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*Help Me!; Opportunity to Design Real Catapult!!!!!!!!!!!*


imhomer

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OK, I am in the Boy Scouts and in my council we are having what we call the siege. Basically the siege is a competition between troops (same as pack in cub scouts) to design and build a siege engine (catapult, trebuchet, something else???) that can throw sponges. We're not a huge troop so we are kind of running low on ideas. That's where you come in. I would like you to submit a description and drawing of potential siege engine drawings or links to websites with designs. There are only a few rules and here they are:

 

 

 

*All siege engines must be made of wood with the exception of ropes, cloth for slings, and baskets.

 

*All siege engines must be powered by people only (no stored energy like rubber bands, bungee chords, etc.)

 

*No one is allowed over 6 feet in the air

 

 

 

 

 

Please help and no flaming.

superawesomesiggynessck6.jpg

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I've already tried that, the hard part is finding one that uses people to power it, not stored energy like rocks or springs.

 

 

 

If I remember what a trebuchet was, then shouldnt you be able to swap out the counterweight with a rope and have the entire troop yank on it?

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I just posted something! ^_^ to the terrorist...er... kirbybeam.
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I've thought of that and found something similar on the internet called a traction trebuchet. That's my fallback plan. I was hoping I could get some new out of the box thinking.

 

 

 

Could have a kid under 6 foot dress up like a catapult and chuck the sponge?

smithie3.jpg

I just posted something! ^_^ to the terrorist...er... kirbybeam.
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i think you're looking for the wrong thing on google. try looking for, isntead of the trebuchete, the swinging arm...thing...thrower...yea and do a search for that and man-powered or something like that. im sure people have come up with man-powered sling esque things :wink: if this posts makes no sense to you, you are not alone, it makes no sense to me either 8)

R.I.P. Shiva

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Hope you find the design. On my last campout we got a bag of random junk ie spoon ballon, marble, rubber band and other stuff and had to make something. Six of the seven troops that did it made a cauplt

troope1.gif

I will shoot down any one with my bitting wit, and sarcasm!

What POSSIBLE reason would someone have to make a fake like that?Does he profit from faking a picture like that? Does it help him at all?Jesus Christ, stop being so suspicious. This is Tip.it for God's sake, not RuneHQ. -_-
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*All siege engines must be powered by people only (no stored energy like rubber bands, bungee chords, etc.)

 

 

 

This would be a little hard because you will be limmeted to the methods of energy release. Humans would be the only option because of this (in reality humans operate on energy stored in food so we would have excluded ourselves and all other methods but who cares). If you have a strong troop you may be able to design a pully system to increase your speed but that may be a little advanced.

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I made one a few years ago for a technology class.

 

 

 

You don't want a trebuchet, you want a mangonel - the difference being that a trebuchet is powered by weight, whereas a mangonel is powered by the tension in twisted ropes. Trebuchets are more useful for firing heavy weights, I think a mangonel would be more suited to sponges.

Some people are changed by being a moderator. I wouldn't be.

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I made one a few years ago for a technology class.

 

 

 

You don't want a trebuchet, you want a mangonel - the difference being that a trebuchet is powered by weight, whereas a mangonel is powered by the tension in twisted ropes. Trebuchets are more useful for firing heavy weights, I think a mangonel would be more suited to sponges.

 

 

 

Wouldn't the tension be a form of stored energy though?

smithie3.jpg

I just posted something! ^_^ to the terrorist...er... kirbybeam.
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What are you talking about runesmithie? Yes of course it is, but I don't see why you're saying that.

 

 

 

*All siege engines must be powered by people only (no stored energy like rubber bands, bungee chords, etc.)

 

 

 

heh :P

smithie3.jpg

I just posted something! ^_^ to the terrorist...er... kirbybeam.
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*All siege engines must be made of wood with the exception of ropes, cloth for slings, and baskets.

 

*All siege engines must be powered by people only (no stored energy like rubber bands, bungee chords, etc.)

 

*No one is allowed over 6 feet in the air

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Oh right yes. In that case then a trebuchet is out of the question too because the weighted arm is stored energy as well. In fact I honestly can't think of a siege engine that doesn't use stored energy... that was their entire purpose. To be pedantic: this can't happen at all because even if it was someone standing their throwing the projectiles it is stored chemical energy that they are using.

Some people are changed by being a moderator. I wouldn't be.

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Yes, we're all aware that the body uses stored chemical energy. The point of the rule is that only people can power the engine directly. My best Idea is to somehow use gear ratios or a pulley system to gain mechanical advantage.

superawesomesiggynessck6.jpg

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I remember building a device that sort of fits the terms you've described. It's a bit hard to replicate with the limits in available material though. Basically what we did was horizontally mount the arm with the basket on one end, with a small counterweight on the other to balance it. Then we had a system of gears and a winch to start rotating it. Once we had it up to a decent speed we'd block the arm by rotating a beam up in its path, and the object in the basket would be flung out by the momentum.

 

 

 

(Oh, and for an advantage over the other team, make sure your sponges are wet in stead of dry.)

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heres my idea

 

 

 

catapolt1aq.png

You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "(bleep) you" right under your nose. Try it sometime. I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say "Holden Caulfield" on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say "(bleep) you."
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