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STARtech is a creation of mine. You can find a few extra pictures and a video on my website AegisAvenger.com (look in the WeirdWorks section of the site!) =)
Super
Tough
Air
Round
STARs are specialized rounds I have created for loading into air cannons.
They contain a very simple electronic assembly that makes them glow very brightly at night. When loaded into an appropriately sized air cannon and fired into the night sky, they look like stars, hence STARtech!!
***This particular instructable deals with STARtech rounds that work with 1.5" schedule 40 PVC barrels. Though any size needed can be made with a little creativity!!
Super
Tough
Air
Round
STARs are specialized rounds I have created for loading into air cannons.
They contain a very simple electronic assembly that makes them glow very brightly at night. When loaded into an appropriately sized air cannon and fired into the night sky, they look like stars, hence STARtech!!
***This particular instructable deals with STARtech rounds that work with 1.5" schedule 40 PVC barrels. Though any size needed can be made with a little creativity!!
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Signing UpStep 1Tools and Materials
TOOLS NEEDED:
DREMEL for smoothing the finished product.
RUBBER MALLET for soft but firm "encouragement."
LARGE DRILL BIT creating the cavity inside the round.
WIRE CUTTER for trimming wire.
NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS for fine work with the smaller electronics.
PLIERS for clamping the round while you hollow it out.
GLUE GUN for creating the round and sealing it up afterward.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
TUPPERWARE CONTAINER for holding the Plaster of Paris mold.
ELECTRICAL TAPE for wrapping the CAST round before making the mold.
DEPLETED CO2 12 Gram this is the object you will be casting the round from.
GLUE STICKS you will need 6-8 at least to complete one round.
A23 battery. This is a tiny 12 volt battery more powerful and cheaper than other batteries out there. You can get a pack of two for $1.19 at some stores. Or just snag one out of your garage door opener!
SPDT Mini Slide Switch turns the round on and off.
LED you can get one of these at any radioshack, pick a color you like. For my STAR I chose blue.
ELECTRICAL WIRE you will only need a tiny length to connect the SPDT switch to the LED.
VASELINE acts as a release agent in the casting process so you can get the round out easily.
Q-TIPS helps spread the Vaseline evenly so you don't have any irregularities in your casted round.
PLASTER OF PARIS mix with water and pour into the tupperware container. This will be your mold for pouring hot glue into.
DREMEL for smoothing the finished product.
RUBBER MALLET for soft but firm "encouragement."
LARGE DRILL BIT creating the cavity inside the round.
WIRE CUTTER for trimming wire.
NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS for fine work with the smaller electronics.
PLIERS for clamping the round while you hollow it out.
GLUE GUN for creating the round and sealing it up afterward.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
TUPPERWARE CONTAINER for holding the Plaster of Paris mold.
ELECTRICAL TAPE for wrapping the CAST round before making the mold.
DEPLETED CO2 12 Gram this is the object you will be casting the round from.
GLUE STICKS you will need 6-8 at least to complete one round.
A23 battery. This is a tiny 12 volt battery more powerful and cheaper than other batteries out there. You can get a pack of two for $1.19 at some stores. Or just snag one out of your garage door opener!
SPDT Mini Slide Switch turns the round on and off.
LED you can get one of these at any radioshack, pick a color you like. For my STAR I chose blue.
ELECTRICAL WIRE you will only need a tiny length to connect the SPDT switch to the LED.
VASELINE acts as a release agent in the casting process so you can get the round out easily.
Q-TIPS helps spread the Vaseline evenly so you don't have any irregularities in your casted round.
PLASTER OF PARIS mix with water and pour into the tupperware container. This will be your mold for pouring hot glue into.
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I made one out of a super-high-bounce ball that PERFECTLY fit the barrel taped to a glow stick tail. Wasn't bright enough.
A good material to use would be the 'compressed' polystyrene ible - melt styrofoam in a solvent (gasoline, mineral spirits, whatever)...mold into your shape while its still pliable. It hardens DAMN strong.
I was wary of using hot glue when I first had the idea, but then I took a second to really think about it... If you drop hot glue on paper, it doesn't catch fire does it? That's because paper burns at about 450 degrees (or 451 if you like that Novel).
So I did some research, and found out that my hot glue melts at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
I dare you to get a little slug like that to get up to 400 degrees while it's being propelled out of a smooth plastic barrel by cold air at about 130 MPH!!
It's very tough, cheap, and no, it will not melt. =)
Too bad I retired all my cannons. Maybe I'll have to build one now
have i seen you on spudfiles?
I'm this guy. i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/icepanthercape1/Atlas.jpg
i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/icepanthercape1/DSCF213
I love spudfiles, I always get messages about ruining peoples pants. They give such good feedback over there!!
I'm using these perfectly shaped small yoghurt containers and putting food colouring water inside them. Then freezing them and cutting the bottle off. (Remember, Ice expands, so leave a bit of space) These are very cheap, hard, and are easy to mass produce, and VERY biodegradeable.
Just insert a throwie inside these projectiles and use within 24 hours and retrieve said throwie when the ice cracks (:
Your instructable is excellent, with an astonishing amount of creativity, I think a great way to improve it would be to change the filler material, because hot glue projectiles tend to stick to the inside of my barrels... Well so far that molding scheme is just brilliant, BRAVO Sir! Projectiles will be so much more noticeable during the night now!
I have a case of hot glue refills to go through first though! haha.
Your method sounds very inventive and cool Tommyhzy!! You should do an instructable on it! Many people just assume that frozen liquid can't be used as a projectile but they never think about air cannons do they? So cool that you found a ready made casting with the yoghurt containers!!
I chose the frozen liquid approach because:
(1)No worry about picking up all the pieces, it just melts away and waters the plants
(2)Pretty cheap, at about 0.002 cents each (The yogurt containers are free)
(3)Self-lubricating - As the ice melts inside the barrel, the water forms a thin film that makes quite a great seal against the barrel and also keeps everything slippery
(4)Mass-producible - Just fill those containers with water and food colouring and toss them in the freezer. Done the next morning.
Haha, I love the way you worded the hot glue part (:
I might actually make an Instructable on it, maybe next week because I have quite a load of school work, tests and projects. Thanks for your support!
A wad of wet scrap paper makes quite a splat when fired against a wall (Giant spitball) and various expired foods also work (Not recommended unless you don't mind cleaning your barrel)... Yeah that's pretty much it for my list of projectile materials. I like to go with organic biodegradable materials, because it saves a whole lot of hassle trying to pick up broken pieces.
I've tried various sports balls, but they are all either too big or have too much friction.
A plastic that could harden on its own could include Epoxy, or you could just use a heated plastic poured into a mould. Epoxy's the only one I can think of so far.
Wow, I've typed quite a lot.
(By the way your thumbnail for this project is amazing, it looks like you're handling radioactive materials)
Haha, I can't wait for the snow to start, Snowballs are one of the most versatile projectiles!
2) i really need to own some (any) land so I can do things like this
3) hot glue, wow, props on that, i would have used clear drying epoxy
We need a instructable of the ROBOT!
the one in the picture.
Seriously though, that is a Prototype Mock up Exoskeleton I'm building in my garage. I've been working on it for a long time but am slowing down a bit because it's expensive.
You should check out my website if you want to know more about it. www.aegisavenger.com. Click on WeirdWorks and scroll down, it has all the progress pictures and some back story.
Glad you like it, thanks for the comment!