Hello everyone, welcome back to Motion Monday 👋 This week I worked on a motion analysis of a bowling setup — but instead of just one shot, I tried three different variations to see how the outcome changes. All three cases start from the exact same position, with the ball given an initial velocity of 3 m/s. What changes is how the ball interacts with the pins based on its path and spin.

Case 1: Direct Strike (No Spin)

Initial Velocity = 3 m/s

This is the most straightforward case — the ball goes straight into the center. The impact is clean and symmetric, and the pins scatter outward in a fairly predictable way.

Case 2: Edge Strike (With Spin)

Initial Velocity = 3 m/s
Angular Velocity = 50 rpm

Here the ball approaches slightly off-center with added spin. This creates a more dynamic interaction — the pins don’t just get pushed, they start to deflect and collide in a more realistic chain reaction.

Case 3: Miss / Alley Shot

Initial Velocity = 3 m/s
Angular Velocity = 200 rpm

In this case, increasing the spin significantly changes the path of the ball. Instead of striking the pins effectively, it drifts away, resulting in a complete miss.

What makes this interesting is that the starting position and linear speed remain the same in all three cases. Just changing the angular velocity and point of contact completely alters the outcome.

It’s a simple example, but a good reminder that motion isn’t just about how fast something moves — it’s about direction, rotation, and how those combine during interaction.

To Play with the motion yourself you can download SOLIDWORKS file from below.
 

3DPlay Model	Model Zip

See you next Monday 👋

Edu MotionMonday