Disposable camera coilgun

Step 5 Finishing it

- Make sure the light-switch is switched off. Now attach a battery (1,5 to 9V )to the wires (use the same connections as these which were there before you modified the circuit; so that are the connections to which the original camera battery was attached.)

- Wait untill the circuit board's status LED lights up, then disconnect the battery.

- Put a load (small nail, metal rod,...) in your coil (inside the pen-tube, that is) and put the light-switch on. The load should be shot into the room!

- FINISHED. Have fun with your coilgun!!

Comments

[padmanabhapsimha]

why don't you build a boost converter? it is more efficient than a camera charging circuit. It just requires some basic knowledge of electronics. really effective too. it charged my12000 MFD capacitor to 63 volts in just 20 seconds. yeah it is 12000 micro farads. works better than a 120 to 480 micro farad cap (single 120 or 4*120 in parallel) charged to 400 volts. you can also build a simple power cutoff system so that you need not disconnect the battery from the circuit. you can control this entire system using just two 555 timers. One for the charger and one for the trigger. it will be better if you replace the relay with a solid state switch like an SCR, triac or a thyristor. mine is capable of switching 800 volts , 260 amps of current. There is also no danger of any welding of contacts. It also reduces the power loss by 30 to 40 percent

[xmitman]

Hi padmanabhapsimha,

What SCR part number did you use?

[padmanabhapsimha]

my prototype used a TYN616

[padmanabhapsimha]

i used a 'NTE5519' . You can use any SCR or triac with a surge current rating of 600 amps. you can usually overshoot this rating if your cap discharge time is lower than 16 milliseconds

[bendog38]

 would a .177 caliber pointed airgun pellet work as ammunition

 what about a small plastic airsoft bb           and what is the fps on this thing

[badideasrus]

it would work in a rail gun (the lead pellet), however. but as they said, it has to be magnetizable (for those who don't understand 'ferromagnetic')

[bendog38]

then how do I make a rail gun? seriously, i want to know, i have a science fair at my high school coming soon.

[padmanabhapsimha]

i would advise you not to build a railgun with just basic components for a science fair competition. a coil gun will produce more impressive results and it won't be damaged by wear and tear if you construct it properly

[badideasrus]

sorry for the late reply. a rail gun, in it's most basic form, is just two rails that you pass lots of current through. i made one once from tin foil and a nail. it was a really childish effort, but the nine volt battery was enough to burn holes in the foil, which was neat.

there are several sources for rail guns on the net, do some searching. and above all, be carefull. the bigger the gun you intend to make, the more likely you'll kill your self with electricity.

[bombmaker2]

Neither would work because plastic is nonferrous and airgun pellets are made out of lead, which is also nonferrous. As for fps, I don't have a clue. 

[badideasrus]

fps would really matter on how much juice your giving it, right? so theortically, no two shots would ever be the same without some kind of capacitor measuring thingy.......

[bombmaker2]

Pretty much. But I'm not sure how much of a difference there would be.

[M4A1DrumRoll]

it has to be metal

[Shambler]

If it's a plastic pellet, unlikely. Coilguns shoot projectiles with a sudden pulse of electromagnetism, ergo any projectile must be ferromagnetic i.e. made of iron or another material attracted to a magnet.

[th3ch053n0n3]

The website doesnt work!!!

[bendog38]

Does anyone know the range???

[reaper baku]

how big is the coilgun

[kevinlei324]

I have a holder for 4 AA batteries.. I know putting them in a series increases the voltage, so is it still safe to use that as a power source for the camera circuit?

[derbert]

only for a couple of shots, probably. then the transformers on the board will blow and you'll be left with a nasty smell and a busted coilgun

[pearce606]

i agree with pie. more pics would be cool. my coil gun doesnt seem to work. the battery just gets hot and the capacitors charge but nothing happens. any help?

[demonxkid]

if it gets hot then it is sorting out so look for any wires that could be the problum

[SaNjA2659]

What capacitors are you using?

[scottjop656]

did you wind the wire in more than one direction? because if so, you will need to re-wind it..... only wind in one direction or the other!

[kevincai96]

Give some details... Anything could be possible. Anyways, here's a checklist. NOTE: DO NOT USE ANYTHING BUT 1.5V IN THE CHARGING CIRCUIT. ANY HIGHER, AND THE CIRCUIT WILL FRY. That's another possibility, by the way. -Is the charging circuit working? (connect an AA battery to it, no higher voltage) -Is the coil working? (connect high voltage, high current to it) -Is the wiring ok? (check everything manually) -Are any switches welded together? (high voltage causes this, using a relay is much better.) hope this helps!

[genius245]

The battery gets hot? I don't think that's supposed to happen.

[kevincai96]

check for short circuits. after many charges, the battery should be warm, but not hot. only use AAs.

[amando96]

can i use the smallest electronic shocker to charge the capacitors? the complete camera circuit is too large to fit inside my gun case :-s

help, thanks :)

[pyroten]

yes

[Pie Ninja]

Some more detailed images would be nice

[davidemil55]

ok i got a queastion, could u maybe draw the curirct out something because kinda hard to follow from the pictures and how much fps do u think that is?

[NumberX]

I have wondered how coilguns work.

[AlfonsVH]

I suggest you to google for it. There's extremely much information available on the internet.

[NumberX]

Thanks for the tip, now I understand how they work.

[Anforny Wombletrap]

I know the kit for this is on your website, but I'm not very good with electronics. Is there any way you could sell me a ready-made version for a few bucks extra? I know, I know, hassle hassle hassle. But I am asking you, as a fellow fan of flinging pointy shit into walls, look into your heart. My email is [e-mail]