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17 Jun 2024
Development of a Test Bench for Fishing Rods
As part of their Master Thesis of Engineering, three Icam students have been commissioned by Caperlan, Decathlon’s fishing branch, to design and build an innovative test bench. This test bench is intended to evaluate the sensitivity and responsiveness of fishing rods, crucial criteria for the performance and enjoyment of anglers.
Each fishing technique requires specific equipment, particularly fishing rods, where the feel of vibrations is essential. These vibrations can result from the lure’s movement, the type of seabed, or fish bites. Aware of this importance, Caperlan’s R&D team tasked the students with developing a tool to accurately and reliably rank the rods based on their performance.
The testing phase involves characterizing two main aspects of the fishing rods:
- Responsiveness: The speed at which the rod returns to position after being flexed.
- Sensitivity: The ability of the rod to transmit vibrations to the angler.
To measure these characteristics, they use an accelerometer attached to the rod, recording movements after a stimulus. The collected data is analyzed by custom software developed in VBA on Excel, interfaced with an Arduino board. This software automatically classifies the rods based on their measured performance.
The test bench is designed to simulate the grip of a fishing rod. It is compact and fits the available space in Caperlan’s laboratory, with adjustable fixtures for all rod sizes.
Initial tests conducted with the bench showed that the rod classifications aligned well with the opinions of Caperlan’s designers, allowing the establishment of performance categories: poor, average, excellent.
The project team, consisting of Eva Vrech, Axel Riviere-Valarche, and Brice Catherineau, under the leadership of project manager Eric Loupiac, is now finalizing the fabrication and delivery of the test bench. Once implemented, this tool will enable Caperlan to ensure the quality and performance of its fishing rods.
