04-20-2009 06:53 PM

Steven Sigley

Re: pic: Air Cannon

What's it shoot?

We have a cannon bot as well that we're revamping.
It currently is on a base of Mechanum wheels and uses two tanks of air for more shots. We're rebuilding the chassis and design as an off-season project.

04-20-2009 06:58 PM

s_forbes

Re: pic: Air Cannon

I saw this on youtube, it looks like way too much fun! I never thought the most well crafted t-shirt cannon would be on a vex robot. The only thing holding it back is the single shot capacity... You need to get a t-shirt cartridge on there somehow.

04-20-2009 07:15 PM

Beener

Re: pic: Air Cannon

In the current YouTube Videos I'm shooting 1lb bottles of water.
I wanted to prove the pneumatic design works before I go for an autoloader.
The Turret can easily be removed and attached to something else.

Some of the Non-Vex Parts
- 20lb High Pressure Aluminum Tank
- 2200 PSI Compressed Nitrogen
- Harris Regulator
- Norgren 1/4" Pneumatic Valve (Intake)
- 400 cubic inch pressure chamber 6061 Aluminum with 1/4" Wall thickness
- Norgren 1" High Flow Pneumatic Valve (Exhaust)
- 30" Barrel 6061 Aluminum with 1/16" Wall Thickness, 200 cubic inches
- 12" Trunnion 6061 Aluminum with 1/8" Wall Thickness

Some of the Vex Parts
- 8 Vexplorer Motors for the Tank
- 6 Vex Motors for the Turret
- 2 Vex Microcontrollers
- Heavy Duty Gear Set
- VexNet Wireless System
- PowerExpander
- Alot of Aluminum

04-20-2009 07:31 PM

Jimb0

Re: pic: Air Cannon

Beener,

Can you post the you tube video for us to check it out.

Thanks Jimb0

04-20-2009 07:36 PM

Beener

Re: pic: Air Cannon

The Current set of Videos for the Vex Air Cannon

04-20-2009 08:03 PM

dtengineering

Re: pic: Air Cannon

Nice machine!

One thing I've been planning to add to our t-shirt cannon is a rangefinder (either ultrasonic or IR) to the end of the barrel so that if there is an object in the line of fire (and within range of the sensor) the controller will not allow the cannon to shoot.

You've obviously been designing this with safety in mind, so have probably thought of adding something similar already.

Jason

04-20-2009 08:46 PM

Arefin Bari

Re: pic: Air Cannon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimb0 Beener, Can you post the you tube video for us to check it out. Thanks Jimb0

04-20-2009 09:38 PM

keehun

Re: pic: Air Cannon

I'm not gonna even lie. This is one BEAST. I honestly would be scared if I saw that it was ready to fire at me.

04-20-2009 11:10 PM

ShopElf1535

Re: pic: Air Cannon

this thing is amazing i love it, i have been thinking about bringing this idea to my team, and see if we can build a full size cannon on a size wheeled prototype

04-21-2009 12:29 AM

basicxman

Re: pic: Air Cannon

that thing is just sweet...

04-21-2009 12:44 AM

Eric24

Re: pic: Air Cannon

Great Job! That thing is amazing! I've been wanting to build something very similar for a while now. Looks like I have some excellent inspiration now.

04-21-2009 11:04 AM

Beener

Re: pic: Air Cannon

I think a Robotic Air Cannon competition would be very interesting. It could involve a number of different events:

- High and low trajectory shooting at targets at different ranges
- Rate of Fire shooting to see who could build the best autoloader and to see who has the best crew served cannon for muzzle loaders
- Shooting for distance given different pressures, barrel lengths, and projectiles.
- Shooting at moving targets
- Autonomous target acquisition and engagement.
- Shooting different types of projectiles: different weights and shapes like bullet shapes vs. ball, fin stabilized or not.
- Shooting Sabot rounds to see who could achieve the highest velocity

Think about what an incredible challenge it would be just to calculate the ballistic data for high trajectory shooting.
One of my all time favorite physics labs involved shooting ball bearings from a table top to targets on the floor.

Note: There would probably be so many rules, regulations, liabilities, limitations, legislation, etc. that this will never make it past the idea stage.