Tinkercad Bouncing Ball Simulation

In this project, you will be making a bouncing ball in an app called Tinkercad. Tinkercad is a free software that is a great intro to CAD. Note that in this picture, the picture is a good quality; the background in the image looks grainy. This is a fun project that unlike other versions, it uses the animations that are realistic physics. Under the powers of real physics, the ball will eventually stop moving.

All you need for this project is your device (preferably a computer).

1. First, you need to go to Tinkercad.com.
2. If you have an account already, log in. If you don't have an account, click the sign up button.
3. The account will need to be approved by an adult with an account if you are under the age of 13.

1. Press the "+ Create" button at the top right corner.
2. You must then select the "3d Design". It will open you to a randomly titled blank Workspace. It should look something like this (see pic. 3).

1. Click the Settings button (that is circled). It will come up with the Workspace Settings.
2. Make sure the Units are set to Imperial.
3. Set the Workspace size to where you want them. I suggest maxing it out at 78.74 x 78.74 inches.
4. Make sure all the other settings match.
5. If you want to keep those settings for all your projects, press Make Default.
6. When you are done, press the X in the top right corner of the Workspace Settings.
7. Now change the title in the top left corner. You can keep it as the random title, but I suggest you change it to something you'll recognize, like "Bouncing Ball".

1. Select the blue ball.
2. Hold C and click on the Workspace. This should place the ball.
3. Select the ball again. Use your mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out. Use the black up arrow to drag the ball up. If need be, press and hold the right mouse button (RMB) to change your view of the ball. If you want to move your view, click and hold the center mouse button (CMB). I suggest having it up at least 20 inches.

1. Select the falling apple icon. This will take you to the Sim (Simulation) Lab.
2. Select the ball.
3. Select the Material button.
4. Scroll down and select the Bouncy Rubber. This allows the ball to bounce.

1. Make sure you are still in Sim Lab and that you are not selected on the ball.
2. Select the Scene Settings button (it looks like mountains and the Sun).
3. Select the Bouncy Rubber button. Then, click off of that.

1. Using the RMB and the CMB, move the screen around until you are in a view that you think would be good for watching the Simulation.
2. Press the triangle or "Play" button at the bottom left. The ball should begin falling then bouncing.
3. When it is done bouncing, or you want to stop it, press the "Pause" button (it is in the same place as the "Play" button, except it is the pause symbol/the two lines).
4. To reset the ball, press the "Reset" button at the bottom right corner. Note that in the first and second pictures, the ball is actually floating, not on the edge like it might appear. It makes sense that it uses Bouncy Rubber because it is the bounciest thing in Tinkercad.

The materials I featured in this project are materials that maximize the bounce height based on the dropping height. Other options are changing the gravity, the materials, the color (in this picture it is red), and making the building plane shake (these can all be found under the Scene Settings).

1. In order to make an earthquake, you must go under Scene Settings in the Sim Lab.
2. Scroll down to Shake Amplitude and turn it up as much as you want. It makes the Workspace shake when you start the Simulation. It mostly only affects the ball when it gets lower to the ground in bouncing.

1. To change the gravity, go under Scene Settings and find the Gravity (g). There is a slider bar to change it, but there are four icons, the Moon, Mars, Earth, and Jupiter, that you can click on. They change the gravity to what the real moon/planet has. The Moon is 0.16, Mars is 0.38, Earth is 1, and Jupiter is 2.65. However, you can change the gravity from 0 (where in this case the ball would stay floating in the same spot) all the way to 3.

In order to understand this, you must understand density. The more dense something is, the harder it would be to squeeze. The Bouncy Rubber is not extremely dense, so it can press in and push out to spring back up much easier. Something like steel is very dense, so it has little to no give to let it bounce. The density goes along with the flexibility. Even though you can't see it, the ball and the Workspace technically both flex when they make an impact with each other. It can only flex out of shape so much, so they must go back in their original shape, making the ball bounce.

1. Changing the color is simple. What you do is select the button labeled "Color" that is next to the "Material" button.
2. You must be selected on the ball to change the ball color, or if you aren't, it will change the color of the Workspace.

Overall, I chose this project because I like making things move, especially in Tinkercad. I hope you try this project and you customize it. I encourage you to post an I Made It if you have made this project. Check out my profile here. Thank you for viewing.