Computer Controlled Fireworks Display

*CAUTION INVOLVES EXPLOSIVES*
I was contracted by some friends to do a fireworks display for their wedding (seems as though my penchant for pyromania is well known in these parts). It took me about 6 months (not from lack of skill..but mostly lack of initiative and cash) to create the "Crapflinger box of doom" V1.0. It used momentary SPST push button switches, a box from a projector that i got from work, schedule 80 PVC, and a lot of luck. It went off with only a few hitches so i decided to rebuild for the fourth of July next year.

The rebuilt version will be known "Crapflinger Box of Doom" V2.0 and as of yet has not been physically completed. It has however been logically completed (even wrote some craptacular software for the thing). Since the thing isn't built yet...I'm very short on photos...but once the contraption is completed i will update this instructable to reflect the difference between planned execution and actual product.

Step 1: Materials

1 - Large box (large enough to house the finished contraption I'm using an ammo box i had lying around)

2 - Serial Isolated I/O Module (You can get these pre-assembled or in kit form from Here)

1 - Upgrade kit to join the two I/O modules together (i got mine from the same place as the module)

2 inch Schedule 80 PVC pipe cut into 6 - 8 inch lengths (I'll be using 24 8 inch pieces so that's about 16 feet of pipe total)

2 inch PVC end caps (I'm going to try to use screw type caps so that i can load the thing easier...i used rounded end caps on the first project..but when fired...the PVC pipe actually flies out of the device...which isn't very controllable..i think with the screw caps I'll be able to eliminate this)

Bolts - 2 per firework to be launched (I'm firing a total of 26 devices so I'll need 52)

Wing Nuts - one per bolt used (I'll need 52)

Screws - Lots OF SCREWS...

Wire - preferably 2 different colors for easy setup (i use 22 gauge solid core for my positive and i think somewhere around 18 gauge stranded for the negative...why? because that's what I've got)

Plywood - to make a raised base inside your box

Fireworks - this is up to you..but I'm using 2 "dirty dozen" mortar sets and 2 "Texas rattlesnakes"

Model rocket igniters - one per firework (i used Estes igniters on V1.0 but I'll be using the Aerotech first fire juniors for V2.0 as they are more reliable and easier to insert into the fireworks themselves)

Note: please don't make fun of the overcomplexity that's going to show up in this project...i like over complex...i know i can do things with less steps...but why would i?

Comments

[garrettg]

I think this is Thunder Over Louisville. For those of you who may not know what I mean, Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky. Every year leading up to the Kentucky Derby we have the Kentucky Derby Festival. To start the festival we have the largest fireworks display in the country (if not the world)! It lasts about 30 minutes and the fireworks do not stop. We have them going off from barges on the Ohio River and the Clark Memorial (2nd Street) Bridge. Thousands of people come and celebrate. All of this information is coming from a Louisvillian (Louisville native) so I am pretty sure there are no errors! If there are just comment with corrections. Hope you enjoyed my little tidbit!

Yours in Creating,
Garrett M. Groves

[garrettg]

Here are some pictures. :)

[pittu]

how much does the controllers cost

[crapflinger]

depends. the ones i was planning on using are about $100 USD each (though i've seen them cheaper). but those are by no means the only way to do th is.

[pittu]

hi did you finish the firing system. because i like to make one like yours. if i can see yours i can make if. because i cant understand everthing

[crapflinger]

i actually did not. lack of funds prevented me from getting the controllers.

[CanWire]

=) I appreciate your testing and empathize with your plight. People have a tendency to fear monger these things, but there is often a large margin of relative safety in the realm of perceived dangerous things. I myself was surprised to find that you can electrocute a motherboard by bolting it to a conductive surface and attempting to boot, and still it works as I type away.

[csloan22]

You should NEVER use pvc as fireworks mortars. PVC is far too brittle and when a shell becomes lodged in the mortar or mis fires its detonation can shatter the tube into dangerous and possibly deadly shrapnel.

[A.J.]

that is why he made the remote launcher! duhhhhhhhhhhh no offense, but if you are gonna make a remote firing system you shouldn't have to be scared of using pvc pipe for mortars

[crapflinger]

Schedule 80 is considerably stronger than standard PVC...standard PVC has a wall thickness of like maybe 1/4 inch or less...where schedule 80 is closer to 1/2 inch thickness (i'm not sure on specifics at the moment) i actually did failure testing on the one that i made before i got it anywhere near actual people...i removed the lift charge from 4 different mortars of the type that i used and detonated them inside the tube (one at a time not all in there at the same time)then inspected the tubes used....there were no visible cracks or deformations...just a bunch of black soot on the inside and obvious pitting due to the "flares"...i even detonated one with both ends of the tube capped (no glue just loose capped) and all it did was blow the caps off both ends... i COMPLETELY understand that there are better materials...heck cardboard is technically safer...but finding the right thickness of cardboard in the proper diameter isn't the easiest thing to find (for me at least) where as the SCH80 PVC is ubiquitous

[saber66]

still you should put a plastic sheild around them......

