10XGB - My First Venture into Hybrids

Harness the power of precision mixtures of pressurized flammable vapor. Safety first! These are advanced potato guns - not for the beginner.
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mobile chernobyl
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:54 pm

Ever since joining this forum, well before this forum was even around and Spudtech was the "it" place for spud gun talk - Hybrids have fascinated me. Seeing a 2X made of Sch80 PVC was somehow more intriguing than any of the large bore air cannons at the time.
I took a good while to get here, but I've jumped ahead a bit in the journey. Learning from others accomplishments and formulating a few ideas of my own I started designing this gun over 2 years ago. Without further ado, I give you the time line of progression for this gun:
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The gun evolved quite a lot along the way, but a few things stayed the same. The chamber, all metal fittings and barrel consist of a mix of 316 and 304 stainless parts. All welding was done with tig process. Using the standard Barlow’s formula for this material, the chamber has a theoretical bursting pressure of 5Ksi internal pressure, This gun will probably never see half of that, but it was nice for a little overhead.

One of my biggest issues with hybrids was the implementation of a multigap spark ignition, with precise intervals. This could be accomplished by placing multiple ports in the chamber with spark plugs in them, but this will weaken a chamber designed for high pressure. My gun is my no means a super high pressure gun, but I wanted to prototype a multigap spark plug design with only 1 point of chamber entry, and that's when I came up with this design:
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With this being my first functional prototype
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This prototype was hydro-tested up to near 3000psi and held without developing any leaks. My final design I don't have photos of, but it is a more evolved version and will eventually lead into the concept for a much higher mix gun where this integrity is necessary.


Another focus of this gun was developing a fueling system that had the capability for automation. This involved precise monitoring of the fuel and oxidizer pressure, as well as electronic control of both. I came up with a make-shift box utilizing this concept with a programmable pressure switch, which can be seen here:
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This box is an "all-in-one" design where all I need to do is hook up an air source and the remote trigger. It's not revolutionary or anything but I was really pleased to have everything integrated into one box with automated fueling capabilities. The obvious flaw in the fueling system is the manual chamber ball valve, but again this has been addressed in future designs, I kept it on this gun because it was cheap and met the requirements for up to 20X shots.

Here's a short photo build log for those who didn't follow on my other post:
Initial chamber weld up (this would later change)
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Construction begins on the final iteration stand:
The Gun Cradle portion:
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The lower stand portion:
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Elevation control added:
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All painted up!
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And finally done!
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Now, the part most people are waiting for... does it work? Well why yes! I waited until this video was finalized to post it though lol.

(Due to a freak Halloween snowstorm in my area, almost everyone lost their power, and this preliminary test had to be run with the aid of a generator, so powering my large high pressure compressor was out of the question. Unfortunately all shots are only 7X in this video, but as you'll find out - they accomplished what I was trying to do... vaporize food)

[youtube][/youtube]

::UPDATE:: Video's will now be posted below as well as deeper in the thread

Second Day of Shooting:
[youtube][/youtube]

Third Day of Shooting:
[youtube][/youtube]

Fourth Day of Shooting:
[youtube][/youtube]
Last edited by mobile chernobyl on Tue Apr 01, 2014 12:43 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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jackssmirkingrevenge
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:00 pm

Hahahaha Finally!

It was a heck of a wait but some very nice shots there :)

Shame about the phone if it was an antique, you could have flogged it to some hipster on eBay and used the funds for moar golf balls...

Looking forward to more!

You should make a quick case for your high speed and move it a little closer to the action for some clearer shots ;)
hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
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mobile chernobyl
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:03 pm

Hipsters belong on the same end as the telephone lol...

I had to film, shoot and do everything else all by myself the first day unfortunately, so elaborate filming setups where out of the question. Future shooting sessions will have a camera man!

Edit: Oh and about the golf balls - My friend used to collect them from a field near a driving range when he was little - needless to say, I have nearly an endless supply of them lol.
Last edited by mobile chernobyl on Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:07 pm

And just for spoilers... a little hint of where the future may be heading
I see a barrel that can be extended and retracted... implying *gasp* a fully automated firing cycle?
hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
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HunterT
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:07 am

Looks awesome! Nice TIG welds too.
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:13 am

Marvelous! The power is impressive and the shots are sharp and explosive. Nice work. On your preview design, is that a higher mix hybrid with a cylinder driven burst disc clamp?
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:49 am

jackssmirkingrevenge wrote:
And just for spoilers... a little hint of where the future may be heading
I see a barrel that can be extended and retracted... implying *gasp* a fully automated firing cycle?
If you include some 3 way valves and air cylinders in it I totally approve of this design

Damn if you get it work I might even send you a sticker 'approved by PS'
Children are the future

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jackssmirkingrevenge
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:54 am

POLAND_SPUD wrote:'approved by PS'*

*PS has not actually fired a hybrid yet therefore this approval is largely meaningless
;)
hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
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MrCrowley
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 1:22 am

Very awesome indeed, great video too. Did you have two camera for filming? It's annoying for me only having the FC100 as I can only shoot either HD or high speed for a particular shot.

I wish everyone's first hybrid was half as nice as this, mine included.
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POLAND_SPUD
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:13 am

*PS has not actually fired a hybrid yet therefore this approval is largely meaningless
want a video ? :D
I came up with a make-shift box utilizing this concept with a programmable pressure switch, which can be seen here:
essentially he already has regs, valves ands stuff (lovely push-to-connect fittings BTW I am really impressed)...

The only thing left is the loading mech... now say what you want you air cylinder haters but they are ideal for automating the loading process
And just for spoilers... a little hint of where the future may be heading
This looks more like a mechanized burst disk union not a valve... though I am hope I am wrong
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:24 am

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mobile chernobyl
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:16 am

POLAND_SPUD wrote:...
The only thing left is the loading mech... now say what you want you air cylinder haters but they are ideal for automating the loading process
...
This looks more like a mechanized burst disk union not a valve... though I am hope I am wrong
-They aren't air cylinders :wink:
-And it is a mechanized burst disc holder. At the internal pressures I'm aiming for, I don't think a piston valve would feel very comfortable, more like 1/8" sheet aluminum and up...
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:25 am

POLAND_SPUD wrote:want a video? :D
Still waiting for it!
hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
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Brian the brain
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:27 am

Ah...it makes some nice noise, makes fruit jump up in joy and it is shiny.


It has a BTB approval...

although I'm a pneumatics man and my approval also means nothing...


seriously..This thing rocks...very clean welds.very...unlike...mine... :D
A feast for the eyes and ears...

Nice to see a project that spans several years...
You can absolutely tell it's not a spur of the moment -slap it together- thing...
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Oh my friggin god stop being so awesome, that thing is pure kick ass. Most innovative and creative pneumatic that the files have ever come by!

Can't ask for a better compliment!!
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spudamine
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Wed Nov 02, 2011 1:40 pm

They aren't air cylinders
Hydraulics? I guess air cylinders wouldn't stand a chance at supplying the clamping force necessary to keep a burst disk that size in place at those mixes.
I used linear actuators (ok, powerdrills :lol:) a few years ago to do something similar (see first cannon in my sig) but I'd think 2x would be the limit for that trick.
Damn fine cannon by the way :D
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