Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer
Question:
Hello, I purchased the Practice Partner 20. Is there a way to adjust so when the machine throws the ball it’s without any spin. Just to shoot out normal, with no spin? Are there any particular adjustments.
Answer:
This Ask the Experts question was answered by Larry Thoman. He is a Table Tennis Robot Guru. Larry’s response is below:
Pasquale,
There is no way to adjust the Practice Partner 20 robot to shoot a no-spin ball. That robot is a 1-wheel robot. All 1-wheel robots rely on the single wheel to produce spin and speed. So as you increase wheel speed, both ball speed and spin are increased. And conversely, as wheel speed is decreased, ball speed and spin are decreased. And therefore, if no spin, there is no speed.
To get a no spin ball, the robot must have either 2 or 3 wheels. With such a design, to get a no-spin ball, the wheel’s energy is simultaneously applied equally to both the top and bottom of the ball, counteracting any spinning of the ball so all wheel energy is converted to forward ball speed.
All Butterfly Amicus robots have 3 wheels and are capable of throwing no-spin balls. Thanks. Larry
