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The $0 Coil Gun
by HM-Innovations on September 28, 2010
Table of Contents

Author: HM-Innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro: The $0 Coil Gun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 2: So How Does it work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3: Getting the Camera Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 4: Taking out the circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5: Attaching the Button to the Cap' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 6: Getting the Tube Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

step 7: Making the Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 8: Getting a bunch of Caps' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
Author: HM-Innovations
Author: HM-Innovations HM-Innovations.com
We are a group of Engineers, Tinkerers, Designers, Programers, and Nerds ! and we Homemake Everything!

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro: The $0 Coil Gun

We've all been there, you see something cool online, you want to figure out how is done but no one seems to want to help you. So you look up videos on Youtube and all
that you find are even better and even military grade coil guns. http://blip.tv/file/3059790 But nothing that's really going to help you with your project or your simple coil
gun. So finally if you're like me, you come to Instructables.com where you pretty much find everything you want in a simple search. This is my attempt at teaching you a
basic simple to do, Coil Gun Hope ya'll like it. Bellow is a video of the whole process, if you don't feel like watching the video and want to get started on the Instructable
instead, go to the next slide Either Way Have Fun :)

step 1: Supplies
You really don't need much for this project, and it really cost about $5.00

You will need to find a disposable camera, any type of camera works. Usually if you go Walgreens and ask for a recycled camera that you will be using for a project they
give you some for free. In the video you see us go through 50 cameras that we get for free from Walgreens. The more capacitors that you have, the stronger your coil gun
will work so keep that in mind.

Next you need to find a plastic tubing, anything that is not conductive. A pen tube works best for this type of project. But youre looking for anything that is non-conductive.

Also you need to buy magnetic enamel coated copper wire. This will conduct the electricity to the tube.

And lastly you will need a Button Switch

and a Battery :) And that's about it :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 2: So How Does it work?
To get you a mental image of how this works, imagine a magnet. Now place a small metal ball next to the magnet. The magnetic force from the magnet will pull the ball
towards it. Now imagine that you can turn that magnet on and off. So the ball is sitting next to it but does not move. You turn on the magnet. The ball is attracted to the
magnet and starts moving toward it. Now you turn the magnet off and the ball just keeps rolling alot.

This is the basis of a coil gun. But where do you get a magnet that turns on and off? This is where the coil of wire comes in. When current is run through the coil of wire it
becomes an electromagnet. So it can be turned on and off at will. Usually it is just turned on for a few miliseconds, so that the projectile is pulled toward it and the magnet
turns off right as the projectile passes through so that is will keep going. - "WonkoLabs"

The whole magnetic properties of the gun can be observed by using a battery, a copper coil and a nail.

If you wrap the coil around the nail, and you add a battery to both ends, you magnetize the nail for as long as the battery is attached to the coil ends.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 3: Getting the Camera Ready
Alright the first thing you need to do is get the camera ready for the whole thing. So you start by taking out the battery, this will prevent you from getting shocked
accidentally.... Talking about Getting shocked, you can make a Camera Taser out of a disposable camera too.....here is the link for that video on how too.
http://blip.tv/file/3245332

Anyways, once you get the battery out, you need to open up the camera, and be VERY careful when you are doing this, the capacitor is more than likely still charged and
can deliver a nasty shock if you're not safe.

So once you have the camera open you need to locate the capacitor prongs... the capacitor is the battery looking thing on the side of the camera, locate the ends of the
capacitor and using a screw driver touch both ends of the capacitor in order to discharge the energy.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 4: Taking out the circuit
So you have the battery and capacitor discharged and ready to go, next thing is to remove the circuit from the camera, this is what you will use to charge the capacitor
and all the essential works of the coil gun.

step 5: Attaching the Button to the Cap'

Okay next thing is attaching the button switch onto the capacitor. You will only attach one end of the button to one end of the capacitor the other end will go to the coil and
we'll teach you how to do that in a minute. Just make sure that you have a good solid connection on the capacitor.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 6: Getting the Tube Ready
So the barrel of your gun has to be made out of a non conductive material, plastic works best, or a plastic pen tube would be perfect and ideal.

