Lego Trebuchet

An anonymous reader submitted linkage to a trebuchet made of legos. Using australian coins for counterweights, it is able to throw a marble 50 feet or more. I wish they had some photos of it in action, and maybe some schematics for do it yourselfers, but regardless, looks like a fun project if you have a pile of legos and a 4-day weekend ;)

Comments

What should I make next?

[brejc8]

As a buzy research student currently writing his thesis I have no time to sit about and play with LEGO all day.
Oh wait no. Thats what I do all day every day while avoiding work.
Anyway after making a internet controllable camera and an internet controllable robot, I have run out of inspiration.
The research group lego has two motors and I want to make something that people can control over the internet. Any suggestions?

Design similar to one seen on Junkyard Wars

[nweaver]

The "Floating Arm" trebuchet design was used on an episode of Junkyard Wars.

IN that design, the arm has two wheels, and runs on a track along the top of the trebuchet, while the counterweight drops purely downwards down a vertical track.

It wouldn't be suitable in midaeval times (due to the wheel on the arm), but is quite easy to do for modern designs, and nicely effective (as you no longer have the big counterweight swinging along, but only going up and down, something easier to engineer for with Legos).

Lego Arms Race

[Guppy]

I'd like to see this guy go up against a Lego Machine Gun.

I imagine the outcome would be similar to a Civ III game, after you fall out of the tech trading circle.

Re:If only they made lego cows to throw

[SILIZIUMM]

You can still throw cows there :

http://www.flingthecow.com/ :)

Tinkertoy Trebuchet! (aka 'Tinky Flingy')

[Shayde]

Feh, that's nothin! Too many parts, too easy to fail. What you -really- want to do is make a trebuchet out of -tinkertoys-.

Like I did!

http://www.stonekeep.com/trebuchet/

Construx Semi-Automatic and Gatling Gun

[Rubyflame]

I've made some pretty badass weapons with Construx. They shouldn't be too hard to replicate with other building systems, if anyone's interested in doing so.

| |
___| |__
________ =====|

Okay, so basically what this is supposed to look like is two hollow tubes that are connected like a T, open at both ends. Then there's a plunger sorta thing. You insert it into the tube and attach it with a few rubber bands, so when you pull it back and let go it goes back into the tube.

When the plunger is in its normal position inside the bottom tube, it's blocking the intersection. So drop a bunch of marbles (or whatever projectiles you like) into the top tube. They should be slightly less wide than the tube itself. When you pull the plunger out, one projectile falls into the bottom tube. Let go of the plunger and it hits the marble, shooting it out the other end of the bottom tube.

I've built and fired many of these. They work very well. The one serious drawback is that there are problems firing them at angles too far from the horizontal.

Here's how to turn that semi-automatic into a gatling gun.

| |
___| |__
________ =====|---( o )

Okay, if the illustration is a bit unclear, this is a wheel behind the gun. On the edge of the wheel is a small rod. One end of a string is affixed to it, the other to the plunger. Now you can operate the weapon by turning the wheel. The wheel has to be attached to the gun by some structure along the side which doesn't interfere with anything.

You should put a handle that turns the wheel from the other side. If you use a gearset that allows you several shots per revolution, you'll have something resembling a gatling gun in action.

OT: Pumpkin Catapult

[MacJedi]

Here are some photos from a pumpkin launching catapult that I made with some fellow physics students back in college. It's technically not a trebuchet because we didn't use a sling. The pumpkins kept getting tangled in it. Also including one greatly complicated the calculations. ;)

/joeyo