Yes, that would also work since they are much bigger than AA.
However, I really wanted a high wattage power supply to replace the batteries at that time. For the next coil gun I want to design, I want to have 12.0V input for more flexibility.
Do you think that only 1 charging circuit from a disposable camera is not nearly enough for charging a few 450V capacitors I have? Because I'm having trouble getting a few of the same disposable camera circuits that take the same voltage.
The use of the multiple charging circuits in this coil gun video was to spread the load across multiple charging units. That's why they are wired in parallel.
Another thing to try is use lithium batteries or freshly charged batteries in the charging circuit. I put the batteries in parallel to boost capacity and output current since one battery cannot do that by itself.
@JPMediaProductions Well, I used the one charging circuit to charge up one 450 volt capacitor and the charging light was full in about 15 seconds. I don't know if the capacitor is actually charged as much as the light said it was. Once I add the other capacitor, I am going to take your advice and add more batteries in parallel and another charging circuit if I can get one.
Personally to check if the capacitor is full, you need to use a voltmeter and check the voltage across the capacitor terminals like I did in the video. Notice how the lights on the transformer bank turned on even though the capacitors were not fully charged. Lastly, make sure your voltmeter supports measuring of high voltages.
If any of you noticed that the download links in the video description were not working, that was because I reinstalled Windows 7 to optimized it for performance. Now that my system is back online, the links should be working again. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Not exactly. You could wind less turns since the wire is thicker (hence the coil diameter would be the same diameter with fewer winds compared to a higher gauge wire)
The + on your cap will be attached to the same place the + on the cameras original cap was. Likewise for the -. Some caps mark the - while others mark the +. So pay attention to the marks on the factory cap before you remove. Take a pic or make a drawing. There are several videos on Youtube if you just search for photo flash charger. They even tell you how to modify it so it will work stand alone outside of the camera or in the case of this project in parallel.
Im so confused with how to wire the charging capacitor. Ive been looking for hours and it seems everyone just knows how to wire one. Not a single damn explanation. In many guides where the charger is seperated from the board, I cannot figure out how the wires go from the transformer, to the capicitor, back to the battery. Please help. I hate this wiring shit, its driving me nuts.
@Supertasticaquatics If you lack the knowledge for this project, it may be best to stay away from it. This project stores enough current on the capacitor banks to kill you with no second chances. One wrong move while the bank is charged and you will not be seeing any more birthdays. The OP neglected to inform you all of this and he may not know it as well. One or two caps from these cameras will just give you a nasty shock. But three or more in parallel like this WILL KILL YOU!
@Solarenemy1 I understand the risk of this project. In fact, the reason I wanna know so badly is because of the risk. And If I dont find the answer, It'll drive me nuts, but Im smart enough to stay away from it. Thanks for your concern though. Im kinda over the whole thing though after sleeping. Too much work, not enough reward. I'd rather build an airgun or a real gun haha. Peace
Please PM if you would like me to provide you with better help. It is hard to provide decent help in the comment thread, esp. since it is cluttered up and there is a limit on character number posting.
Not sure how long you have been a coilgunner, but using metallic barrels are taboo unless you cut a slot the full length of them. When left whole the create eddy currents as the magnetic field passes through them during discharge. The basically act as the secondary side of a transformer. In short they rob you of significant current that could otherwise be put into your coil and the equates to higher velocity and we all like that.
I do know about the coil barrel materials and the eddy currents. I used a thin stainless steel barrel as my choice for strength and that the fact it is not magnetic. I did my research on this.
The camera circuit boards are soldered together. Each camera circuit board is powerful enough to deliver 450V with a fully charged battery. Most allow two AA batteries to be used. Remember, the input voltage must be strong and consistent in order deliver a strong output voltage. In addition, I connected the camera circuit boards in my transformers in parallel to reduce the stress and load on each transformer.
It is hard for me to give exact directions to make a transformer, you'll need to look that up onlie yourself. Google up "dc to dc boost converter". They are quite hard to make. In this coil gun video, I simply used disposable camera charging circuits. You can get these for free at your local drug store or places that develop film cameras. Tell the clerk you want some disposable cameras for a science project or educational purposes.
