Home Sign Up!

Browse Community Submit

All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech

coilgun blueprints
by eneergcam on September 1, 2009 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Coilgun blueprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Wind the Coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Barrel and projectiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Placing the components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: soldering the components together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Finishing touches and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 6

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

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

Image Notes 1. Finished gun!

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.

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

Image Notes 1. fairly close together

step 2: Barrel and projectiles

Find the length that the barrel should be in your gun and cut it to the correct length. Find the projectile your are going to use, most likely a nail with a grounded down head, and position the coil so when the projectile end is at the very end off the barrel, the tip of the projectile is at the very begining of the coil. Last, put a stopper on the end of the barrel so that you may slide the projecile from the tip of the barrel.

Image Notes 1. The barrel

step 3: Placing the components

Now it is time to start laying out the circuits. Figure out where you want to lay the components. Make sure they will fit in the spots you want to lay them. DON'T FASTEN THE PARTS YET , find out how much wire you need to connect the components first, then add an inch to make sure the wire will reach.

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

Image Notes 1. We shouldn't have zip-tied it yet.

Image Notes 1. The barrel

step 4: soldering the components together

The title says it all. Solder the componets together using this schematics below. Notice there is no relay. We tried a gun with a relay, put after a few shots, it nedded to be replaced. Since we are using a switch that cuts the battery on to make the circuit start charging, we need to solder a bare piece of wire to the switch on the circuit.

Image Notes 1. Coil 2. capacitor

Image Notes 1. soldered together.

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

Image Notes 1. Take the top off of the circuit's switch and solder the bare wire here.

step 5: Finishing touches and Testing

Before you close up the gun, you may want/need to add some finishing touches. Here are a few of the ones we did: -a lens from the camera to make the LED from the circuit appear larger when the capacitors charged -a cover to go over the big, bare spot on the top of our gun -a projectile holder -test prongs to make sure the gun was charging (recommended)

Image Notes 1. lens set up so you can see the lit LED

Image Notes 1. The projectile in some styrofoam.

Image Notes 1. Stupid picture of me. Not a good idea! 2. stupid goggles

Related Instructables

XREP taser projectile, free and disposable! by thebluemartyr

MR-1.2 Coilgun (UPDATE: NEW INTERIOR PICTURE) (slideshow) by mspark400

Coilgun Handgun by rwilsford07

Mini Coilgun (slideshow) by onlyonething

The $0 Coil Gun by HMInnovations

Steam Powered Potato Pistol 1.0 by robbtoberfest

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

Advertisements

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 64 comments

themodmancarl says:
jesus where did you get your capacitor

Jun 16, 2010. 10:09 PM REPLY

322058884 says:
these babies are available in tv's (older ones)

Jul 5, 2010. 5:26 PM REPLY

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

Sep 14, 2010. 9:06 AM REPLY

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

Jun 17, 2010. 9:43 AM REPLY

Taran606 says:
Wut if I'm using pure bare copper wire and I'm using my iPod touch and it has a small keyboard

Jun 17, 2010. 4:06 PM REPLY

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

Sep 4, 2010. 9:38 AM REPLY

eneergcam says:

Jun 18, 2010. 8:47 AM REPLY 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 says:
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

Jun 15, 2010. 9:18 PM REPLY

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

Jun 16, 2010. 10:36 AM REPLY

Taran606 says:

Jun 16, 2010. 8:44 PM REPLY 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 says:
it is getting pretty hard to read your comments, haha, and that shouldnt be the issue if it charges well.

Jun 17, 2010. 9:45 AM REPLY

Taran606 says:
Ok and I'm using a one of those other switchs that u flick

Jun 16, 2010. 4:37 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:

Jun 17, 2010. 9:46 AM REPLY okay, sounds good, but make sure that on the package that the switch comes in that it says something around '10 amps'

Taran606 says:
check my instructable for better pics

Jun 17, 2010. 6:11 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

eneergcam says:
alright, looks great!

Jun 18, 2010. 8:46 AM REPLY

Taran606 says:
heres the pics

Jun 17, 2010. 6:00 PM REPLY

Taran606 says:

Jun 14, 2010. 4:22 PM REPLY 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 says:

Jun 15, 2010. 7:52 PM REPLY 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 says:
Ok I'll try to fix my computer problems? and post some pics. I'm using my iPod touch

Jun 15, 2010. 8:58 PM REPLY

Taran606 says:
Ty for relpy. One more thing when I conect my wites there it just sparks

Jun 15, 2010. 8:54 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
right to the capacitor? you have a trigger for it right?

