DIY Coilgun!

For the last several hundred years, the weapon carried by soldiers into battle has been based on an explosive-driven projectile. Though the surrounding technology has changed dramatically in that time, the basic mechanism hasn’t. One interesting idea that has so far proved too difficult to implement is a rail gun, where instead of gunpowder propelling a projectile, electromagnetism is able to propel a slug to incredible speeds.

Of course, if world governments haven’t been able to work out this type of propulsion system for the nearly 100 years, you wouldn’t expect to be able to make your own version at home. Or would you? As it turns out, building a miniature, and much less destructive, version isn’t that difficult, as YouTuber “Gyro” points out in the video below and on the project’s write-up. His version uses a pair of electromagnets would on a clever 3D-printed frame to pull steel rods through each of them when fired.

Once the bolt reaches the end of each electromagnet coil, a photodiode signals the controlling Arduino Nano, which turns them off so as to allow the projectile to exit the firing tube freely. As seen at the end of the video below, though it’s certainly no substitute for an actual rifle, the sharpened bolts can certainly make a noticeable impact on wood and cardboard!