Solenoid Plunger Design Through the Lens of Pinball Machine Reconstruction

Abstract

The playfield elements of older electromechanical pinball machines are not as fast as modern pinball machines as modern ones use solid-state electronics. This project sought to improve the performance speed of the electromechanical pinball bumper through solenoid plunger design. Conical plungers were chosen to be designed as they create a high pull-in force indicating a faster response time and velocity. Using COMSOL to simulate the solenoid plunger movement, different configurations of conical plungers were tested, and the two with the best performance were machined for physical testing. Through physical testing, the plunger with the best performance was chosen from the two as the final design, in which it was found that conical plungers do increase the velocity of the solenoids compared to their original flat-faced plungers.