[crapflinger]

schedule 80 PVC is hardly "plastic"...it's not like it's a freakin pringles can for 2 inch diameter sch 80 pvc the wall thickness is 0.218 in (5.537 mm) that's pretty close to a half inch....i'm not using professional grade stuff here...has anyone who keeps harping on the pipe used ever seen a "dirty dozen"....they're not packed that dense.... also...i seem to notice a trend of people not reading anything above and just harping on stuff....I TESTED THE STUFF. i fired SEVERAL mortars in a SEALED tube of schedule 80 pvc (both ends sealed with cap and glued shut) and NONE fractured the pipe...i fail to see how a mortar lodged in an OPEN ENDED tube would do any different

[rrrmanion]

have you thought of possibly lining it with cardboard and also covering the exterior? i am no expert but i think this may work.

[maxpower49]

when will you post more pictures its been 2 years sence u posted it

[Bert2368]

If you want to do fireworks on this level, I would suggest you join Pyrotechnics Guild and find a mentor in the PGI, a local display company or a local amateur club to train you. I own a display company, and I will train anyone who has an interest and doesn't seem too crazy or have a felony or other disqualifying record. I allways need more crews than I have around the 4th- And I'm not unusual in this need!

I know just tinkering away on your own is loads of fun, but you're wasting a good bit of time re-inventing the wheel with the chance of killing or injuring someone thrown in. Get trained properly, you won't believe how much fun it can be or how much better your shows will be untill you see how professionals do it.

[phredex]

Hey Bert, See ya in Gillette!! Hopper

[crapflinger]

well the professional/semi pro stuff is a bit on the expensive stuff i'd thoroughly enjoy being actually trained in pyrotechnics etc...but...this is just a simple 4th of july project...not a full on super display.... everyone keeps mentioning human safety as if i haven't thought about such a thing.... #1 the fireworks i'm using are as rellatively safe as anything else...the rattlesnakes especially...they're meant to be lit by hand...so lighting those remotely is theoretically actually safer....the mortors im using are inch and 3 quarter mortars...not the fun 3 inchers...granted if lit in the hand...or if say...they fire AT someone...bad things will happen...but in the proper usage circumstances they're safe as anything else...also...they're meant to be fired from a cardboard tube (not the thickest of tubes either)..the schedule 80 PVC that i'm using is about 20% or so thicker than the cardboard tube that the things come with....EVEN after a failure (i.e. the mortar going off in the tube)there's no structural damage to the PVC. #2 it's not mentioned in the setup but the serial cable i plan on using is going to be 50 to 100 feet long...we're going to be a good distance away from this thing...out of the reach of a failed launch #3 well there is no number 3...but rest assured for anyone that reads this...i've planned for failure and safety...so...it's not worth harping on

[ravenscroft]

Any update on this. I'm very interested in this project, as I'm now getting into the exciting world of Pyrotechnics. I would also like to know if you finished the box of doom if you got some nice pictures to go with this "able"

And I saw that you would like to get training/certification well check out this site if you are interested in that.
http://www.pyrotechnico.com/training.html
Yhey offer free training and cert.

[crapflinger]

i wish i had an update....i've suffered some severe cash flow issues that impacted this project...anyone who would like to attempt to follow the basic structure here (especially using those serial devices) is more than welcome....i'd be more than happy to open this one up for collaboration...

[mondaymonkey]

Hey, crapflinger, have you thought about using steel wool wrapped around the fuses to light? when you run a current through it, it will ignite, I have tried it with a 6V battery and the steel wool turned red hot and almost burn my carpet.... and then i tried it with fireworks and it really is relaible... and i guess cheaper than rocket igniters...

[that one guy]

I prefer nichrome igniters b/c it eliminates the guesswork involved in steel wool (if you get too much steel wool you just short out your batteries)and they are quicker to change out. my instructable for homememade nichrome igniters is on
http://www.instructables.com/id/E5XKVTSF5R8MR8Y/

but I will make another version soon.

[crapflinger]

i haven't...but i have entertained the idea...i've got a few other fuse ideas in my brain as well...i've got a few dead toasters around...and i've done some testing trying to find the right voltage to heat the toaster "coils" up in small sections at a fast enough rate for my needs....i haven't done any serious testing as of yet...so no valid data on it...but it should be capable as well....that's kind of the beauty of these serial controllers that i'm gonna use if i ever get the cash together (any donations welcome)...it can switch normal AC from the wall...so i can use just about anything that can get hot....i'm using the rocket ignitors now because they're prebuilt and easy to get my hands on....

