Prototype Shoulder Cannon

[AegisAvenger]

Hey everyone, I am in awe of spudfiles. This website is amazing. I was hoping some (or probably all of you) would be able to help me along. I'm in the early stages of starting a website. Among other things, I plan to sell and show off my Pneumatic cannons on my site.



I have a few cannons up so far, but the one I want everyone's opinion on is the "ATLAS" cannon. It's a shoulder mounted one, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to pressurize it.. I just put up a video and a few pictures. If anyone has a few minutes, I'd really appreciate any ideas you might have!!

http://AegisAvenger.Com (my site)

http://weirdworks.blogspot.com/ (cannon section)




Thanks very much!!

-A.J.

[littlebro05]

First post! I hope... Now that jizz in my pants material!

You know what, you remind me of the terminator!

Have you shot it yet... any recoil cause that would be awesome XD.

What type of air release are you using like piston? sprinkler? Can't tell cause I've never really made an advance air gun before.

[CpTn_lAw]

Hey welcome on spudfiles! I went on your website and watched the videos, your cannons are great! Aesthetics are cool, the use of metal is cool too (well, i like metal). There is one thing that's been bothering me....You are using the solenoid to operate the valve??? That's gonna give you two things : 100% you're not gonna hurt anyone
100% cool factor for the push-button fire.
But, if you want your cannons to be powerfull, i suggest you get into pneumatic actuation, or hybrid setup. I'd love to see that shoulder cannon as a 2x hybrid ! that would be much more terminator!!
Hope to seeing new creations soon!!

[starman]

Welcome to Spudfiles.

You should know that you won't be allowed to sell or actively advertise your products from the forum pages. If you would like to advertise, you can contact PCGUY and work out an advertising arrangement.

You really didn't describe the inner workings of the cannon much, like what are you using for a chamber, why all the extra length of rubber hoses and what is your rationale for using propane as your propellant as opposed to CO2 or HPA.

I assume the purpose of the fake backpack is to balance and have something to bear the weight of the cannon itself. Also, the arm gauntlet seems overbearing and overly complicated for the few operations it performs...it does look cool though...

Sorry, I don't mean to seem totally negative on the cannon. You obviously have some skills in fabrication and a reasonable knowledge of pneumatic cannonry. It's just that for all its complexity and bling factor, there is really little to recommend it from a practical or performance perspective.

One practical issue is loading it. Since you can't reach that far, you'll have to take the barrel off to muzzle load each shot....or...have a buddy do it for you.

Edit: Well in looking again, maybe you can just barely reach that far....

[suburban spudgunner]

I'm not even going to pretend that I know what's happening in that armband...

Looks pretty impressive.

[thedeathofall]

I think its time to add a jet pack to the mix...

[AegisAvenger]

Hey everyone!! Thanks for all the nice replies. Especially the terminator one. (I think)

I didn't mean to advertise, I'm sorry about that. In all honesty I only have like 4 cannons in my garage haha. Just trying to pay for rent and side projects I want to make someday.

To be a bit more detailed, the Atlas cannon IS using a Sprinkler Valve (1 inch) The solenoid runs down to the arm gauntlet I'm wearing, where it is split into a blue safety switch on top of the gauntlet, and a lever trigger inside the gauntlet. I'm not too familiar with Pneumatic Actuation yet, but I'm sure I'll get into it soon. (I just like that electronic trigger way too much!!)

I originally ran it off air, pressurizing with a bike pump. Now I'm using a very very very small butane/propane camping bottle. I'm attempting to upgrade to those bigger green propane bottles this week. And in the future I'll be using C02. Gotta save up for a regulator though!!

This cannon isn't finished yet. I really just wanted to see if a shoulder mounted rig would even work!! I'm still working on a way to load the cannon while wearing it. (probably a really ugly gravity feed tube) And as soon as I can get my hands on a propane bottle regulator, I will put up a video for you all firing some heavy duty ammo at targets. Hopefully soon!!

Okay.. gonna go geek out over everyone elses cannons now. Back in 5 hours haha.

[AegisAvenger]

I think its time to add a jet pack to the mix...

Mmmm like I said. "Side Projects"

someday!!

[john bunsenburner]

Avoid doble posting, instead use the edit botton, like that we can stop and avoid bots and the space sint filled up my loads of posts, just try not to do it

[SpudsMcGee]

Wow, um I think I need to change my pants after looking at this very nice job for your post or even your 100th. Keep up the good work, and...

Welcome to SpudFiles.

[sputnick]

I don't really understand it,

If the barrel were shorter, it would look FAR better, but would have FAR less performance, and all the gratuitous hoses and gauges are a little too steam punk for my taste,

Looks like a lot of style, not much function, and that goes against my inner Kalashnikov, but hey, whatever sells.

Just my 2 cents

[thedeathofall]

I'm still working on a way to load the cannon while wearing it. (probably a really ugly gravity feed tube)

Why not try JSR's Blow forward breech? It has been used in larger barrel sizes before, and it really helps the feeding issue.

If you look at Clide's slider cannon (take away the fancy valves and stuff) all it is is a piston valve with a blowforward breech. He has it hooked up to a compressor for automatic refill.

[starman]

I'm still working on a way to load the cannon while wearing it. (probably a really ugly gravity feed tube)

Maybe you should consider a breach loading barrel...that's your real fix for this issue anyway.

[AegisAvenger]

You guys are making me want to build 5 duplicates just so I can test each idea haha.

I'm still working it out in my head, but I'm toying with the idea of adding some sort of electronic trigger rather than a manual loading mechanism.

Here's the simple version:
I punch a button on my arm and a ball is released into the chamber.


Here's the complex version I really want:
What I really want to do though is have about 7 or so ping pong balls in a clear hose tube. One end of the tube is connected to a hose nipple. The nipple is connected to a sprinkler valve which is connected to a pressurized chamber.

The other end of the hose is connected to a one way flow valve. Like those plumbing valves that have a door flap that only opens one way.

Upon pushing a button, the sprinkler valve opens, letting a very small amount of air into the ammo tube. The balls are pushed toward the one way flap, and one ball enters into the chamber. There is no danger of overfilling the chamber and jamming because there is only room for one ball in the chamber. When the button is released, the flap closes because there is no more pressure pushing on it.

Voila, ball loaded.

That's a bit confusing I know. But that's so my style. Making a huge mess and controlling it with 2 buttons.

=)

[Lentamentalisk]

well if you are just firing pingpong balls, you can shorten the barrel to about 1', and greatly reduce the air used, without hurting your performance in the least. The only reason you would need a barrel that long is if you start using heavier projectiles, which could cause a problem, if mounted directly to the shoulder...