 pins, a pinwheel and a sweep (yet to be determined the style of sweep.) I would have tutorials on how to put the machine together. The big problem I am having is price. The guess-timated price of the kit would be around $15000 for the pinspotter, with a large portion going just for raw materials and outside fabrication of certain parts. This would be in kit form, so assembly would be required. I would need at least 6 people who would be interested for me to seriously consider going ahead with the project. Keep in mind the q-bowling machine is running around $12000-14000, and is mass produced in China. Feedback please.

[dhudach]

I think patent infringement would be one of the biggest issues.

[theultimateandy]

It is a concern, but before I do a ton of research, I wanted to make sure I had people interested in purchasing the kits before doing so.

[dhudach]

Got it. But that was my feedback!