Are you familiar with the SUVAT equations?Gavinp said:I am designing a tennis ball gun and am trying to work out the forces involved. It is essentially elastic powered but at this stage all I need to know at this stage is this: with the gun at a 20 degree incline what muzzle velocity would result in the ball traveling 50 metres?
It looks like you have the right idea.Gavinp said:Sorry for delay, but no, however will google them after this reply, thanks for lead. My problem is this, I think I have a viable design for imparting a fair amount of velocity to the ball. It uses a dense coil of catapult elastic which is stretched using a geared crank. releasing the coil propels the ball via a bellows type arrangement which in effect is a large caliber pea-shooter. I want to estimate the range of the design as it stands to see if it will reach the minimum 50m range. To do this I guess I need to find muzzle velocity and then find the amount of energy needed to accelerate the ball to that velocity. Then I need to figure out the amount of energy that can be stored by the elastic. I am hoping the quantity of elastic in the design is sufficient to achieve the range. Any further hints welcome.
A tennis ball gun, also known as a ball launcher or ball cannon, is a device used for launching tennis balls at high speeds for recreational or training purposes.
Tennis ball guns use compressed air or springs to propel the ball out of the barrel at high speeds. The force of the air or spring is controlled by a trigger mechanism, similar to a firearm.
Muzzle velocity is the speed at which the tennis ball is launched from the gun's barrel. It is measured in feet per second (fps) or meters per second (mps).
Muzzle velocity is important because it determines how far and how fast the tennis ball will travel. It also affects the accuracy and power of the shot.
To increase the muzzle velocity of a tennis ball gun, you can adjust the air pressure or spring tension, use lighter balls, or upgrade to a more powerful model. However, be sure to follow safety precautions and check the maximum velocity recommended by the manufacturer.