by Abby Mauer
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, Shawnee, KS
First place
Engineers have a huge role in technology today. They make life easier for us by designing many things from buildings to cars to light bulbs. Engineers are people who are trained and skilled in the design, construction, and use of technologies in any branch of engineering. Engineers design technologies we use in sports today. A technology used in one of my favorite sports is a volleyball. In the game of volleyball, a ball is a simple yet important technology. Without the ball, the game could not be played, and without engineers the ball could not be made.
In 1895, William G. Morgan linked together elements of basketball, baseball, handball, and tennis to create a new sport called volleyball. Back then, the volleyballs people played with were different than the ones used today. At first, people played with a rubber bladder from a basketball, but it wasn’t heavy enough and it moved slowly. Some people even tried to use the basketball itself, but that was way too heavy. Engineers were wondering how they could create the perfect volleyball that wasn’t too light, wouldn’t move too slowly, and wasn’t so heavy that players couldn’t get it up in the air.
Finally, a solution was found. William G. Morgan approached a factory called A.G Spalding & Bros. in Massachusetts and asked for a special ball to be made for the game. In 1900, A.G Spalding & Bros. designed a ball consisting of three layers. The first layer was a latex bladder made from a bicycle tire, the middle layer was a cheesecloth material, and the last layer was the outer layer of the ball made from leather. This design worked well and was similar to the balls we use today.
Have you ever wondered who designs high-tech volleyballs? Different types of engineers are involved in the process of designing a volleyball. Materials engineers who make volleyballs specialize in polymer engineering. Most volleyballs have bladders that are made out of a special rubber called butyl, which is prepared by polymerization. Another type of engineer who is involved with manufacturing volleyballs is a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineers design the equipment used to manufacture volleyballs. Chemical engineers produce the chemicals needed in the volleyball material and bladder. Industrial engineers run the equipment used to manufacture volleyballs.
A popular volleyball brand is Tachikara. When I play volleyball, I use Tachikara Volley-Lite® volleyballs. Volley-Lite® volleyballs were developed for youth, so that kids could easily get used the sport with a light and soft ball that wouldn’t hurt their hands. Engineers designed the Volley- Lite® volleyball to help youth develop skills; it is 25% lighter than an adult ball. It was also designed with Sensi-Tec® micro fiber composite leather which features a resin-fused fiber cover to provide better control and a truer touch. Engineers developed Volley-Lite® volleyballs by lengthening, strengthening, and adding tackiness to the fibers in the material to create a higher quality ball.
When developing this volleyball, engineers had to be aware of constraints. Materials engineers had to decide what materials they should use to make the volleyball just right. They may have discovered a material that was exceptional and worked well on the ball, but was expensive to manufacture. That would mean the retail price of the volleyballs would be expensive, and people might not want to pay a lot for a volleyball. Mechanical and industrial engineers had to face constraints when deciding what machines to run in the factory and when to run them. Different machines might produce more or less volleyballs. Chemical engineers faced constraints when deciding what chemicals would compose the different layers of the ball to be just right.
Perhaps in the future, volleyballs could be manufactured out of recycled material. This would be beneficial for the environment and also not add to landfills. To reduce pollution, volleyball factories could run on something other than fossil fuels. Materials engineers for Tachikara volleyballs could develop a cheaper and more functional material so more people would purchase the balls. Environmental and ecological engineers could be involved in manufacturing volleyballs in the future.
Engineers make it possible to play the sports we play today, especially volleyball, by designing the ball used for the game. Engineers have improved volleyballs since the first one was manufactured in 1900, but they have had to face constraints when developing solutions. Just think of all that engineers have completed throughout the years. What could possibly come in the future?
Sources:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/Academics/Schools
http://www.tachikara.com/VolleyballTraining.YKD/SVMNC.BKW
http://www.livestrong.com/article/352681-history-of-volleyball-balls/
http://www.tachikara.com/AboutTachikara/AboutTachikara
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.thesaurus.com/