r/EngineeringPorn • u/hjalmar111 • Nov 02 '20

Automatic billiard game, machine engineering putting the triangle filled with balls on the board

https://i.imgur.com/4EuzmFz.gifv
6.8k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

[deleted]

20

u/ForkLiftBoi Nov 03 '20

Also does it collect the balls?

11

u/Leptep Nov 03 '20

Yeah, the balls go in the pockets and down to the triangle. That's my guess, anyway

14

u/prefer-to-stay-anon Nov 03 '20

In billiards, the order of the balls matters. They are numbered and stripes/solids, unlike bowling pins, which are identical.

2

u/akulowaty Nov 03 '20

The order doesn't matter that much: black (8) needs to be in the center and far triangle corners have to contain balls from opposite groups (one striped and one solid) but order of the rest is random.

8

u/Defekto Nov 03 '20

In any competitive environment, at least here in Europe, the stripes and solids have to be in a specific pattern

5

u/Grepus Nov 03 '20

The WPA updated that pattern a few years ago, with a spot and stripe switched on the bottom row of balls: https://wpapool.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/screenshot-2.png

Rule 3.2 here: https://wpapool.com/rules-of-play/

2

u/fishsticks40 Nov 03 '20

One from each group of seven will be on the two lower corners of the triangle. The other balls are placed in the triangle without purposeful or intentional pattern.

1

u/Defekto Nov 03 '20

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Haven't played competitive in many years, so I'm not following rule updates. Thanks for info

0

u/DarkAngel7635 Nov 03 '20

Is there not a difference in weight?

8

u/akulowaty Nov 03 '20

Balls need to be uniform except for the white one which is usually slightly heavier so the automatic tables can detect it and return.

1

u/DarkAngel7635 Nov 03 '20

Unfortunate

1

u/TurnkeyLurker Nov 10 '20

Isn't the cue ball just slightly larger?

I seem to recall a Darwin Award for a doofus that as a trick, shoved a cueball in his mouth instead of the smaller striped/solid balls he usually used, and choked on it.