Design and Simulation of a Numerical Controlled Throwing Device

In a research project we are working on the development of a new technology for the transportation of objects within production systems by throwing or shooting. At the current state of the work objects with masses up to 70 g are thrown with speeds up to 10 m/s over distances up to 3 m. Therefore a prototype of a mechanical throwing device with a spring was realized. At this device the characteristics for the acceleration of the objects can be modified only by mechanical settings. To improve this, in this paper the concept for a numerical controlled throwing device is presented. It includes a commercial available belt driven linear actuator. Since the elasticity of the belt has a significant influence to the dynamic characteristic of such an actuator the motion for throwing an object was simulated.