A little help with a project of mine

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mitchmatch

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Hi guys, I'm in my 4th year of mechanical engineering and I have a little project I would like some suggestions for. It's for a machine design course in which we follow the production of a prototype from design stage right up to the actual construction of it.

The "machine" our team chose is a small mechanical clay thrower similar to the one below. We plan to make it fairly lightweight to make it easy to pack, as well as being foldable. Apart from that, I am open to suggestions.

I was hoping you guys would have some suggestions as to what features you would like to see on a small "portable" clay thrower. If you already own a small thrower, what would you like to change on it?

IMG_0477.jpg


If you are interested I can post updates along the way, including the final product.

Thanks guys!

Mitch
 
I think it would be awesome if it had a wireless remote small enough to attach to the foregrip of my shotgun that would release the clay disc's. That would make it perfect for the guy who wants to clay shoot by himself.
 
Use a one way bearing to eliminate slap back and reduce cocking effort. You may also want to add a lever with a rachet mechanism to ease in recocking. Also take a look at the trius one step, perhaps the most clever manual trap devised.
 
danoiwan said:
I think it would be awesome if it had a wireless remote small enough to attach to the foregrip of my shotgun that would release the clay disc's. That would make it perfect for the guy who wants to clay shoot by himself.
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In a perfect world a wireless remote would be great, but you would need all kinds of electronics to get it to work. It would be a lot simpler if it were wired but I was hoping to stay away from electronics altogether. Maybe a mechanical foot pedal release fed through a brake cable from a bike?

gttsc said:
Use a one way bearing to eliminate slap back and reduce cocking effort. You may also want to add a lever with a rachet mechanism to ease in recocking. Also take a look at the trius one step, perhaps the most clever manual trap devised.
Click to expand...

The Trius is a great design, I never thought of having it operate that way. A one way bearing is a great idea, although it would only apply to a traditional style trap. I was toying with the idea of having a combination of the two, with the foot lever resetting the trap every time. Kind of like a semi automatic trap.
 
What do I mount your design to, how do I hold it down, do all three legs fold up, how to you protect targets from breakage which is a common problem, is spring tension adjustable, can you do doubles.
Many modify existing designs to include a quick release system to mount to an old tire and rim?? Also a foot pedal release is nice and a large hand crank designed to reduce the required cranking force would be a selling feature and doable. Not being picky just some comments from a fellow pinky ring owner. Cool project by the way
 
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Depending upon where you are going to shoot the clays, should be on level ground....possibly telescoping legs if out in the backwoods or out in the hills of the prairies....and a sufficient anchor....given the velocity of the arm to throw the clays.......three to four inch spikes that are threaded with a wing nut attachment to secure the leg platforms tot the legs of the thrower
 
Absilutly need an one way clutch and balanced arm. Adjustability for both vertical and horizontal axis. Variety of arms available to throw doubles and at different angles from one and other: aka "Jersey Devil" and "DOO-DOO Bird"! Most important: a good clay holder on the arm!
Henry
 
Some great suggestions in this thread, thanks everyone. We will definitely include a one way clutch to make resetting easier and will work on getting it to adjust the angle of throw. We are still in the pre-design phase so these suggestions will impact the objectives we set for the final product. I'll post the 3D model later in the term for some constructive criticism.

What is more important to you guys, a faster reset or being able to throw "remotely"?

Thanks,
Mitch
 
Have a look at the Lincoln Clay Target manual traps. I like the Falcon as it is compact and light but still has double arms. Most target throwers have a sit down arrangement or can be attached to a trailer hitch on the rear of a vehicle. Naturally these type of machines require 2 people. The old McCrae Skeet machines could be cocked with a lever and then released by foot. They did not have a clutch and are very heavy but the cocking mechanism might give you some ideas. Good luck.
 
