teragaxu Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 So i have to do a project for college and i do alot of airsoft skirmishing and i have a few Airsoft guns and think it would be a cool idea if i made a solar powerd Airsoft gun, but would it be possible to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sako Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 35 minutes ago, teragaxu said: So i have to do a project for college and i do alot of airsoft skirmishing and i have a few Airsoft guns and think it would be a cool idea if i made a solar powerd Airsoft gun, but would it be possible to do? You would be better designing a solar powered battery charger as opposed to actually having the gun solar powered. there is limited area for the solar cells to be mounted, and they would also have to be quite small which would be unlikely to provide sufficient energy to power the motor/gun through the amount of cycles you’d need to make it practical. its certainty an interesting thought for your project though, but maybe just needs a little diversion from the original idea if you see what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Moderator Jedi_Master Posted January 29, 2018 Head Moderator Share Posted January 29, 2018 39 minutes ago, Sako said: there is limited area for the solar cells to be mounted, and they would also have to be quite small which would be unlikely to provide sufficient energy to power the motor/gun through the amount of cycles you’d need to make it practical. Plate carrier and helmet covered in solar panels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Samurai Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 4 minutes ago, Jedi_Master said: Plate carrier and helmet covered in solar panels How sci-fi that would be! Anyway, even weak airsoft guns need at least 20 amps and around 8V. An 1000mAh battery lasts a few hours of airsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Rogerborg Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 2 hours ago, teragaxu said: would it be possible to do? State of education today. Directly powered off of wearable PV cells? No, not even remotely. An AEG motor draws (ballpark figures) 8V and 30A, with maybe 25A back-EMF. To sustain fire it would draw ~40W, but to get it spinning needs a brief burst at the full 30A. What are you going to get from wearable panels? 9V x 0.33A =~ 3W from 280mm x 210mm (~9" x 8") http://www.selectsolar.co.uk/prod/431/3w-flexible-solar-charger What's your best case? Maybe 4 of these on your manly chest and back, 2 of them producing full power, 2 of them maybe half power under ideal sun conditions. 9W at 1A. Nowhere near the 40W sustained draw or 30A inrush current. So as suggested you'd have to use the panels to charge a small battery or a capacitor capable of delivering that 30A current, and start the day with it discharged to prove the concept. Your best case scenario is 1 second of fire (at 40W) for every 4.44 seconds of charging (at 9W). But that's wildly optimistic given that we tend to play in shaded woodlands. I'd be surprised if you got a second of fire for every minute of basking. The best way to prove nay-sayers wrong is to go ahead and try it, but if you produce a usable charging system from it, I'll eat my 2nd best lid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Prisce Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 Well it is theoretically possible. What sort of project is it? Do you need to actually make it work to pass? Or do you just need to try and design it and find it’s short falls and record them for marks? You could make a gun run off of solar power, it probably wouldn’t be skirmishable. You could also perhaps use renewable sources to charge the batteries to make it “solar”. Depending on how technical you are, you could design ERS for your gun(Energy recovery system), would be complicated and fiddly, but not impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Rogerborg Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 14 minutes ago, Prisce said: Depending on how technical you are, you could design ERS for your gun(Energy recovery system) From where would you recover wasted energy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Prisce Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 Not entirely sure. Would depend on the gun i guess. I’m typing without thinking it would seem, I was thinking of a sort of mechanical precocking, but then there’s a mosfet that does that. Wondering if there is a way to reuse some of the energy made when the motor turns the drive chain. I did say you’d have to be technically minded! Heck, he could make his own pre-cocking mosfet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Gepard Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 What is the project anyway? Can you provide more details? I don't know about a solar powered gun, but what about an optic? Much more managable. Do you think your college would allow you to bring a replica firearm into class in the first place? I'm genuinely curious. Not sure mine would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters jcheeseright Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 Short answer; no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Admin proffrink Posted January 29, 2018 Root Admin Share Posted January 29, 2018 As already stated by @Rogerborg solar just isn't power-dense enough to be able to service an airsoft gearbox unless you're pre-charging a battery (in which case it's not really so much a 'solar powered' airsoft gun as it is any old airsoft gun that's had its battery charged through solar). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sako Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 So there you have it, the only viable option left is nuclear power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDcase Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Yeah, as stated, unfortunately solar doesn't provide enough current to run a high torque motor. You'd need a very large panel to make it do anything. Maybe your project could revolve around the magnus effect and bb flight theory... Perhaps you can finally answer the question of which barrel diameter is best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Samurai Posted January 29, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 29, 2018 A solar powered tracer system though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDcase Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 3 hours ago, Samurai said: A solar powered tracer system though... Methinx there may be a flaw in the theory of using solar for something that can only be seen in the dark.... Nuclear to the rescue again... We just need Radium BB's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sako Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommikka Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 (pedantic mode) Technically possible to make a true solar powered airsoft gunYes, but it would only work if there was sufficient panel and light to produce the full power output requires (non pedantic mode) Theoretically possible to have an airsoft gun with solar panels to top up as it goes As mentioned by others practicality would go towards a solar charger and two sets of batteries, play one charge the other For a true need, spare batteries per charged are best, but for prolonged use Despite the fact that I’ve got multiple power packs, ( > 34000mah). I take a solar panel for weekends & weeks in fields, but I am running technology most of the time, photographing and publishing online, running card payments, watching videos and charging other peoples gear. No matter how much power I have available it will get used That setup managed to keep 9 adults and 6 kids connected to the world for 8 days in a field last year, though most had a powerpack of some kind that doesn’t last long I’ve also been saved more than once when I’ve discovered that I hadnt properly checked all my spare camera batteries were charged, and saved me from embarrassment when photographing a weekend event. It’s a bad feeling when you change battery and only one bar comes up. Even when you’re staying in a hotel and can charge everything overnight it doesn’t help when you’ve a few hours ahead of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommikka Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 5 hours ago, Samurai said: A solar powered tracer system though... How about a light powered red dot sight ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Samurai Posted January 30, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 30, 2018 That's not good. That makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Rogerborg Posted January 30, 2018 Supporters Share Posted January 30, 2018 Huh, somewhat to my surprise, the claimed power of flexible PV panels is going up. So if you cover yourself with a canopy of about a square metre of PV like a sort of Mecha-Gamera, and stand in bright sunlight, and have enough capacitance to deliver the 30A inrush... it's not completely inconceivable that you could sustain fire. I'm surprised by the prospect, and a little bit aroused. Intellectually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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