Hey guys,

I have a passion for mechanical engineering and have decided to build myself a railgun and also perhaps a gauss gun just for shits and giggles. Anyone here try building one themselves? And how strong of a current did you use and what projectiles did you fire from your railgun?

Appreciate the info!!

Why don't you build Tesla's death ray while you are at it.

Pickitt Wrote:
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> Hey guys,
>
> I have a passion for mechanical engineering and
> have decided to build myself a railgun and also
> perhaps a gauss gun just for shits and giggles.
> Anyone here try building one themselves? And how
> strong of a current did you use and what
> projectiles did you fire from your railgun?
>
> Appreciate the info!!


Google for sure is your friend: http://www.google.com/search?q=railgun%20construction

I think I remember watching a video or two as well on YouTube.

While searching Youtube for railgiun videos, came across this video again - not a railgin video, but awesome none-the-less:

I built one a couple of years ago but to guy dressed all in black stole it from me and try to erase my mind. I can only remember that i built one not how I built it. I have to go now I think they found me again. oh shit!!!!

Pickitt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey guys,
>
> I have a passion for mechanical engineering and
> have decided to build myself a railgun and also
> perhaps a gauss gun just for shits and giggles.
> Anyone here try building one themselves? And how
> strong of a current did you use and what
> projectiles did you fire from your railgun?

First. You're probably in highschool, so I'll be gentile.

You can build an extremely low power, and therefore proof-of-concept, with almost no effort. It'll have less power than your average slingshot, but it'll be enough to say you built one.

If you have in mind a plan to build an effective weapon... don't. The power required to put any significant force behind the projectile can kill you. They require a massive discharge of stored power, and if you don't know your way around ultra-capacity capacitors, you'll kill yourself.

If you still want to try, check out http://www.powerlabs.org/railgun2.htm for info on building a rail gun. They're not cheap, the electric bill won't be cheap, but it doesn't matter because you're going to quit after you check out the amount of work it will require.

I remember seeing a video about one guy's railgun - it was quite powerful (shot aluminum bars or something and destroyed various objects within 30 feet or so) but he was REALLY careful about getting NEAR it when it was, for example, charging! He used a LONG stick to "push the fire button" as if the device would bite him if he pushed it by hand.

That is to say, there was a LOT of stored charge and he was appropriately cautious.

The Google link above probably that under Videos - or maybe at DIY or Instructables or Make or some similar site.

They're one of those technologies where making it safer for the user greatly increases the cost. You can make one fairly inexpensively by comparison, but it'll be much more dangerous to the user.

Oxyclean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pickitt Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey guys,
> >
> > I have a passion for mechanical engineering and
> > have decided to build myself a railgun and also
> > perhaps a gauss gun just for shits and giggles.
> > Anyone here try building one themselves? And
> how
> > strong of a current did you use and what
> > projectiles did you fire from your railgun?
>
> First. You're probably in highschool, so I'll be
> gentile.
>
> You can build an extremely low power, and
> therefore proof-of-concept, with almost no effort.
> It'll have less power than your average
> slingshot, but it'll be enough to say you built
> one.
>
> If you have in mind a plan to build an effective
> weapon... don't. The power required to put any
> significant force behind the projectile can kill
> you. They require a massive discharge of stored
> power, and if you don't know your way around
> ultra-capacity capacitors, you'll kill yourself.
>
> If you still want to try, check out
> http://www.powerlabs.org/railgun2.htm for info on
> building a rail gun. They're not cheap, the
> electric bill won't be cheap, but it doesn't
> matter because you're going to quit after you
> check out the amount of work it will require.


Actually, I have already graduated from college and my younger brother(still in college) is majoring in Robotics and Electrical Engineering. I figured that this project might give us something that we can work on together for a period of time that does not include gaming or getting fucked up.

We plan to spend with our budget at least $3,000.00 and hope to finish it within a year.

I was just asking if anyone here has built one or experimented with one.

> ...my younger brother(still in college) is majoring in Robotics and
> Electrical Engineering...

Oh great, all we need is an experimental railgun-armed robot roaming around Fairfax...

OR- create military or law enforcement robots that are unmanned and use simple kinetic energy to take down hostiles without using any explosives or chemical/powder at all... Of course the power of the shot from the railgun and types of ammunition can be altered simply by assessing how dangerous the current situation is.

I think it might just be an awesome project to undertake.

400 miles? I wonder how anything can travel through 400 miles of atmosphere and still retain enough velocity to do away with explosives. Within a couple of miles, with a flat-shooting trajectory, a kinetic projectile makes sense, but arcing a cup full of BBs in from overhead at hundreds of miles sounds dubious.

tomahawk Wrote:
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> 400 miles? I wonder how anything can travel
> through 400 miles of atmosphere and still retain
> enough velocity to do away with explosives. Within
> a couple of miles, with a flat-shooting
> trajectory, a kinetic projectile makes sense, but
> arcing a cup full of BBs in from overhead at
> hundreds of miles sounds dubious.

Very true. it would have to go out of the barrel at 30,000 mph to maintain the kinetic energy to destroy anything at 400 miles.

What is crazy is the amount of amperes needed to generate enough power to fire the thing at that speed. The Navy's test shows a plasma cloud created from all the stored energy released at launch

Pickitt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, I have already graduated from college
> and my younger brother(still in college) is
> majoring in Robotics and Electrical Engineering. I
> figured that this project might give us something
> that we can work on together for a period of time
> that does not include gaming or getting fucked up.

You really don't comprehend the level of difficulty involved. This is not a project you can half-ass and do when you're at your weekly limit of playing WoW or AD&D or doing your drug of choice.

Good luck to you. I can't wait to see your obituary in the news or your brother's, "OMG! My older brother dun got hisself electrocuted!" post.

Oxyclean, make me a Tesla death ray.
Attachments:

Pickitt Wrote:
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> Actually, I have already graduated from college
> and my younger brother(still in college) is
> majoring in Robotics and Electrical Engineering.




Well, I guess you and your little brother are completely qualified to be budding young mad scientists, huh?

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pickitt Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Actually, I have already graduated from college
> > and my younger brother(still in college) is
> > majoring in Robotics and Electrical
> Engineering.
>
>
>
>
> Well, I guess you and your little brother are
> completely qualified to be budding young mad
> scientists, huh?


Very (un)funny, douche!

It wasn't intended to be funny, do you really think that saying "my younger brother is studying robotics" makes you an expert in railgun design?

I think you need to take Oxyclean's advice or just stick with playing Halo or Crysis.

eesh Wrote:
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> It wasn't intended to be funny, do you really
> think that saying "my younger brother is studying
> robotics" makes you an expert in railgun design?
>
> I think you need to take Oxyclean's advice or just
> stick with playing Halo or Crysis.


I'll stick to Halo if you promise to get a life and quit playing World of Warcraft!

Fuck these haters. Build your railgun. Don't point it at your neighbor's house. Good luck.

tomahawk Wrote:
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> Fuck these haters. Build your railgun. Don't point
> it at your neighbor's house. Good luck.


Yea..what he said!

Just keep in mind that you may not want to post your progress online unless your projectile is only capable of bruising a tomatoe; BATF and some other D.H.S. agencies could consider you a domestic terrorist and wrench any future plans at M.I.T.

Oh, but a hippie killing robot armed with a railgun would rock.