The purpose of the IMechE Challenge is to test students ability to design within strict guidelines. The concept is to give undergraduates a real world design project with real world restrictions.

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The 2016 challenge was to design a device to fire a squash ball up to 6 meters that would fit within a 400 x 400 x 400mm space and cost under £20.

We came up with a few concept designs including a slingshot and a crossbow. The final design was an amalgamation of both ideas using the power of bungee cord instead of the crossbow arms. This resulted in an incredibly consistent range-accuracy. The cannon-like barrel helped to keep the projectile in line with the target.

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In testing, our device performed well scoring a perfect bullseye three times in four shots. Sadly a small part failure sidelined our device during the finals meaning that two other devices were selected to go to the regionals. Our device was however noted by our tutors for its design and repeated accuracy.

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Another part of the challenge was to design a poster, to display the design, and a presentation to show how the final design came to be. Though our design may not have got through to the regionals, our poster and presentation were voted the best by our peers and tutors.