Transformers step up or step down voltages. In this case of my coil gun, 3V input (from the batteries) are being stepped up to about 700V. Farads (in this case, microfarads [uF]) change how long the magnetic field is on for. More farads = more energy. More energy = longer time magnetic field is on for. Of course you need strong switches and thick coil wire material to accomodate the increased amount of energy.
@JPMediaProductions thanks! how would i tell which leads (of the camera circut board) to connect the capacitors to? would 6 AA batterys be able to charge 3 100uF 450v capacitor lined up in a parrellel circut?
@sniksder21 three 100uf caps would only give you 300uF totla. That is too little for a coilgun. You can have too short of a discharge rate as well and the field on the coil will collapse before the projectile reaches the midpoint. Look around and you will see the most successful guns are ranging in 5000uF to over 10,000uF.
look at the camera circuit before you take it apart. The + and - leads on the cap are marked and you will hook your caps to the same location making sure + and - match.
It is hard for me to give exact directions to make a transformer, you'll need to look that up onlie yourself. Google up "dc to dc boost converter". They are quite hard to make. In this coil gun video, I simply used disposable camera charging circuits. You can get these for free at your local drug store or places that develop film cameras. Tell the clerk you want some disposable cameras for a science project or educational purposes.
Not on this coil gun. The transformer bank is rated for 3V input at a max 5A.
However, if you build your own transformer bank, you can easily use a car battery (12V) or higher input voltages. You need to watch how much current the transformers are drawing.
Hi, where do you get the plastics for the housing? Im kinda new to hobbying and would like to use them for many of my applications. Is their an online store you prefer? Thanks...
To achieve a high velocity, you need high currents (magnetic field is depended on electrical current) which in turn requires a high voltage so that circuit impedance (resistance) can be overcome and the required current can be achieved.
100V or more is better for a coil gun. Try experimenting around with coil thicknesses and size to find out what is the best voltage for your coil gun.
@JPMediaProductions I simply don't get it.. Sorry, if I annoy you, but what's the overall capacity, if i connect 5x 1500uF 330v capacitors in paralell ?
More questions. I can see, that in capacitor bank A&B you are using a total of 20 capacitors, 10 per bank, right? If that's right, how are you connecting them ? ALL capacitors in bank A are connected in parallel, or it's a mix of 5 paralell and 5 paralell in series ?
The capacitors in Bank A are in parallel (880uF @ 330V) and Bank B are in parallel (1280uF @ 300V). These two are connected in series with each other to create 660V. As a result, the capacitance is lower (now about 521uF).
I'll be adding another PDF file to the video description to explain the simplified schematic in more detail, how I built it and what the parts are.
@JPMediaProductions If you add a more detailed PDF file, I will quit smoking emediately #LOL..
But, "1280uF @ 300V" do you mean 330v, right? Where did you get so many disposable cameras? I found some on ebay for 3 euros (with flash), but I have no possibilities to buy them.
My bad, I meant 330V - little typo error there. Anyway, you get disposable cameras at your local drug store. You got to tell the person who is working at the photo station that you want some disposable cameras for a science project / physics project. I didn't pay a cent for my disposable cameras. Go to multiple drug stores that sell Kodak cameras, etc. to get a bunch. The coil gun project should be around $60 in cost (due to magnet wire, soldering tools, switches, etc.)
Did you download the schematics file that I posted in the video description?
I used about 26 photo flash capacitors in my coil gun video. It is essentially a combination of 80uF, 120uF, and 160 uF capacities. I used what I could get my hands on with the free disposable cameras. You need to make sure that the voltages of each capacitors are the same before combining the capacitors in parallel.
will it crush a can?
yyhaoyue 1 week ago
U can use 2x f cells to get 3v
yyhaoyue 1 week ago
@yyhaoyue
Yes, that would also work since they are much bigger than AA.
However, I really wanted a high wattage power supply to replace the batteries at that time. For the next coil gun I want to design, I want to have 12.0V input for more flexibility.
JPMediaProductions 1 week ago
Do you think that only 1 charging circuit from a disposable camera is not nearly enough for charging a few 450V capacitors I have? Because I'm having trouble getting a few of the same disposable camera circuits that take the same voltage.
Someone7089 1 month ago
@Someone7089
The use of the multiple charging circuits in this coil gun video was to spread the load across multiple charging units. That's why they are wired in parallel.
Another thing to try is use lithium batteries or freshly charged batteries in the charging circuit. I put the batteries in parallel to boost capacity and output current since one battery cannot do that by itself.
