coilgun blueprints

This is a relatively simple coilgun me and my grandpa made this summer. I will show you how to make a similar one. Please add a comment if you need extra help with anything. Also, add a comment if I need to change any of the steps.Please rate and comment, andplease help me if i'm not clear on something. It takes about 1:30 to 2:00 minutes to charge.  Have fun!

MATERIALS
-around 90 feet of magnet coil
-2 1.5 inch plexiglass washers for winding coil
-1 camera charging circuit (KODAK)
-wire
-1 on/off switch
-1 40 amp or higher toggle switch for trigger
-1 D battery holder
-1 capacitor around 450 volts and 1500 MicroFarads
-1 toy gun large enough to mount the circuits in
-1 carbon arrow shaft
-you may need other materials according to the gun apparatus you use

Tools
-soldering iron with solder
-screw driver (to take the gun apart)
-a hand saw (to cut barrel to appropriate length)
-glue or drill and screws to mount circuits

Step 1 Wind the Coil

Wind the coil as well as you can around a axle a little bit bigger than the barrel. Fasten the washers around the axle for support. You may use you hands, but my grandpa and I made a little rig to make it easier. Wind it 2.5 inches in length, with 10 layers of coil.

Note: Before you go to the next step, you may want to rig a testing circuit to make sure the coil fires.

Comments

[Badjuju1996]

would you be able to add a sensor or something that when the projectile passes by it shuts off the magnet, that way you could increase the efficiency and make it stop dead center

[tazerboy]

hmm, i suppose that i wasn't very powerful since it only had one capacitor. You
might want to add a couple more of those, say at least 4 of the same caps.And get a better switching device like an scr.

[eneergcam]

Nah dude, it was a big capacitor, and it packed a punch

[Iwantbigboom]

but you said to somebody that the capacitor is small and now your saying its big makes no sense.BIG or small.

[eneergcam]

Its all relative, compared to the camera circuit capacitors if very large, but compared to other larger ones, its small.

[tazerboy]

plz tell me the voltage and capacity

[eneergcam]

450 volts and 1500 MicroFarads

[ampeyro]

when i vas "studying" about coilguns for making one, i read something about if you conect a capacitor to a coil, it generates AC, and inverted voltages can damage the electrolythic capacitors, does it realy happen?, did you add something to avoid it?, is it just too small to be considered?
(yes, my ortography is realy bad, but i'm not native english speaker)

[eneergcam]

I dont now where you read that, but you dont need to add anything, the voltage is probably too small, and the capacitors are also very small.

[ampeyro]

thanks, i read it on the wiki

[maxmunzel]

add a diode between coil and capacitor!!

[Electroinnovation]

That is really not safe you should be using a relay instead of a regular momentary switch like that. It doesn't matter how many amps it can handle those kinds of switches are intended for a constant flow of energy not sudden extreme bursts like this. Other than that its a great ible. 5*

[N3v3rm0r3]

man, only one KODAK sircuit? it would take ages to charge that capaitor, i used 7 to charge two capacitors 250V@1000uF and they are cherged at around 10sec. one 250V@1000uF takes 1min to be charged by one KODAK sircuit, my opinion is that you should use at least five sircuits.

[budhaztm]

how exactly do you wre several circuits tigether? if you could post a link to an instructable or tell me that would be awsome.

[N3v3rm0r3]

There is an instructable called Coilgun Handgun that also shows you how to shrink the KODAK blue circuits.

[eneergcam]

 we decided just to have one for our first gun, and we didnt know where we could put them, but maybe one day ill make one with a few more circuits

[themodmancarl]

jesus where did you get your capacitor

[silencekilla]

i used a bank of 10 500 V 2400 uF nippon chemicon capacitors. it shot a 1/2" bolt through 2 walls of my house

[Amphithere96]

dam im gonna mimic your bank

[322058884]

these babies are available in tv's (older ones)

[ARJOON]

in old tvs the biggest i have found is a 220uf at 400v

[eneergcam]

hahaha, my grandpa had it in his infinite pile of junk

[Taran606]

Wut if I'm using pure bare copper wire and I'm using my iPod touch and it has a small keyboard

[gen.badger]

Using pure bare copper wire will result in a short. Your gun will not fire and you may ruin your capacitor.

[eneergcam]

uhm, for the coil? it wont wont NEARLY as good, but it will work, and yeah, i know how that goes, I always mess up typing with my touch on facebook...

[Taran606]

Srry to bother u but it's my first rime. Can the tube that the progectile come out of be made out of conductive metal

[eneergcam]

it could, but i think a plastic one would be better, because it wouldnt interfere with coil

[Taran606]

I do have two triggers one to charge other to fishgare to coil and another proplem many be my circuit us like half that size

[eneergcam]

it is getting pretty hard to read your comments, haha, and that shouldnt be the issue if it charges well.

[Taran606]

Ok and I'm using a one of those other switchs that u flick

[eneergcam]

okay, sounds good, but make sure that on the package that the switch comes in that it says something around '10 amps'

[Taran606]

check my instructable for better pics

[eneergcam]

alright, looks great!

[Taran606]

heres the pics

[Taran606]

Hi I got a question. Why can't you cut off the flash and pit the coil wire there instead of putting it strait to the cap. If you could answer I wold like it. Plz leave a comment on my channel Ty. Taran606

[eneergcam]

is it okay if i just respond here? I tried that in my first coilgun, but if you attatch the coil there, then the current goes through the cicuit twice every time you charge and dis-charge the capacitor. i dont know if that explanation makes any sense, but trust me, it is better how i told you to do it in the instructable

[Taran606]

Ok I'll try to fix my computer problems and post some pics. I'm using my iPod touch

[Taran606]

Ty for relpy. One more thing when I conect my wites there it just sparks

[eneergcam]

right to the capacitor? you have a trigger for it right?

[calemus]

ok,,,now, i know there is a way to wind the wires in such a way as to fource the current in a direction,  how exactly can i know how to make a wind, start from left or right? top or bottom?
magnet coil wire? does this come in a specific gauge?
is it possable to get diffrent results with steel wire, , better results with copper? high impedance wire?