You need to start about 1" from any end of your tube and using duck tape start increasing the diameter of your tube to about .5" then leave a 1" gap in the middle and
start another .5" increase in the diameter. Your coil will be placed in the center of the two gaps.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 7: Making the Connections
Alright so now that you have the whole barrel finished you need to start making the right connections.

Attach one end of the coil to the button switch, the other end of the coil will be attached to one end of the capacitor, the other end of the capacitor will be attached to the
remaining cable in the button switch. This will complete the circuit when the coil is ready to fire. SO now just add the battery and press the charge button, when the
HUMMING sound stops you know that the capacitor is ready to be discharged and ready to fire.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
step 8: Getting a bunch of Caps'
So lastly we added several capacitors together in parallel and we charged them up to a total of 280 volts. We placed the entire assembly inside of a project box and let
her fire. We placed a metallic plate and placed a piece of paper in the front and you can see the projectile bounce off the plate in slow motion if you watch the video. Hope
yall like this instructable :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
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"rail" gun by HM-Innovations
trebuchet03

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 64 comments

Mike McGill says: Oct 5, 2010. 11:28 AM REPLY

There's an old saying in the electrical/electronics 's business. It's volts that jolts and mils that kills......!!

HM-Innovations says: Oct 5, 2010. 1:08 PM REPLY

Yup, that what my professor used to say, People always argue, that 1k volts will kill someone yada yada yada, police officers have 100k volt tasers and it
just "shocks" you, a Milli Amp will "electrecute" you lol big difference!

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:55 PM REPLY

.006 mA

ishmal1103 says: Oct 5, 2010. 11:23 AM REPLY

the hardware store near me carries 24 gauge wire not 22
will it still work with 24?

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:54 PM REPLY

the smaller the wire (higher gauge) the more loops per ounce, and the tighter, but the less current you can safely carry across it

HM-Innovations says: Oct 5, 2010. 1:09 PM REPLY

Yup :)

IBreakHeavyStuff says: Oct 3, 2010. 10:43 PM REPLY

Is this dangerous? Most similar guns on here are quite dangerous though if they accidentally went off and zapped someone / yourself. Yours looks a lot like
a box I was checking out online (which I secretly wanted to make into a steampunk style coil gun). People could touch the spark because it was low
amperage (current?) and all it did was give a little shock. That'd be cool!

HM-Innovations says: Oct 3, 2010. 10:56 PM REPLY

Amps Kill you, Volts will never kill you.... Police Tasers have 100k volts, however, if I'm correct i think .5 of an amp will kill you.... we got shocked by this
thing once, and it hurt really bad but i'm still typing :P

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:51 PM REPLY

i think it is more like .06 amps to kill

techman9 says: Oct 8, 2010. 3:18 PM REPLY

it takes .6 amps across the heart to kill you but you need alot more amps that come into your body because of skin resistance, etc.

PsychoFreak0 says: Oct 4, 2010. 8:30 AM REPLY

Power will kill you. The amount of energy that the electricity gives off is the dangerous part. Power is the product of Voltage and Current so either one
high enough will kill you. For example if you have only 1V but 1 MA it will be dangerous. Similarly if you have 1MV and only 1A it is still dangerous.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
 warlock1935 says: Oct 5, 2010. 10:00 AM REPLY
I don't think so. Your point that it's the wattage, not the volts or amps, that's dangerous is true to a point. But your body won't conduct 1 volt. In
fact, the National Electrical Code considers 50 volts and below as intrinsically safe, as your body has so much resistance that not enough current
will flow through your body to hurt you.
This is why you can handle a live car battery with no electrical danger, even though it contains 1000 watts. Your body basically won't conduct 12
volts.

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:52 PM REPLY

it is amps not watts.

PsychoFreak0 says: Oct 5, 2010. 10:15 AM REPLY

You're absolutely correct. Human skin has a high resistance so it would be safe with those low values. My point was simply that it is not one
or the other that is dangerous but the combination of the two. The Joules that pass into your body (Watts=Joules/Sec) is the danger. So not
only a high wattage but a medium one over time can be harmful. If it is low it takes too long and most of it dissipates before becoming
dangerous.