Does this answer your question?
JPMediaProductions 1 month ago
@JPMediaProductions Well, I used the one charging circuit to charge up one 450 volt capacitor and the charging light was full in about 15 seconds. I don't know if the capacitor is actually charged as much as the light said it was. Once I add the other capacitor, I am going to take your advice and add more batteries in parallel and another charging circuit if I can get one.
Someone7089 1 month ago
@Someone7089
Personally to check if the capacitor is full, you need to use a voltmeter and check the voltage across the capacitor terminals like I did in the video. Notice how the lights on the transformer bank turned on even though the capacitors were not fully charged. Lastly, make sure your voltmeter supports measuring of high voltages.
Hope that is helpful,
JP
JPMediaProductions 1 month ago
@JPMediaProductions I was afraid that doing that would fully discharge the capacitor. I'm going to try that.
Someone7089 1 month ago
that is awesome!!
lokeycmos 2 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
hey dude here is my email. brugnolialem@hotmail.com
Could you send me some photos of your transformer bank and a schematic of how did you conect each one(from the disposable camaras)
Thanks a lot.
naalem199 5 months ago
Greetings YouTubers!,
If any of you noticed that the download links in the video description were not working, that was because I reinstalled Windows 7 to optimized it for performance. Now that my system is back online, the links should be working again. Sorry for the inconvenience.
JPMediaProductions 6 months ago
I appreciate the fact that you didn't include any gaudy background music. The silence is actually much better.
mahela1993 6 months ago
Hello again :)
Can you measure the exact dimensions of the tube you used for your project ?
How thick is the magnet wire you used for this project ?
Lukasvasiljevas 7 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
The tube dimensions are 12mm (tube diameter) x 180mm (length).
I used 22 gauge AWG magnet wire for my coil. I wished I used lower gauge (20 gauge or 18 gauge) since it can handle more current and power.
Hope this helped.
JPMediaProductions 7 months ago
@JPMediaProductions
Yes, thanks,
If I use, let's say 18 gauge magnet wire, I automaticaly have to wind more turn's, right ?
Lukasvasiljevas 7 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
Not exactly. You could wind less turns since the wire is thicker (hence the coil diameter would be the same diameter with fewer winds compared to a higher gauge wire)
JPMediaProductions 7 months ago
Do you use the flash camera circuit for charging or a different charger?
MrTigger280 7 months ago
@MrTigger280
I used the flash camera circuit for charging the capacitors.
JPMediaProductions 7 months ago
The + on your cap will be attached to the same place the + on the cameras original cap was. Likewise for the -. Some caps mark the - while others mark the +. So pay attention to the marks on the factory cap before you remove. Take a pic or make a drawing. There are several videos on Youtube if you just search for photo flash charger. They even tell you how to modify it so it will work stand alone outside of the camera or in the case of this project in parallel.
Solarenemy1 7 months ago
Im so confused with how to wire the charging capacitor. Ive been looking for hours and it seems everyone just knows how to wire one. Not a single damn explanation. In many guides where the charger is seperated from the board, I cannot figure out how the wires go from the transformer, to the capicitor, back to the battery. Please help. I hate this wiring shit, its driving me nuts.
Supertasticaquatics 7 months ago
@Supertasticaquatics If you lack the knowledge for this project, it may be best to stay away from it. This project stores enough current on the capacitor banks to kill you with no second chances. One wrong move while the bank is charged and you will not be seeing any more birthdays. The OP neglected to inform you all of this and he may not know it as well. One or two caps from these cameras will just give you a nasty shock. But three or more in parallel like this WILL KILL YOU!
Solarenemy1 7 months ago
@Solarenemy1 I understand the risk of this project. In fact, the reason I wanna know so badly is because of the risk. And If I dont find the answer, It'll drive me nuts, but Im smart enough to stay away from it. Thanks for your concern though. Im kinda over the whole thing though after sleeping. Too much work, not enough reward. I'd rather build an airgun or a real gun haha. Peace
Supertasticaquatics 7 months ago
@Supertasticaquatics
Please PM if you would like me to provide you with better help. It is hard to provide decent help in the comment thread, esp. since it is cluttered up and there is a limit on character number posting.
