The discussion revolves around the design of a tennis ball gun, specifically focusing on calculating the necessary muzzle velocity to achieve a projectile range of 50 meters when fired at a 20-degree incline. The scope includes theoretical considerations of forces, energy storage in elastic materials, and practical design aspects of the gun mechanism.
Participants have not reached a consensus on the specific calculations or design parameters. Multiple viewpoints and approaches are presented, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the exact muzzle velocity and energy requirements.
Participants have not provided specific assumptions or detailed calculations, and there may be limitations in the definitions or parameters used in their discussions.
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.