Kryptonite says: Oct 9, 2010. 2:30 AM REPLY

This is an amazingly popular debate, but there's a lot of variables that could change the out come.

IBreakHeavyStuff says: Oct 3, 2010. 11:23 PM REPLY

That's what I figured. The Vandergraph (sp?) machine at school had ridiculous voltages but all it did was give you a bit of a shock. Not that I plan on
going around and shocking people, but if it happens accidentally I probably won't die - so that's a good thing. In the summer (southern hemisphere)
hols I'll try and make myself a steampunk gun of this - cheers =).

BlueFusion says: Oct 4, 2010. 1:17 AM REPLY

Van de Graaf machine.
Also, it only takes 6mA (0.006 amps) through your heart to kill you. You can survive a lot more than that provided it does not go through your
heart - for example, when interacting with potentially lethal amounts of electricity, smart persons follow the one hand rule. Using only one hand,
your hand may get electrocuted (and thus badly burnt) but you would be less likely to die, as the current does not pass through your heart - only
through that hand.

a_traceur says: Oct 4, 2010. 6:37 PM REPLY

And if at all possible the right hand is used too. Then it is even less chance to go through the heart.

Captain Molo says: Oct 20, 2010. 11:02 AM REPLY

so the tube doesnt have to be metal?

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:50 PM REPLY

DO NOT MAKE IT METAL!

Boppo3 says: Oct 31, 2010. 7:24 AM REPLY

guys, if i have a total of 1000 microfarads in parallel, how many coils do I need? Is there a formula for this?

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:50 PM REPLY

this stuff is pure guess work. you have a full farad i think. so that is MORE than enough juice for this kind of thing

Pale_Flyer says: Nov 15, 2010. 4:49 PM REPLY

or you can go to radio shack and get as many capacitors as you want in any size you want, and MAKE SURE WHAT EVER YOU USE TO DISCHARGE
THE CAPACITOR IS RUBBER COATED! and you only need the actual capacitor, not the pcb. a much simpler version would be the coil connected to the
capacitors and a DPDT switch, a "charge circuit" also connected to the DPDT, the coil on one end, the "charge circuit" (battery) on the other, and the
capacitors in the middle. and it does matter which way the capacitor is in line. the PCB just draws off current. a capacitor can charge in a matter of seconds
for one that big, and can discharge near instantaneously. the coil should also be farther from the "breech" of the "gun"

Nirgal38 says: Nov 7, 2010. 3:34 PM REPLY

It is absolutely vital that the wire have some kind of insulation either the thin plastic or enamel. Without insulation, you essentially have a big metal tube and
you won't bulid up any kind of magnetic field which is what makes this project work. Bare wire won't work.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
 super_kool_dude29 says: Oct 8, 2010. 4:59 PM REPLY
i built this and when the wires touch there are big sparks but doesn't shoot. what do i do?

ItsTheFark says: Oct 15, 2010. 6:15 AM REPLY

the sparks are essentially a spark-gap, try using electrical tape or something to make sure the leads are secured to each other.

shadow4742 says: Oct 10, 2010. 3:49 PM REPLY

why do you remove the battery before you shoot?

ItsTheFark says: Oct 15, 2010. 6:14 AM REPLY

The charger circuit works in a way that if you dont remove the battery, the capacitors will begin charging immediately after you discharge them.

simpo067 says: Oct 7, 2010. 1:57 AM REPLY

Safety tip chaps!!
After initially discharging the capacitor short the connections together to prevent the charge building up again, keep it this way until you are ready to connect
it into your new circuit. Whilst this charge won't be as big as normal it can still come as a shock (pun intended) dependant on the Faradic value of the
capacitor.

ishmal1103 says: Oct 6, 2010. 6:38 AM REPLY

I've made all the correct connections and set everything up. When I hit the charge button, I don't hear a humming sound. And when I press the switch
nothing happens