Thanks,
JP
JPMediaProductions 7 months ago
Not sure how long you have been a coilgunner, but using metallic barrels are taboo unless you cut a slot the full length of them. When left whole the create eddy currents as the magnetic field passes through them during discharge. The basically act as the secondary side of a transformer. In short they rob you of significant current that could otherwise be put into your coil and the equates to higher velocity and we all like that.
Solarenemy1 7 months ago
@Solarenemy1
I do know about the coil barrel materials and the eddy currents. I used a thin stainless steel barrel as my choice for strength and that the fact it is not magnetic. I did my research on this.
JPMediaProductions 7 months ago
How do you connect camera circuit boards together? Are two camera circuit boards enough to get to 450v?thanks for all your help!
sniksder21 8 months ago
@sniksder21
The camera circuit boards are soldered together. Each camera circuit board is powerful enough to deliver 450V with a fully charged battery. Most allow two AA batteries to be used. Remember, the input voltage must be strong and consistent in order deliver a strong output voltage. In addition, I connected the camera circuit boards in my transformers in parallel to reduce the stress and load on each transformer.
Hope this helped!
JPMediaProductions 8 months ago
I'm New to making electrical things how would I make a transformer in the video. Could I buy one online, like at amazon or something?
sniksder21 8 months ago
@sniksder21
It is hard for me to give exact directions to make a transformer, you'll need to look that up onlie yourself. Google up "dc to dc boost converter". They are quite hard to make. In this coil gun video, I simply used disposable camera charging circuits. You can get these for free at your local drug store or places that develop film cameras. Tell the clerk you want some disposable cameras for a science project or educational purposes.
JPMediaProductions 8 months ago
@JPMediaProductions what is the point of the transformers, if so how would i make one? do farads matter in makeing coilguns?
sniksder21 8 months ago
@sniksder21
Transformers step up or step down voltages. In this case of my coil gun, 3V input (from the batteries) are being stepped up to about 700V. Farads (in this case, microfarads [uF]) change how long the magnetic field is on for. More farads = more energy. More energy = longer time magnetic field is on for. Of course you need strong switches and thick coil wire material to accomodate the increased amount of energy.
I hoped this helped!
JPMediaProductions 8 months ago
@JPMediaProductions thanks!
sniksder21 8 months ago
@JPMediaProductions thanks! how would i tell which leads to connect the capacitors to? would 6
sniksder21 8 months ago
@JPMediaProductions thanks! how would i tell which leads (of the camera circut board) to connect the capacitors to? would 6 AA batterys be able to charge 3 100uF 450v capacitor lined up in a parrellel circut?
sniksder21 8 months ago
@sniksder21 three 100uf caps would only give you 300uF totla. That is too little for a coilgun. You can have too short of a discharge rate as well and the field on the coil will collapse before the projectile reaches the midpoint. Look around and you will see the most successful guns are ranging in 5000uF to over 10,000uF.
look at the camera circuit before you take it apart. The + and - leads on the cap are marked and you will hook your caps to the same location making sure + and - match.
Solarenemy1 7 months ago
@sniksder21
It is hard for me to give exact directions to make a transformer, you'll need to look that up onlie yourself. Google up "dc to dc boost converter". They are quite hard to make. In this coil gun video, I simply used disposable camera charging circuits. You can get these for free at your local drug store or places that develop film cameras. Tell the clerk you want some disposable cameras for a science project or educational purposes.
JPMediaProductions 8 months ago
is it possible to use a car battery to charge a bigger version???
LearningToRIOT 8 months ago
@LearningToRIOT
Not on this coil gun. The transformer bank is rated for 3V input at a max 5A.
However, if you build your own transformer bank, you can easily use a car battery (12V) or higher input voltages. You need to watch how much current the transformers are drawing.
Hoped this helped.
JPMediaProductions 8 months ago
This is an awesome video! Thanks for Uploading!
TurkishGamer92 11 months ago 2
Comment removed
Back2RuleszZ 11 months ago
ok thanks
alexXaralambous 11 months ago
can you sent me the circuit for the coilgun please;-)
alexXaralambous 11 months ago
@alexXaralambous
Can you please be more specific on the circuit.
Did you download my simplified schematic of my coil gun in the video description?
or
Are asking about the transformer circuit diagram?
