Fetch toy, tennis ball launcher
Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 12:28 pm
The first one I built used a huge 4" chamber, and only one sprinkler valve to dump air to the barrel. Lots of wasted air. That is the first video.
Nothing special about it, it works.
I redid the design with a 3" chamber, and two sprinkler valves. The threaded fittings allow for adjustment to keep the barrel and chamber parallel, even if I change to a smaller diameter barrel. For high pressure launches (50 psi to an estimated 70 psi the barrel and chamber should be tied together. It doesn't matter on lower pressures)The chamber is filled with a CO2 tank and regulator that fills to about 55 psi max, with a ball lock disconnect. I'm a homebrewer, so already had those parts. If I want higher pressure (not needed for fetch), I'll cautiously top it off with a 12g CO2 cartridge. Bring it to 50 psi, then about 6g more from the cartridge.
I deserver points for ugliness on the paint job, I'll probably go over and make it all tan in the future.
The barrel I purchased from a vendor. It is breech loading. Unfortunately it is not round on the interior, and impossible to load a tennis ball from the front. The ID is 2.41" in the narrowest part. Overall too tight for tennis balls, but a sack of oranges in the approximate diameter are a lot of fun to shoot.[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
My favourite, done at White Sands, you just can't see where the ball lands...
[youtube][/youtube]
Nothing special about it, it works.
I redid the design with a 3" chamber, and two sprinkler valves. The threaded fittings allow for adjustment to keep the barrel and chamber parallel, even if I change to a smaller diameter barrel. For high pressure launches (50 psi to an estimated 70 psi the barrel and chamber should be tied together. It doesn't matter on lower pressures)The chamber is filled with a CO2 tank and regulator that fills to about 55 psi max, with a ball lock disconnect. I'm a homebrewer, so already had those parts. If I want higher pressure (not needed for fetch), I'll cautiously top it off with a 12g CO2 cartridge. Bring it to 50 psi, then about 6g more from the cartridge.
I deserver points for ugliness on the paint job, I'll probably go over and make it all tan in the future.
The barrel I purchased from a vendor. It is breech loading. Unfortunately it is not round on the interior, and impossible to load a tennis ball from the front. The ID is 2.41" in the narrowest part. Overall too tight for tennis balls, but a sack of oranges in the approximate diameter are a lot of fun to shoot.[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
My favourite, done at White Sands, you just can't see where the ball lands...
[youtube][/youtube]