Ping Pong Paddle Reconstructions

For this project, I wanted to create my own custom ping pong paddles and wanted to mess with the materials and the shaping of the paddles. Since the blade of the paddle (the part you hit the ball with) has standard dimensions, I decided to focus my project on manipulating the handle of a ping pong paddle. I 3-D printed various handle prototypes that I designed in 123D Design.

Brainstorming:

I spent some time on the white board listing and drawing possible ideas for paddle prototypes. I worked with a visiting product designer at Apple Inc. who came to our class. He gave me a few ideas regarding the material that I could use to make my prototypes and some tips on how to have an effective brainstorming process.

Sketching:

I came up with a few handle shapes and thought of different materials I could use for my paddle handles.

Handle Design Prototypes:

I began to design possible handles using 123D Design, and then 3-D printed the designs.

Base design 1.0

Handle design 1.0

After completing base design 1.0 and handle design 1.0, I realized that the handle would be too short for a comfortable grip. The grip was kind of comfortable, but the handle size was slightly too short. Thus, I created new prototypes called handle design 2.0 and base design 2.0—replicas of the previous prototypes above, but scaled to be a bit larger for a more comfortable handle grip.

Left: Handle and Base Design 1.0 | Right: Handle and Base Design 2.0

I was pleased with the dimensions of the handle and base design 2.0 prototypes. They provided a comfortable grip for one’s hand.

I also wanted to design a curved handle for a paddle. I made the design using 123D Design is below. Rather than 3D printing the design, I decided to laser-cut a prototype of the curved handle . Below is the prototype:

Curvy Handle Design

With these designs, I was now ready to create my paddle designs out of wood.

Paddle Prototypes:

First, I wanted to create the paddle using handle 2.0. I decided to create my paddles by laser-cutting and wood-gluing three components of the paddle (in the displayed order):

• Handle
• Handle + blade
• Handle

The paddle after wood-gluing is displayed below:

Handle Design 2.0 Paddle (Before Sanding)

I then sanded these designs using a belt sander. The sanded handle design 2.0 paddle is shown below:

Sanded Paddle with Handle 2.0

I then wanted to create my curvy handle paddle with the same concept. I created three pieces (the same way for the paddle above) and wood-glued them together. I then sanded the edges using a belt sander. The curvy handle paddle is shown below:

Curved Handle Paddle (After Sanding)

I decided to test these two paddles out and let others try them. Overall, the feedback I received was extremely positive. While playing, I noticed that the paddles hit the ping pong ball harder than they would if they had padding on their blades. Thus, I decided to order padding for the paddles, cut them out, and glued them to the blades of each paddle.

Here are the final prototypes:

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