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
Hi, where do you get the plastics for the housing? Im kinda new to hobbying and would like to use them for many of my applications. Is their an online store you prefer? Thanks...
dave576m 11 months ago
@dave576m
The plastic housing is all custom made. That material is plexi-glass and you can get it very cheap at your local hardware store.
I used a plexi-glass knife to score the material to break it into the appropriate dimensions.
I used high temperature hot glue to join the pieces of the plexi-glass together. Super glue fogs the material up permanently.
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
awesome video... you may have just written the background info on a lab report i have to write about solenoids and their applications :)
ihatesmallchildren 11 months ago
What is the minimum voltage I can use for coil gun to fork?
would 25v 10000uf would work? Or do I need higher voltage? Like 100V minimum?
AlchemistLT 11 months ago
@AlchemistLT 25v tikrai neužteks, reikia maždaug 500-700v, o talpa atsižvelgiant, koks tavo šovinuko dydis, ir kokią ritės konstrukcija
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@AlchemistLT
To achieve a high velocity, you need high currents (magnetic field is depended on electrical current) which in turn requires a high voltage so that circuit impedance (resistance) can be overcome and the required current can be achieved.
100V or more is better for a coil gun. Try experimenting around with coil thicknesses and size to find out what is the best voltage for your coil gun.
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
When can I expect the schematics ?
Will You also add the schematics of a single flash circuit, that your'e using to charge the caps ?
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
I uploaded more schematics of camera charing circuits. Please see download links in the video description.
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
Comment removed
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
Yes, i downloaded the schematics file.
But another thing. If I connect 5 same voltage/capacity capacitors, the voltage will be the same, but what about the overall capacity ?
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
The overall capacitance is reduced.
Formula for capacitors in series:
1/C total = 1/C1 + 1/C2 +1/C3 + ...
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
@JPMediaProductions I simply don't get it.. Sorry, if I annoy you, but what's the overall capacity, if i connect 5x 1500uF 330v capacitors in paralell ?
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
You are not annoying me, I want to be as much help to you as possible.
To answer your question:
Capacitors in parallel, use the equation C(total) = C1 + C2 + C3 +...
(Capacitors connected in parallel, the total capacitance is the sum of the individual capacitors' capacitances)
1500uF + 1500uF + 1500uF + 1500uF + 1500uF = 7500uF Capacitance at 330V
Capacitors in series increases voltage while overall capacitance decreases (slightly different than batteries behave).
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
@JPMediaProductions Ahh.. got it :)
More questions. I can see, that in capacitor bank A&B you are using a total of 20 capacitors, 10 per bank, right? If that's right, how are you connecting them ? ALL capacitors in bank A are connected in parallel, or it's a mix of 5 paralell and 5 paralell in series ?
P.s. sorry for my English, i'm Lithuanian.
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
The capacitors in Bank A are in parallel (880uF @ 330V) and Bank B are in parallel (1280uF @ 300V). These two are connected in series with each other to create 660V. As a result, the capacitance is lower (now about 521uF).
I'll be adding another PDF file to the video description to explain the simplified schematic in more detail, how I built it and what the parts are.
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
@JPMediaProductions If you add a more detailed PDF file, I will quit smoking emediately #LOL..
But, "1280uF @ 300V" do you mean 330v, right? Where did you get so many disposable cameras? I found some on ebay for 3 euros (with flash), but I have no possibilities to buy them.
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
My bad, I meant 330V - little typo error there. Anyway, you get disposable cameras at your local drug store. You got to tell the person who is working at the photo station that you want some disposable cameras for a science project / physics project. I didn't pay a cent for my disposable cameras. Go to multiple drug stores that sell Kodak cameras, etc. to get a bunch. The coil gun project should be around $60 in cost (due to magnet wire, soldering tools, switches, etc.)
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
Can you please tell me, how many capacitors are you using in the A, B, C and D capacitor bank's ?
Lukasvasiljevas 11 months ago
@Lukasvasiljevas
Did you download the schematics file that I posted in the video description?
I used about 26 photo flash capacitors in my coil gun video. It is essentially a combination of 80uF, 120uF, and 160 uF capacities. I used what I could get my hands on with the free disposable cameras. You need to make sure that the voltages of each capacitors are the same before combining the capacitors in parallel.
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago
Nice work sir
bassmekanik1 11 months ago
@bassmekanik1
Thanks!
JPMediaProductions 11 months ago