I am trying to build a capacitor bank and charger using 330v 120uf photoflash capacitors and their chargers, which will be used to power a coilgun. I think that my design should work, but I'd like to see if anyone can come up with improvements or point out a problem.

For the charger, I plan to connect 6 photoflash charging circuits in parallel on the capacitor end, and in series with a 9v battery on the input end. This should provide 1.5v to each of the circuits and charge the capacitors at 6x the speed. To turn on/off the charger, I will place a simple toggle switch between the battery and the chargers.

For the capacitor bank, I plan to connect around 20 (possibly less) 330v 120uf capacitors in parallel and attach them to the chargers, which are already connected together in parallel. to open the bank for discharging, a large switch designed to be mounted in a wall will be used. The actual discharge will be triggered by a microswitch inside the coilgun, which will close when the projectile, a ~1cm diameter ball bearing, enters the barrel and presses the switch.

The coilgun will be built using ~300ft of 22 guage magnet wire from Arcor Electronics Company wound around a PVC pipe - I think this specific wire should withstand the current/voltage, but I'd like an opinion on that here. Also, would it be a better idea to use 20 guage or 24 guage wire instead of 22 guage? I have the option of using either 20, 22, or 24. Also, I've read somewhere that a diode somewhere in the circuit can extend the life of the capacitors and partially recharge them, but I have no idea what do do with this. Any suggestions?

 

Is you will up to date?

 

Sorry, but projects of a nature that may cause property damage, injury or death cannot be discussed on this forum, according to the rules.

Please read this thread:
http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/announcement.php?f=5&a=3
The third paragraph under the Appropriate Conduct heading reads:

Forum members must not knowingly provide any information that may adversely affect another member; this includes, but is not restricted to, information that may potentially result in injury, death, damage or destruction of property and possessions.

Be warned that your project idea is a very dangerous one. If you make a mistake, you are very likely to be the guest of honor at a funeral, as well as a candidate for the Darwin Awards.

 

I already read that, but I should be okay as long as I keep the capacitors discharged when not in use, touch them with a plastic-handled screwdriver before handling them, and wear rubber electrician's gloves. If you're worried about the coilgun itself, it should not do much more damage than a large bb fired from a bb gun, as the velocity will be lower though the projectile is 2mm bigger.

I'm not building this anyway until I get confirmation that the circuit will actually work, so I'll just find another forum.

 

sorry buddy.... cannot go beyond the forum rules.
We cannot help in making any sort of weapon what so ever

 

Hello,

SgtWookie and R!f@@ are right.
We can not allow things that can hurt others or damage property of others.

Greetings,
Bertus