Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

What are your thoughts on this?

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

People try this every year, and every year it's not particularly feasible.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

Trust me it dosent work! My team tried it the year before I joined for rebound rumble. We just sat there! So I would highly suggest against it.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

In 2008, 1771 had a vacuum system with 3 pistons inside. Suck ball up, then punch it. Air then cannon. It worked for them.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

You don't really have the space to mount such a big mechanism. Also, air compressors aren't the most notably fast things in the world, so you'd have to precharge the tanks and continuously have the compressor running, draining your battery. Also, that would be awefully loud! Other than that, I can see the ball moving at 100mph and tearing the field down. This would also be a safety hazard!

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

Your cannon barrel bore diameter would need to be about two feet to accept the ball -- that is about 450 square inch cross-section area. Robot rule <R82> limits working air pressure to 60 pounds per square inch. The ball weighs about 2.75 pounds.

The numbers do not appear favorable for launch.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

450*60 = 27000 lbf! I think that is quite some power, unless that is the wrong formula!

27,000 lbf would probably be enough to move a big-rig! I wonder what would happen to the ball!

Just remember: The compressor is a decent-sized motor in charge of storing a ton of energy as compressed gas. Over time, this power builds up until you have stored, for example, 100 watts of energy which you release it within a second! I think that would be:
100w*60s*60m = 360,000 watts per hour are delivered!

THAT IS DANGEROUS!

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

I don't mean to pick on you, but I will take this opportunity to explain the importance of understanding your units.

You are correct in saying that the compressor stores energy in the form of compressed gas, but it isn't stored as power.

Power is a measurement of energy transferred per unit of time. One Watt is equal to one Joule of energy per second. As the compressor operates, it converts electrical potential energy into mechanical energy (by compressing air) and heat. If It does this at 12 volts and 15 Amps, It would be running at 12*15, or 180 watts. If it runs for 1 hour, It converts 180 Watt-hours of energy, or 180 * 3600 Joules.

Not all of that is stored, however, since a lot of it is lost as heat while the motor is running. Still, even a fraction 648kJ could be quite lethal if it is released carelessly.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

I know that. However, I am contrasting to a unit that most people would know about!

and just for the sake of lols, I have Copioli opened in another tab and someone's singing the Friday Song :D :D

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

The nylon bag around the ball will make sealing against your air cannon aperture quite difficult. Personally I would not try it.

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

Do you mean that if ball is a tight not a enough fit in the canon bore, then when you apply air pressure to launch it, the ball will not be deformed enough to keep a good seal, or perhaps the pressure may deform ball too much and make it start to act like a brake?

-Dick Ledford

Re: Using an air cannon to launch the balls - Arial Assist
 

one can imagine that if there were a fixed air gap around the ball it would be difficult to launch and that a zero air gap (a good seal) is ideal - so how does having that nylon bag compromise the seal, how much air escapes without doing any work?