Out of everything that I have done, this project in my favorite. It combines many of my favorite subjects including: engineering, physics, welding, computer programming, and data analysis. Though, it did not meet the expectations I calculated, it still was a fun idea that I put together.

This project works off of the power of pressure and a lot of PVC. In one pipe (called the vacuum pipe), we have a piston with a rod that extends out the back and connects to the bat. We also remove all the air out of this pipe to reduce excess forces that would be exerted against the piston. In the second pipe, we pump up the pressure very high. Connecting these two pipes is a valve which holds back this high pressure until ready to fire.

When the pressure in the vacuum pipe is very low and the pressure in the pressure pipe is very high, the valve opens dumping all the pressure behind the piston.

This large amount of pressure behind the piston puts thousands of pounds of force on the piston pushing it down the vacuum pipe. Because the piston is connected to the bat via the rod out the back, the bat is rotated very quickly contacting the ball.

Because this force level is very high, it can break the structure the bat is supported on. This is what happened to the axle that supported the bat.