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Unread 13-01-2014, 19:28
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Re: Placing a Tank after a solenoid valve

Think of this way. You use cylinder that has more stroke than you need. The start position is mid way in the cylinder. You effectively use part of the cylinder as the accumulator. And you don't have that pesky 1/4 tube slowing things down. If the vent valve can dump all the pressure, you should be legal. If it doesn't then the design is not legal regardless of the legality of the individual parts.

This is safer than using a big spring for your stored energy since you can relieve the pressure, getting rid of the stored energy. The catapult is ultimately going to have the stored energy to throw the ball at the required speed regardless of the method used. So the wise thing to do is thing about how to safely handle that energy.