HM-Innovations says: Oct 6, 2010. 9:00 AM REPLY

either you have one of the capacitors swtiched out the wrong direction, or you have no battery power left.

throbscottle says: Oct 4, 2010. 4:10 AM REPLY

On the last bit, shouldn't that read "several capacitors together in parallel"? - connecting them in series only increases the total voltage rating and decreases
the capacitance. Parallel adds together the capacitance but the voltage rating will only be that of the lowest rated capacitor - so anyway, you get to store a
greater amount of energy that way for the same voltage. A bit of context would be helpful here - what voltage does the camera normal charge the capacitor
to?

Also, concerns about back emf from the coil? I would connect a diode in reverse across the coil to stop the back emf as it can be a lot greater than the
original voltage and can cause a lot of damage. I don't know if it would also make the gun more efficient too.

A circuit diagram would be nice, even if the camera innards are shown as a "mystery box".

skrubol says: Oct 4, 2010. 9:52 AM REPLY

Also, caps should never be used in series to increase their voltage tolerance without individual bleeder resistors, because the caps likely won't charge
and discharge at quite the same rate, so you may end up with 1 cap with 200v across it, and a total of 50v across all the rest.

throbscottle says: Oct 6, 2010. 4:15 AM REPLY

Oh yeah - forgot about that...

HM-Innovations says: Oct 4, 2010. 11:04 AM REPLY

yea sorry bout that, it/s supposed to be in parallel not series :(

ishmal1103 says: Oct 5, 2010. 9:32 AM REPLY

what did you use in the video for a tube?

HM-Innovations says: Oct 5, 2010. 1:11 PM REPLY

a plastic wire out of a toy gun :P

ElectroManiac says: Oct 5, 2010. 8:35 AM REPLY

i thought you just said its a zero dollar gun. i thought by that u meant it cost absolutely nothing, or was made out of household thing.

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/
 HM-Innovations says: Oct 5, 2010. 9:07 AM REPLY
If you go out and buy a camera is about 7 bucks each, a project box, is about 12, etc. However, when you go out and ask for the Camera its free from a
Walgreens, It even comes with an integrated button switch. The pen tube is pretty much free. the project box is a modified shoe box. Overall you can find
the things you need for this project at home.

ishmal1103 says: Oct 4, 2010. 3:21 PM REPLY

will it still work with insulated wire?

mitchblahman says: Oct 4, 2010. 6:00 PM REPLY

i dont believe the coils would be tight enough and the power wouldnt be strong enough to shoot as well as with bare

Jamie bagn says: Oct 4, 2010. 2:54 AM REPLY

If I used my 1farad capacitor would it work or would it melt the pipe or burn up the coil?

alpertenli says: Oct 4, 2010. 1:05 AM REPLY

ohhh goood yeahh :))

shadow4742 says: Oct 3, 2010. 11:05 PM REPLY

on the project box one, how did you wire it so you could use the multimeter to see the voltage chargeing, also, what setting do you use on the multimeter

an over all wiring schematic would be nice

berky93 says: Oct 3, 2010. 6:53 PM REPLY

I just so happen to have all of the parts laying around to build a self-contained NERF coilgun. I think I found my next project. it should be slightly less
dangerous than my last one (retractable arm mounted blade)

HM-Innovations says: Oct 3, 2010. 6:55 PM REPLY

hhaha if Instructables had a "like" button like facebook, i would click it haha

berky93 says: Oct 3, 2010. 8:06 PM REPLY

Well, patches are nice too.

HeyJD says: Oct 3, 2010. 7:00 PM REPLY

In your video the coil gun doesn't look that strong... Is it actually a strong gun?

HM-Innovations says: Oct 3, 2010. 7:51 PM REPLY

We put a metal plate behind it, it goes through a cardboard but you cant really see it on video this was the best thing we could do so you can actually see
the projectile coming out.

Herber says: Oct 1, 2010. 9:45 AM REPLY

In step 8 are the caps in "series" or parallel?

view all 64 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-0-Coil-Gun/