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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Halo Style 2 stage COILGUN

millirad

millirad

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Well, it's 100% humidity here right now because it's very foggy outside. My capacitor bank discharged in the air(arc) with a loud bang and large bright white spark. ^^ At first I thought one of my caps had failed but there isn't anything damaged visibly. My coil gun just morphed into a tesla coil. :p Another reason for me to now abandon the prototype and get everything mounted to the frame with better configuration of the capacitor bank. My ears were ringing for about 10 minutes but now everything appears OK, as long as the sudden massive discharge hasn't weakened any of the caps. :)
 





AnselmoFanZero

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Wtf xD dude I hate that. Loud and very bright.
How foggy was it??? Cant imagine...
Thats why I like enclosed housings ;-) May hide details, but its way safer.
 
millirad

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Yes, the positive and negative terminals on the caps are a bit close together on a couple of them so I will use a thick solid copper wire like a buss bar for the parallel connections. Then I think the electron flow will favor the parallel connection over the air. Might also place an insulating barrier between positive and negative potentials as another piece of insurance. Edit: probably just shrink tubing though. ;-)
 
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millirad

millirad

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Yes, I'm currently working on the frame. I found some 1 inch square aluminum channel and it is being used in place of brass angles for some of the structural joins of the C channel. It could also act as conduit for wire possibly where the first capacitor bank connects to the 1st circuit board/coil. Off-topic, I just happened to see CTC-Labs and that incredible Scientist pulsed ND:Yag video. It reminded me of your pulsed laser pistol build. :D


Edit: on closer inspection this square aluminum channel is 3/4 inch. It does fit into the inside diameter of the C channel with about 1/8" recess at the top. I'll just have to think about how to work around that, possibly with some short spacers. It was harvested from an audio project created 3 years ago that was abandoned. ;-)
 
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AnselmoFanZero

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OT: you can see the old design of my pulse gun on CTC labs. White plastic...but similar shape. The black utube version was a remake ^^

Would be old school to include some wood on your design (in or on your design?)...
 
millirad

millirad

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I actually had Cocobolo epoxied to oak, in my old audio project that I harvested the 3/4" square aluminum channel from. This project is going to probably be aluminum with black plastic epoxied to it. I'm going for a simple design that isn't too bulky, but I can't say that I know all of the details ahead of time. It will be well insulated inside the capacitor banks so that it doesn't short to the frame. ^^ And well insulated around the charging circuit boards. OT: I looked for your earlier design at CTC, but couldn't find it. :)
 
AnselmoFanZero

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I always say to myself keep it simple....the Halo CG was the result. No kidding -_- kinda weird...hard to keep it REALLY simple these days.

I use a lot of aluminum as well. Easy to work with.
But I wouldnt glue anything...use screws. Cover something up is cool, but if something goes wrong, you have to tear it apart. Removing screws would come in more handy dont you think? ^^
 
millirad

millirad

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Yes, I have the screws in mind for the access panels over the circuit boards and capacitor banks. These areas would need to be accessed if or when some component fails. I'm not sure how many shots the capacitors are going to withstand before one or more of them fail. The epoxy is used to secure the black plastic cosmetic skin over the aluminum, just because anodizing black is more expensive.
 
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AnselmoFanZero

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Epoxy on metal....not sure about it. I would use screws only. I would try to keep the aluminum as unscratched and flawless as possible during the steps of assembly and then just spray some black paint on it. Dont cost much. If you wanna do it right, buy 2 cans or 3. Primer, then black then clearcoat.

You think the capacitors will die? Why should they die oO? Flash caps are made for this.
 
millirad

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That's good news that the caps are going to work for a long time. I didn't really have an idea about their long term durability. Well the frame is coming along nicely. I have bolted the stock/first capacitor bank aluminum piece to the circuit board aluminum enclosure with 2 short pieces of 3/4" square channel. Square channel will be used to bolt on the second capacitor bank aluminum housing. I'm going to test the frame assembly as a single stage first, then I will add the second stage, if all goes well.
 
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AnselmoFanZero

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Always better to test before making it final....I never do though xD
In the end you can make a stupid mistae when reassembling it on the frame.

The caps should be be able to make it for a long time. Dont worry.
No clue how thin their terminals are...I will solder some wire to them...just to be sure resistance is as low as possible.
 
millirad

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Finished attaching the plastic sheet insulation to the inside of the first capacitor bank and circuit board enclosures. Tomorrow I will assemble the capacitor bank and install it on the frame. If there is time I will attach the circuit board/coil and test it as a single stage.
 
millirad

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It should be, as long as everything goes smoothly. I'll be cautious with each step to make sure no hazardous voltage is being transferred to the frame. ^^ I will need more camera bodies to get up to 100J, so back to the hunt for more.

Edit: the test with the 5/8" inch projectiles proved that 3/4" were optimum for the coil that I have.
 
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AnselmoFanZero

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No idea how many W they can throw out max.
I would try 2 of them for 50/50 or if this wont work that well I would try a 3 stage and make it like 30/30/30...each stage gets its own charger.

I like to isolate the parts coming close to terminals and solder-spots with tape...from the inside you know.
 
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