I need some ideas for designing a catapult that runs on a motor. Basic requirements:
- able to launch a cookie 30m,
- capable of continuous operation,
- fits within a 0.4 m × 0.6 m × 0.4 m high box,
- allows 2 seconds minimum between each launch to load,
- self-sufficient (once the motor is turned on it can't be touched)
- made of steel,
- springs, bearings, and gears can be used, but no hydraulics.
Does anyone have any ideas?
I was thinking of a gear attached to a motor connected to another gear on the launch arm that would wind the launch arm horizontally. The gear on the motor would have teeth grinded off so that when the arm became horizontal it would release. The problem with this is that I think that when the gear came back around it would interfere with the arm launching the cookie and/or that the teeth on the gears would break because of the large torque required by the motor to compress a spring with a large enough stiffness to give the cookie a flight distance of 30 m. Anyone have any other ideas or possible fixes to mine?
Best Answer
This sounds like a description for an automatic clay pigeon thrower.