Jun 16, 2010. 10:35 AM REPLY

N3v3rm0r3 says:

May 13, 2010. 1:20 PM REPLY 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.

eneergcam says:

May 16, 2010. 6:35 PM REPLY 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

calemus says:

Jan 12, 2010. 1:05 AM REPLY 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?

eneergcam says:

May 5, 2010. 6:16 PM REPLY Im pretty sure electromagnets can be wound any way and always draw the projectile in towards the middle. thats how coilguns work; by drawing the projectile (atleast the effiecient ones do) towards the very middle, then turning off, so that the peice keeps going. and are you talking about different wires to wind the coil, or for the circuit?

finfan7 says:
It doesn't matter which direction you wind it. Curent direction is determined by the connections.

Apr 23, 2010. 3:10 PM REPLY

theblindferrengi says:

Apr 7, 2010. 4:47 PM REPLY As long as your coil is neat then it doesn't really matter. 22 AWG enameled copper wire works very well, you cant do much better than copper, silver is the only metal that would work better. A jacket of Mu-metal or other magnetic shielding alloy could be put around part of the coil to improve efficiency.

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

eneergcam says:
thanks for explaining it well

May 5, 2010. 6:16 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
Dude, im only 13, i know copper is more conductive than steel, but thats aobut is, sorry,

Jan 16, 2010. 7:52 AM REPLY

blablabla123 says:
this is nice- good job! your grandpa seems awesome.

May 1, 2010. 10:38 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
haha thanks! yeah, hes pretty awesome!

May 5, 2010. 6:12 PM REPLY

theblindferrengi says:
What is the kinetic energy of this gun?

Apr 7, 2010. 4:49 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
I have no idea man, this is just a beginners project, nerthin to big.

Apr 8, 2010. 8:04 AM REPLY

scottjones1998 says:
nice layout

Mar 31, 2010. 8:12 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
thanks man! haha, nice Southpark profile picture!

Apr 5, 2010. 9:16 AM REPLY

milamber says:

Oct 26, 2009. 12:37 AM REPLY hay just thought id say that you can use to d or C cell batteries to charge without burning out anything and you will cut about 1/3 (one 3rd ) off the charge time aslo i recomend using a relay instead of a togle switch is will allow a faster discharge as it has less resistance thus adding power to the coil gun just thought id share that

lasermaster3531 says:

Mar 1, 2010. 4:59 PM REPLY I recommend using an SCR. that stands for silicon-controlled rectifier and you can buy a 400 volt 40 amp one for not much, and because they're solid state, they can't weld shut. look them up on wiki.

eneergcam says:
I burned though 50 relays before i finishe with my first one...

Oct 26, 2009. 1:41 PM REPLY

cdousley says:
i got a momentary switch from the hardware store i haven't finished mine yet but it should work good

Jan 16, 2010. 11:03 AM REPLY

eneergcam says:
okay, make sure you flip it back fast so it doesnt burn the contacts together

Jan 17, 2010. 7:08 PM REPLY

cdousley says:

Jan 18, 2010. 6:32 PM REPLY i hate to flood you with comments but its rated for high voltage and amps like house wiring. do you think it will weld

eneergcam says:

Feb 1, 2010. 12:56 PM REPLY probably not then, and dont worry, im just some one cares i posted anything on here...haha. send me a picutre when its done =)

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/

cowscankill says:
Does the wire thickness matter? Do you know how thickness or amount of coils affects the coilgun performance?

Feb 28, 2010. 6:02 AM REPLY

ampeyro says:

Feb 8, 2010. 11:28 AM REPLY 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 says:

Feb 8, 2010. 6:57 PM REPLY 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 says:
thanks, i read it on the wiki

Feb 9, 2010. 1:13 PM REPLY

cdousley says:
is the body a super soaked im making one with an airsoft gun shell

Jan 10, 2010. 4:28 PM REPLY

eneergcam says:
ya man! haha, dude, that probably looks awesome! is i t like a AR-15 or a P90 or what?

Jan 16, 2010. 7:59 AM REPLY

cdousley says:
its a walmart defender i tried to make it remote control. That did NOT turn out well so im making this

Jan 16, 2010. 11:01 AM REPLY

max0506 says:

Jan 10, 2010. 1:06 PM REPLY Hello guys I am making a coilgun made of a disposable camera and some capacitors. I have made a drawing with google sketch-up. Could you please check if I have made all the connections right? ( I am not an expert yet) www.elektronica_stuff.webklik.nl/page/voorpagina

view all 64 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/coilgun-blueprints/