Air Powered Throwball Launcher

The one problem I had with portable tanks (High pressure Air & CO2) is that the pressure of the final shots will not approach that of the first few shots (due to physics and equal pressures in a enclosed area). Being able to accurately fill the reservoir in the launcher would not be as exact as being able to pump air directly into it. I'm sure with some simple fittings and a regulator you can get precise, but that seems like more work than just getting a quality bike pump.

-Steven
 
The bike pump is the way to go. It requires no power, gas, forethought, or prep. The tool is useless if you need that 5 gallon pony tank and you forget to fill it.

As far as a patent, the cost if preclusive to my current situation and in the form pictured in the video, even with a patent, most people would build their own.

I have a prototype, that is 1/3 the size, 24" total length, with more CFM (power). It is shoulder fireable with a foregrip and a red dot sight. The concept looks like a shotgun with a big drum mag. If I can get that to work out, I may sell it as a finished product through one exclusive retailer.

Based on material costs, welding, shipping,and retailer profit I am looking at a retail price of $200-$300 though which is another reason to not sell it, I dont know how many people would pay that much.

The model in the video cost me around $100 I think... I bought all the materials for a PVC build which exploded on me, bad idea. After that I switched to the NPT steel gas pipe. The ball valve is the most expensive part around $30.

I would love to see some other people build them and use them, I love mine, the only downside is I can not use it where I work now...so it pretty much just gets used on side jobs.
 
That cost is based on a single unit or mass production? Considering that we're dropping $120 on a big shot and extra $80 for an air powered gun isn't that big a deal.
 
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How many guys have air brakes on your trucks? It as simple as putting a hose on the tank.

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Then the device has to have a pressure gauge mounted on it. As is, the internal pressure is read using the gauge on the pump. With a pony tank, compressor, or anything else where the gauge reads internal pressure of the tank you would need a gauge on the APTA cannon as well.

APTA = Air powered tree access



Accuracy is almost entirely a measure of how much pressure you use. Aiming it is simple, getting the PSI right is the tricky part.
 
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That cost is based on a single unit or mass production? Considering that we're dropping $120 on a big shot and extra $80 for an air powered gun isn't that big a deal.

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Whether I made 1, 10, or 100, I would imagine that the retail cost would be $2-300. If I made 10 I might be able to pay self to make them, if I made 100 I might make a profit.

I am not so interested in making a bunch of money of the idea. I wouldnt mind if people made them and used them and enjoyed the fun of it.

As far as my new model, IF it works the way I think it will I will likely post it up here and the 'treehouse. If anyone wants to buy one then maybe I will make them for people custom.

I will be Rhino-Lining the new model... so it will look sweet.

Here is a diagram of my new concept.

APTA 2.0 Top View
 

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Brilliant product and so simple. Treework is sure getting fun. Thanks for sharing 223Tree, the new concept has a nice look, is that an over the shoulder model?
 
I imagine it will look something like this

http://images.wikia.com/callofduty/images/7/78/STRIKER.png

except without the the pistol grip on the back... the round cylinder will extend farther back and will be pressed against the shoulder, holding pressure with the forgrip and left hand. The right hand will fire the ball valve located on the right side of the device.

Ultimately I will add a red dot sight to the top of it.
 
yeah yeah that will be a nice tight set up,

and you can get that one to shoot 100+ feet too?

how small and compact can you go? lets say for a 60 ft shot
 
It is a question of interior volume. Mine is around 84 cu.in. I tried it with around 40cu.in and it was definitely capable of a 60' shot...

So for the compression chamber that means 1.5x24" or 3x6".... not including the barrel. I think a 24" barrel is nice but should do some testing with a 12", I imagine that accuracy would drop though as was previously suggested.


It is important to realize that it isnt just Volume or PSI, its a combination. Each setup will take some testing, and getting it familiarized. @ 80cu.in. 40PSI hits 60' for me, give or take... but 40cu.in @ 40psi probly wouldnt.

Anything over 100 psi was pushing it with my Husky bike pump, 120 was the max.
 
If I can make a 12" barrel work, I could make a model more powerful than my current one, with a total size of 4x12" with the barrel set inside the air chamber.

That would be pushing around somewhere around 130cu.in. compared to my 80cu.in @ 6' in total length.
 
My personal launcher is a linear system. With the reservoir built out of steel pipe is in the rear portion of the cannon with the barrel cut of PVC in the front, similar to a Bazooka, it even has the classic Bazooka shoulder stock. As my drawn diagram shows, the breech is pressurized with air, from a bike pump or a CO2/HPA paintball tank. The Whole system is sealed with Teflon tape as well as gorilla glue (quick fix from its early stages).

To operate, the rear valve is opened while the front remains closed, air is charged into the system using the gauge on the bike pump to assure consistency. Once the desired pressure is reached, the rear valve is closed, and to fire the operator simply draws down on the forward valve lever opening the reservoir sending the air into the barrel propelling whatever is in there.

To make the system clean I shrouded it in an outer PVC shell, primarily to make it look cool and gave it a low-vis green paint job and its ready for use.

I will post pictures this weekend when i get off campus if anyone is interested in seeing the actual system? I have fiddled around with it alot and have a pretty effective system.
 

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My current rig is linear I guess... I dont see the need for two ball valves. On my model, the forward ball valve is closed, the chamber is pressurized with the pump through a sniffer valve, then you pull the lever and fire.
 
That fact seems to be apples and oranges here, seeing how they are the same principal design with pressurized air being stored in a reservoir and the released. With mine there is greater ease if you needed to discharge the air, simply open the rear valve and the air purges. This helps if you have a nice snug fit of your throw bag in the barrel, cause if you have an air-tight seal it won't slide out easy to begin with.

Saves the trouble if you needed to hold off on a shot, or needed to empty the tool without actually shooting it. just my 2 cents.
 
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