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Progress: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

A project log for CO2 Cartridge Rocket Launcher

CO2 canister powered rocket launcher, because why not

alex-andersonAlex Anderson 07/25/2016 at 21:220 Comments

Long overdue update! Lots of progress has been made with some important testing and redesign. The loading tube has been designed to hold additional canisters and is spring loaded to push the next cartridge into the breach when the lever action is used. Solid and final progress on that front.

The first idea to empty the canister was a spring loaded chisel on the back to sheer the end of the canister off, hopefully releasing all of the CO2 and once, but the chisel was not able to provide enough force to sheer the canister. This means the chisel needed to be removed and the addition of a firing pin style mechanism. This allows for a solid puncture and repeat-ability which will be needed for the lever actuated system. Here are are some pictures of the previous chisel system and a test video of the new firing pin setup. PLEASE NOTE: the video is of a very dangerous setup. We were wearing eye protection and recognize the risk of high energy projectiles. In future tests we plan to have a more safe setup, but this served as a proof of concept.

Test Video:

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