[BlueFusion]

This is pretty good.
I'm an amateur pyro like yourself, in Australia, where we can't just buy fireworks. It's all make your own.
However, the system you used to control the launches is great. I have a USB interface card with 8 digital outputs. With some relays and diodes you could multiplex that to 16 events, or simply connect more than 1 card to the computer. You can have up to 4 cards simultaneously connected.
I might try that someday; thanks for the great idea.
p.s. check out my igniters, they're awesome http://www.instructables.com/id/EG8Q000F33IV3A8/

[crapflinger]

i hadn't seen your instructable...but a similar concept came to mind when thinking of how to make home made ignitors...might get used (the advantage is that the match stick could be used to make inserting the ignitor easier)

[that one guy]

I don't know if you care, but I made an instructable on homemade igniters. I've made near 100 of them for about $5.
http://www.instructables.com/id/E5XKVTSF5R8MR8Y/

[mje]

There are almost no details here; this isn't an Instructable so much as it is a look-at-the-cool-thing-I-did. One more serious issue: You NEVER use PVC for a mortar tube! Mortar tubes should be made from steel or polyethylene. In case of a flowerpot (an in-tube burst), steel will contain the explosion and polyethylene will tear, but PVC will fragment. Can you say "shrapnel"?

[crapflinger]

actually...this is a "look-at-what-i'm-planning-on-doing-able" if you wanna get technical....and there are ACTUAL instructions in this about how to do the steps that i plan on doing when i get the materials. and...while i do not disagree with the concept of never using PVC for COMMERCIAL GRADE LARGE SCALE HOME MADE fireworks...when using off the shelf 1-1/4" mortars PVC is actually overkill...if you purchase one of the mortars that i'm using here...you'll note that the tubes used are actually CARDBOARD....i've had a few fail to launch and detonate inside the cardboard tube...and more than once the tube survived (though i've also had it have catastrophic effects)...if you note i'm using schedule 80 pvc which is conciderably thicker than standard pvc...before making my first launcher (the one that wasn't computer controlled) i actually did failure testing where i removed the "launch" charge from a mortar and just lit the secondary fuse remotely (being that i did this for a wedding..i figured adding a funeral to the event would be a bad idea) thereby causing the main charge to detonate inside of a piece of schedule 80 pvc sealed on one end (actually glued the cap on) and open on the other...the pipe was black on the inside...but was structurally in-tact after this failure test....due to the "wide" ID of the pipe most of the explosive force has a path to exit...if the pipe were sealed on both ends...yeah...i'd have a pvc pipe bomb that would throw shrapnell everywhere....but there are multiple "points of failure" in the assmbly to allow for any force to be redirected...such as the fact that (at least in the first setup) the tubes weren't glued to the caps...thereby allowing the force to actually escape from BOTH ends of the tube if there were a failure (the tube actually blows off of the cap)...even in the second setup where i plan on gluing the tubes to the screw caps...i won't be gluing them COMPLETELY...i'll just be glueing them enough so that after a successfull firing...the tube doesn't go flying through the air (as the original did)...

[crapflinger]

update: didn't get the controllers for christmas as i had hoped...but i should be getting them this march (reducing the time i have to bug-track and fix before "the day" but...c'est la vie)i've got plans to get started on the box and puting in the PVC end caps either this weekend or the next (whichever has the most time in it)

[trebuchet03]

Have you had any trouble with a rocket igniter not lighting a fuse? Looks cool -- and safer than the light and run behind a brick wall technique.

[crapflinger]

on my original setup i had one issue with a missfire...and it was due to the igniters i was using...the estes style igniters estes style igniters are basically a short wire that's bent into like a V with the pyrogen at the apex of the V then some tape across the bottom of the V....none of it is sheilded so you get ALOT of chances to cross the wires and create a short...which makes it useless as the current has to flow across the pyrogen... the new ignitors that i plan to use First Fire Ignitor Jr should eliminate this...as the wires coming out are sheilded from each other...so i won't get any shorts in the setup... also..as a note..i'm not lighting the fuse of the firework...i'm actualy putting these ignitors directly into the primary charge of the fireworks

[ewilhelm]

Even better than updating this Instructable would be creating another one that documents what actually happened and highlights the differences. I think lots of people could benefit from seeing the planning aspects as well as the execution of a project. Looking forward to it.

[crapflinger]

i may take that into concideration...maybe adding the real steps along side within this same one...

[crapflinger]

as a small (virtually insignificant) update...i got one of the most important peices of the project this past weekend.....a table saw...now i won't have to hand cut most of the things i need to cut....living in an apartment sucks