SpudFiles

Thanks for the comments.

I am probably (realistically) about a week to 10 days from finishing the gun. Actually, I doubt it will be cone even then. But, at that point, it should be ready to fire.

Hey, anyone can come by and check out my dumpy shop. I live northwest of Chicago.

Matt

May I come and play in your shop?

Haha same here but i live in massachusetts. So it's kinda far away

Sorry this project has taken so long. I am determined not to rush anything. So, to that end, I have been working dilegently on a few details;

Here is a modified diaphram I made for the valve.

The stock diaphram with brass slug weighs in at 263 grams. My modded diaphram and slug weigh in at only 118 grams. The aluminum is just as thick as the original brass slug (actually thicker in the center). So, it will be plenty strong.

The carbon fiber ring is a protective "Bash Guard". The slug slams into 4 standoff/stops in the valve lid when opened. This slamming is extra hard when the valve is pilotted as mine is. Aluminum would get pretty beat up slamming repeatedly into those stops in the brass lid. So, I added the carbon fiber ring as a protector for the aluminum. Carbon Fiber is extremely crush resistant. The density rivals that of steel (mild steel) and is easily replaced of need be.

I will post more updates as I have them.

Matt

I love it. A modified, modified sprinkler valve. My kind of launcher

I am determined not to rush anything.

And this is excellent as well.

Interesting mod, it would be useful once you get your chrony working reliably to do a side-by-side comparison of the two diaphragms keeping all other variables (projectile, pressure, pilot etc.) constant to see how it affects performance.

jackssmirkingrevenge wrote:Interesting mod, it would be useful once you get your chrony working reliably to do a side-by-side comparison of the two diaphragms keeping all other variables (projectile, pressure, pilot etc.) constant to see how it affects performance.

Absolutely.

I did get my Chrony figured out, by the way. It was, indeed, the muzzle blast causing very consistant over calculations. In fact, I videoed a shot with my 1-1/4 inch cannon and the air blast from 5 feet away moved my Chrony back about 4 inches! I never realized how much power there was from the air blast before. I also was shocked how many items that were nearby were blown around from the blast.

200 psi with a decent size barrel and a good size chamber does some cool stuff.

Matt

Here is a quick video.



I decided to go with a more traditional tank design. The big curved tank was a bit of a cumbersom problem.

I have only fired the gun with a 30 gram hacky-sack as a test projectile. That was fired at 210 psi. Ironically, it is not too loud. I mean, it is loud. But, not too bad. I would say it is about as loud as a 410 shotgun.

There is not too much recoil. I think that is partly from using such a light projectile and partly from the weight of the gun itself. It weighs 29 pounds. It is not too heavy to handle. But, it does have some heft to it.

I have a few UHMW conpound rounds here to try. But, I have no decent area to fire them. I will have to take the gun somewhere else. I also need to setup my dual compressor setup to fill the tank faster. It takes over 2 minutes to see 200 psi with only 1 compressor running.

Oh, also, I think I am going to move from the 1/2 inch pilot valve I have on there now, to a 3/4 inch valve. I think it can open faster.

Matt

Edit by Moderator (MrCrowley) - Double post:

Here are a couple pictures.

Matt

Excellent job, metal construction have always been the way to go in my opinion...

DANGG that is a nice cannon. Love the valve, and the trigger, thats real nice! I had something to say but I forgot what it was, so I'll edit when I remember

wow, it looks great! and I'll bet performance is everything you wanted it to be.
Is the compressor that is shown the one you use to fill the cannon on a regular basis? It looks like one of those cheap tire ones which in my experience take ages to fill anything and break-down filling larger chambers

That thing is impressive! If we had a hall of fame here, i'm sure this would go in it. This has to be the best sprinkler valve cannon ever and i'm sure it out performs any PVC pneumatic of any kind.

Lockednloaded wrote:wow, it looks great! and I'll bet performance is everything you wanted it to be.
Is the compressor that is shown the one you use to fill the cannon on a regular basis? It looks like one of those cheap tire ones which in my experience take ages to fill anything and break-down filling larger chambers

It looks like one of those cheapy compressors, I know. But, it is actually a beast. That compressor weighs almost 10 pounds. It is a low-rider airbag suspension compressor. It is good up to 300 psi. It actually fills the tank pretty fast, all things considered. For one thing, I have been overvolting it to 24 volts instead of the normal 12 volts. That is fine, though, because it is rated at 12 volts continuous. So, 24 volts of intermittant use should be totally OK. Also, I have a second one new in the box. So, next I will mount both on a base, then wire and plumb them together. My guess is I should be able to achieve 200 psi in 60 seconds with that overvolted twin compressor setup.

Matt

wow, sounds cool. how much did they cost you, and where did you get them?

Lockednloaded wrote:wow, sounds cool. how much did they cost you, and where did you get them?

You will probably freak when I tell you.......

I got them on-line. Those compressors were, are you ready for this?, $268 each.

I have needed a decent (and very small) field compressor for some time now. So, I figured, even if I ever get out of building cannons, they will serve me well. Besides, a 400 psi contractor compressor is $1,400 and is HUGE.

All in all, I have about $400 spent on the cannon as you see it, maybe a touch more. But, the main valve retails for over $500. I get a deep discount from them for "R&D" purposes.

Anyway, yes, I think this thing will out perform any plastic cannon. However, that is only because I can run such high pressures. I really want to shoot this thing at 250+ psi with one of the compound rounds. Those things weigh 178 grams. It should have quite a bit of power.

Matt

Anyway, yes, I think this thing will out perform any plastic cannon

Any plastic cannon 2" and under anyway, there are some huge piston valved PVC cannons on the site lurking around

I love the cannon though, I think this design is much better than the original layout in your first post. It looks amazing and should be lots of fun. $400 is quite expensive for a cannon like this but I guess you pay for it in safety, performance, ergonomics and reliability. Damage videos are a must

Looking forward to seeing other cannons from you in the future.