Video of Kicker Prototypes

[RRLedford]

Originally Posted by squirrel

To figure out roughly how big of a cylinder you need based on how much "oomph" you need, figure out how much energy the ball needs as it begins it's trajectory..then figure out how much energy you can get into a cylinder. You only have 60 psi and max 2" bore to work with.

The big issue with air cylinders is that a good kick needs to place an object going at ~25-30 MPH in contact with the ball for about 1/50th of a second with said object having enough momentum that it doesn't lose too much speed during contact with the ball.
Pneumatic pistons have to drive the air in front of them out of the cylinder as they accelerate within it. This often restricts their peak velocity, depending on the orifice size of the cylinder's air exit hole. I don't know if it is allowed, but pulling a vacuum on the cylinder ahead of the piston would effectively give a 15LB pressure boost and seriously increase peak piston speed.
The CFPM capacity of the KOP air compressor also seems much too low to allow very many high power shots. Perhaps using a motor to drive a piston back into a sealed cylinder to built up the air pressure inside to the legal max would allow for both more frequent and stronger shots to be taken in a match.
-RRLedford