How Its Made - Bowling Pins

[bowl1820]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxcF_7qmjc

[CeKnauss]

I love these kinds of videos, but she calls the rings on the neck "decorative stripes"... They are there for the camera to determine which pins are still standing.

[bowl1820]

I love these kinds of videos, but she calls the rings on the neck "decorative stripes"... They are there for the camera to determine which pins are still standing.

I never heard that before (Not to say that's not what they are or were for at some time), But I have seen solid color pins with no stripes and the camera see's them.

[CeKnauss]

I'm doing some searching to see where I saw it, but as I recall, the paint used in the neck is usually reflective to a certain spectrum of light (usually infrared) that allows the camera to more accurately read which pins are standing.

Edit: It seems as though this only applies to AMF machines. Brunswick machines have a flap that indicates to the machine which pins are still upright.

[circlecity]

I wonder what the average life is for a bowling pin.

[bowl1820]

It seems as though this only applies to AMF machines. Brunswick machines have a flap that indicates to the machine which pins are still upright.

Most of the modern machines use a infra red ball detector to show when the ball goes into the pin deck and use a CCD scanner camera to see which pins are standing.

[bowl1820]

I wonder what the average life is for a bowling pin.

Most have said about 12-18 months average. The AMFLite Pinnacle pin's have a two-year/10,000 game warranty.

As a comparison Here's from the 1996 Brunswick Pin Care Manual when they used the MAX pins.

"Under normal conditions, with two sets of pins per pinsetter, a pin should last:
-30 games per day 6 months
-60 games per day 4 months
-90 games per day 2 months"

That would be a busy house, that's a lot of games to do in a day.

[CeKnauss]

Most of the modern machines use a infra red ball detector to show when the ball goes into the pin deck and use a CCD scanner camera to see which pins are standing.

That's probably why I've heard different. Most of the houses here in Oklahoma that I bowl at use much older AMF pinsetters.

[MICHAEL]

Is there anything you haven't covered in the many years you have been here,,, I should have know!! LOL
I liked mine better!! (:)
Very interesting, I had no idea how much work goes into making the pins! I like the fist throw at the end,,, split!! :o

[Mudpuppy]

very outdated way to manufacture something like a bowling pin - baseballs are the same way. They use 12 dozen per MLB game - 144 baseballs - that is crazy. Every time it touches the dirt = new ball. What a waste.

But these manufacturing facilities are one of the last ones to embrace new technology. I would assume in about 2-5 years they will make bowling pins and baseballs on 3D printers. There is so many possibilities of making these things way more efficient and consistent than they do (that are not 3D printers).