PLEASE HELP!!!

chelsea+alli · Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:56 pm

Hello we are Chelsea and Alli:)
We are trying to build a pnuematic spud cannon for a physics project. We have to launch a projectile 100 meters, and hit a target. What is the easiest way to build a cannon with this amount of power and percision.

Pete Zaria · Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:25 pm

Give us some more info.

What's the project budget? To be honest, you're looking at around $50 minimum to pull that off.

How big is the target you're going to be aiming at? Obviously a pickup truck is easier to hit than a quarter, so what are you shooting at?

What do you intend to use for a projectile? Potatoes aren't very accurate. Golf balls aren't horrible, but not that great either.

What exactly is the objective of the project? Studying projectiles in flight, acceleration, deceleration, trajectory angles, aerodynamics, what?

Give us more information (as above) and we can help.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

PS, welcome to spudfiles.

schmanman · Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:29 pm

probably a sprinkler valve cannon (electric actuation) with a 1.5 inch, 5 foot long barrel, and a 2 foot long 3 inch diameter air chamber.

I wish I had to d a project like that.

Hotwired · Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:54 pm

Pete, I'm guessing its firing potatos since its called a Spud Cannon.

Funny someone else should have a project like this going right now. I've given myself the exact same thing for a college project but with a £100 budget and hitting 50cmx50cm at 50m.

Its a design/evaluation thing though, no points for construction

.

For the simplest and cheapest design I'd second an electric sprinkler valve and an over-under layout. You can't really go wrong with that.

zeigs spud · Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:18 pm

schmanman wrote:probably a sprinkler valve cannon (electric actuation) with a 1.5 inch, 5 foot long barrel, and a 2 foot long 3 inch diameter air chamber.

I wish I had to d a project like that.

yepp if anything mabey just up those specs all by x2. but that should be good.

MisterSteve124 · Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:37 pm

Well hotwired people make potato cannons to fire golf balls but they still call them potato cannons. To hit a target 300meters away you would have to have something pretty powerful and really accurate. You should read this http://www.spudfiles.com/spud_wiki/inde ... tic_cannon It will tell you basically how they work. I would think Pete is right there wouldn't really be a way to spend less than 50 bucks. Plus you are going to need an air compressor unless you are using a CO2 tank. Unless you want to use a bike pump, but its all in that link just read the whole thing.

Hotwired · Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:55 pm

Well I'm merely guessing this ones for tossing taters because of the words "We are trying to build a pnuematic spud cannon"...

pyromanic13 · Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:50 pm

aren't there diagrams all over the internet? can they not look?

I guess I'm just cranky..

noname · Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:40 am

<a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtop ... =3607&">My gun </a> can shoot 100 meters accurately, but not potatoes...

POS · Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:11 am

Yeah, give Alli the info on how to build a gun.

Wierd, I was never asked at school to build something that shoots something at a target 100 yards away. Wierd school you guys are in.