I’ve seen a lot of coilguns in my day, but this 1.25KJ coilgun may be my absolute favorite. Some of the guns you see look a bit too contrived, but this one manages to pull the look off (Yes I’ll admit it looks a bit unwieldy, but still rad looking). Here’s a good picture of what we’re looking at, but if you’re really curious as to how it functions, we also have a video for you.
The functionality looks to be pretty straightforward. There are some parts in the gun you may recognize, like a cellphone charger for the low voltage circuit needs. It also has a dial that allows the max charge voltage to be dialed in. This way, the system won’t be prone to overcharging. As you might expect, pulling the trigger disconnects the charge circuit, and triggers the “SCR”. This dumps the capacitor’s energy into the coil and voila, BOOM. It manages to store 1.25KJ energy at 400 VOC. The estimated discharge is at 4.6 kA, and the estimated efficiency is 1-3%. If you’re not sure what those numbers mean, well…don’t feel bad. I have no idea either. Still, they certainly do sound impressive, and it’s a damn powerful coilgun. That’s all I really need to know.
In terms of technical specs, the gun is powered by a 13V NiMH battery (according to the post, it fires 15 times per charge). The Charging is provided by a 40 watt regulated ZVS flyback driver. The body is constructed of lightweight ABS plastic pipe and sheets. If you’re interested in checking out some other coilgun designs, might I suggest this rather bright LED coilgun. If you’re looking for something a little less flashy, well, there’s always this electromagnetic coilgun.
Via: Hacked Gadgets
