The Excalibur Catapult

Excalibur Catapults

Hakeem Abdul, Kyle Miller, Shane Mumaw and Michael Tobias

Ashland University – MBA 517

07/08/2017

Executive Summary

The group objective was to design and build a catapult which meets a required set of specifications. The Excalibur Catapult was designed for the sole purpose of launching a rubber ball and striking a target 30’ away. In designing the catapult, we considered numerous design factors to make sure the final product is precise, durable, safe and able to meet our desired requirements. Multiple sessions of brainstorming, designing, testing and analysis were conducted prior to completing the objective. The out-of-pocket costs incurred in the construction of Excalibur were only $54. While the costs associated with construction are minimal, the market price for similar catapults is much cheaper making the production of the product in-house unsustainable and our choice for distribution much easier to select.

The required specifications for Excalibur were that it’s maximum dimensions not exceed 16” high X 24” long X 16” in width. Catapults similar to Excalibur are typically used by companies, educational institutions and households for physical design experiments, cause and effect training and pure enjoyment. Experimenting with catapults is an enjoyable activity that makes learning about their physics fun and interesting. Because of this, our target market will include schools, universities and the do-it-yourself crowd. We have surveyed a sample of schools across the United States and our findings show that catapult related experiments are a required learning outcome for a high proportion of students within grades five through seven in the physical science classes. Excalibur is a new product and we believe by focusing initially on the above target market through specific online advertising campaigns we will be able to better study the rollout performance and sales data with the plan of adding additional markets thereafter.

Upon performing a cost benefit and PESTEL analysis of Excalibur, we have decided that instead of manufacturing and distributing it ourselves, we will sell our design plan with an itemized bill of materials and instructions on how to assemble. This manufacturing choice was relatively easy to decide on as there are numerous inexpensive kits currently available for sale online. By selling only the plans, instead of a finished product or kit, we will eliminate the need for setting-up and implementing a supply chain, storing raw materials and hiring additional manufacturing employees. This will allow us to sell the designs at a much more competitive price compared to competing companies selling catapult kits. Further, our competitor’s kits, when purchased online, typically take an estimated two business days for delivery. Excalibur Catapults will be able to send a PDF copy of the plans immediately after payment has been received allowing the end user to begin construction instantly.