Today was a good day for testing.... a very good day. The half unit twin that fits in a Duca turret (green and orange) finally worked. fired hard, reliably and very very fast. This is version 3.1 of that design (3 major revisions in design and 1 minor). Much of the trick was initially to get feeding working properly but then some gas side tweaks to get hard fast shots. Shoots brilliantly from one solenoid. Weight without BB's is 4oz. Shown next to the Deutsland Predred sidemount prototype (1 unit) that is just a rewrap of the provence turret prototype that I have been running successfully all summer in my provence.
I ran one of the "Provence turret prototype" cannons in our last battle. Greg's new cannons are going to be a game changer!!!
They bear little in common with the Bic. The internal layout is totally different. Third style I have not prototypes yet is a 1 unit twin
I printed a couple of the Deutschland turrets. They share about as much in common with the BIC as any Fast Gun cannon does, namely the basic operating principles. Other than that, it has a vastly different internal arrangement that takes full advantage of 3d printing technology. I had hoped to show them off at the battle this weekend but could't get leave
Who's sheeting with soda cans? I've heard of using soda bottles for armor but not sheeting. I only care if it shoots through balsa.
I don't know "how many" but it will shoot through one. I upgraded the barrel to a tight tolerance SS.
you have my attention. so what is the distro battle plan once these things are operational? Is this just going to be the realm of dudes with 3d printers and experience with CAD, or would it be possible to order turrets or guns to spec /slash/ have a universal set of turrets to which we (the end users) can attach the appropriate turret cover? On a side note, these suckers look like they'd be perfect for a rotating application.
Very awesome. 1 unit twin you say? I might have to figure out how to graft a Jean Bart turret on top...
currently I haven't decided yet I'm torn between offering files or just offering the internal geometry and letting people wrap their own turret around it. I am a little hesitant to offer files just because of that guy who will do one layer of wall + 10% infill and then hold it in his hand...
that is an EXCELLENT point. For the record, I'd be down to buy one/some if you ever get around to print/manufacturing it
Very cool. I apologise for being dense, what makes this better than a traditional cannon? (Or is it just because it's really cool? nothing wrong with that)
Size and weight.... in the 1 unit cannon, the entire cannon fits in the space previously taken by the up tube from the Tee in the barbette. and weighs less. the weight reduction is far more dramatic in the 1/2 unit twins, and will also be dramatic in the 1 unit twins when I am done with them... I have noticed that the 1 unit one is one of the easiest to tweak (I.E. not super sensitive to tweak past a certain point) cannons I have ever made, t he twins still have some of the twin art but are no where near as bad as the twins they are replacing to tweak properly. I have some theories and will be testing that in the next . release of the twins, which are sitting on my desk right now....
Well, I can say that the newest version of the half unit twins seem to have fixed all the shortcomings in the previous release of the cannon.... yay. now need to build another set and get the quad sterns setup in the duca and test them together...
Frantically trying to get them mounted in prep for sunday's battle. Not certain if I will finish in time, but I am close. Need some 1/4-20 setscrews for the lower turret or will have to extend upper temporarily till they come in. They shoot great together off of two solenoids for the 4 cannons. Note the black lines, all 4 cannon ended up with the same tweak position for each barrel. Yay consistency. Have to get them mounted, barrels armored, , and the Duca re-balasted... hope to do the mounting tomorrow, balast and armor thursday... it will be close
Sort of. there are some specific changes that make them work a bit better but necessitate use of a solenoid valve, for example. They still use a selector/spring like normal guns but how the gas flows during the shot is different
