Collaborate Disseminate
Launching things with electromagnetism is pretty fun, with linear induction motors being a popular design that finds use from everywhere in hobby designs like [Tom Stanton]’s to the electromagnetic launchers …read more Continue reading Launching Model Airplanes With a Custom Linear Induction Motor
If you want to get better at your favorite sport, there’s really no substitute to putting in more training hours. For solo activities like running or cycling that’s simple enough: …read more Continue reading Hackaday Prize 2023: Automated Shuttle Launcher Enables Solo Badminton Practice
Golf is a sport that has always enjoyed a good gadget or eight. Whether it’s something to measure the wind, or the latest putter guaranteed to save your game, golf …read more Continue reading Golf Club Shooter Is Your Ballistic Friend on the Green
A few weeks ago, a video went viral on social media that depicted a rather unsavory individual receiving what could be described as a “percussive reminder” of social norms courtesy of a bystander armed with a can of Twisted Tea. …read more
Normally when we run across a project that claims to be overengineered, we admit that we get a little excited. Such projects always hold the potential for entertainingly over-the-top designs, materials, and methods. In this case, though, we’ll respectfully disagree with [Zach Hipps] assessment of his remote-controlled soda bottle rocket …read more
Continue reading Robust Water-Rocket Launcher Gets the Engineering Just Right
You might think that tiny autonomous drones that can be fired out of a standard 40 mm grenade launcher for rapid deployment would be the kind of thing the military would love to get their hands on. Which is true, of course, and a number of companies are working on …read more
Continue reading Designing A Drone To Fire From A Grenade Launcher
Who hasn’t had the experience of a pesky drone buzzing around that family picnic, or hovering over a suburban backyard where bikini-clad daughters are trying to sunbathe in peace? A shotgun used to suffice for such occasions, but with this compressed-air powered drone catcher, there’s no need to worry about illegally discharging a firearm to secure some privacy.
Before the comment line lights up with outrage, the above scenarios are presented entirely in jest. We do not condone the use of force on a drone, nor do we look favorably on those who use drones in a way that even …read more
We have fond memories of air-water rockets, which were always a dime store purchase for summertime fun in the pool. Despite strict guidance from mom to shoot them only straight up, the first target was invariably a brother or friend on the other side of the pool. No eyes were lost, and it was good clean fun that was mercifully free of educational value during summer break.
But now a teacher has gone and ruined all that by making an air-water rocket launching pad for his STEM students. Just kidding — [Robert Hart] must be the coolest teacher in Australia …read more
Continue reading Launch Pad for Air-Water Rockets is Good Clean Fun for STEM Students
Always one to push the envelope, U.S. Army researchers from the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) have been successfully experimenting with 3D printing for one of their latest technologies. The result? RAMBO — Rapid Additively Manufactured Ballistic Ordinance — a 40mm grenade launcher. Fitting name, no?
Virtually the entire gun was produced using additive manufacturing while some components — ie: the barrel and receiver — were produced via direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). So, 3D printed rounds fired from a 3D printed launcher with the only conventionally manufactured components being springs and fasteners, all within a …read more
Suspicious drones hovering about your property? Burglars or other ne’er-do-well test subjects giving you trouble? Need to catch a dog that keeps meandering through your workshop? [William Osman] suggests you build yourself a pneumatic net gun that can shoot 20-30 feet to catch them all.
The net gun is built largely out of PVC pipe; the air tank — filled via a tire valve — uses adapter fittings to shrink it down to a 1″ sprinkler valve, with an air gun to act as a trigger. The net launcher is made of four lengths of pipe bent with the use …read more