*update*

Hi guys, we now have a preliminary model for our clay thrower.

eUl6geo.png


The legs are what will allow adjustment of the trajectory, and are held in place using 1/2" pins (not shown), and will be held in place using tent pegs. The trigger mechanism is still up in the air, but it will likely be an interference tab (as shown) with a foot pedal to actuate it (maybe). Most of it will be made from aluminum, apart from the trigger, shaft, and other high wear parts (we have access to an aluminum welder).

We are working on getting a one-way bearing, but so far we have been quoted $150-$300 for one. Seeing as our total budget is $250 for the prototype, a clutch bearing may not be an option.

This is the preliminary design, so we are open to any suggestions or criticisms you may have. Fire away!

Mitch
 
Couple things..

Make sure you can adjust elavation..

AND...
How about mounting a 2nd throwing arm on top of the existing throwing arm and have them mounted a different angles... This would allow pigeons to be thrown at differing angles. And with two arms you can throw 1,2, 3 or 4 pigeons at once.. All at different angles..
 
The 'aluminum' idea is nice for packing it around; but in use, I like the extra weight. In fact I think it needs some way to bolt on some serious extra weight.
I had a Trius (sp?) thrower for a little while, and even bolted to a spare tire it walked all over the place. And bolting it to that tire meant all the stress from launching had to be born by the joints of the machine, so it wasn't long until cracks started to appear.
 
I'm with splatter on the weight. Aluminum is great for carrying, but the heavier it is the more stable the thrower will be. On that note consider a counter weight in the front of the arm to help balance the arm. The better balanced the arm, the less force being experienced by the thrower and it will be a more stable unit. Maybe do some calculations to show show the prof the reduction in reaction forces on the shaft the arm pivots and prove the advantage of this design feature.

JMHO that your elevation adjustments should not be pins. There will always be some movement in a cross pin that over time will oblong the hole.

What CAD system did you use?

Good luck on the project!
 
Electronics are good allthough i undersyand its not in the scope of this project. used an rf from princess auto to swap out the foot pedal on a white quail thrower with a old dodge antena on the top of the stack for about 75yd range, can throw them across over etc. also made a new base with an angle grinder head coupled to a small motor to oscillate the thrower off the same remote ( 2 of 4 channels used). Hook it all up with a good deep cylcle and a solar panel to keep the battery up.

old mech thrower with the double arm is great when the 2nd arm throws minis (piss of your budy). White quail had to have an entirely new top plate fabricated to throw the minis interchangable in less then a min with a wrech and 3 bolts. check industrial parts suppliers for good flanged o ring or something for your throwing arm that wont shred from the clays.

Weight is good ill also agree for stability .
 
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Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. I have been swamped with work lately and haven't had a chance to post an update. Unfortunately the design process for this project is extremely accelerated, so "official" design changes cant be made. However, we did make a few modifications according to the above suggestions while building.

Most of the cutting, drilling, and machining is completed, we just need to weld the parts together and I will get you some pictures. We are having some trouble with press fit bearings and aluminum. As you can imagine they don't mix very well.

The concept of a lightweight clay thrower is flawed from the beginning, as you are already packing ammo, clays, and firearms which will far outweigh the weight savings on a "packable" thrower.

R&R Rancher said:
I'm with splatter on the weight. Aluminum is great for carrying, but the heavier it is the more stable the thrower will be. On that note consider a counter weight in the front of the arm to help balance the arm. The better balanced the arm, the less force being experienced by the thrower and it will be a more stable unit. Maybe do some calculations to show show the prof the reduction in reaction forces on the shaft the arm pivots and prove the advantage of this design feature.

JMHO that your elevation adjustments should not be pins. There will always be some movement in a cross pin that over time will oblong the hole.

What CAD system did you use?

Good luck on the project!
Click to expand...

The CAD program we use is Solidworks, which is all that's available on our school computers. Personally not my favourite program, but it's working just fine.

The pins can easily be swapped out for bolts, but we liked the idea of tool-less adjustment. On that note, the elevation adjustment is done by adjusting the legs. A counterweight has been in the design from the beginning and can be seen in the model I posted a while ago.

Thanks again!
Mitch
 
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