DroidFreak Enterprises: 5:1 NXT Zamor Sphere Launcher

This single Zamor launcher is geared for extreme speed. Thanks to a few advanced techniques, it consistently operates at a 5:1 gear ratio.

5:1 NXT Zamor Sphere Launcher

As promised in the video description, there are more details and pictures available...

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A few overview pictures

For the sake of convenience, I will take separate pictures of the main launcher and the magazine. NOTE: This launcher does not work with a normal magazine, it must be sprung like mine is.

Magazine connected to main launcher

Magazine connection without magazine

This launcher is geared 5:1 for speed. In order to keep the gears from skipping, I geared it in 4 places.

Gearing

The two motors are connected to each other via a beam at the back and a connector spanning the two drive axles.

Motor connections

Each of the motors is connected to an assembly of beams that hold the launcher's mechanisms. The two motor assemblies are mirror images, so for now I will focus on the left assembly.

The back of the left assembly

Some parts have been removed to let you see the inner layer

One of the major features of this gun is the fact that the firing is aided by rubber bands. Without their help, it wouldn't have enough torque to fire the spheres. Here's how it works: When the motors pull back the firing pin, they stretch the rubber bands, like charging up for a shot. The energy they build up in the rubber bands then helps them when they push forward the firing pin and fire.

A few pics of the firing mech

The actual Zamor Launcher is connected to the two beam assemblies (as is the magazine).

A few pics of the Zamor Launcher connection

(Sorry this one is blurry, but you can still get the point)

Because the launcher moves so fast, gravity can't pull the spheres down fast enough to load the launcher. To fix this problem, I made a sprung magazine that pushes the spheres down to load the launcher.

The magazine