The Robotic Catapult

Ever have the sudden urge to create a medieval styled catapult out of really poor quality materials? Me too!

I used an Arduino to control 3 servo motors which drive the catapults rotation and firing mechanisms. I used a potentiometer to control the aim servo, and a push button to trigger the firing sequence.

It can rotate for aim and follow a set of instructions to perform the firing sequence. The body of the catapult was made using a bunch of peg board as well as chip board, and basic M8 nuts and bolts.

The Arduino code is quite straight forward. When the user presses the button, the firing sequence will start, which forces the tension are to rotate 180 degrees, causing tension on the elastic band. The trigger arm holds the catapult arm in place, until the tension arm has completed its rotation. Once complete, the trigger arm turns 180 degrees allowing the catapult arm to fire.

I am in the process of 3D printing this design, and it will be available soon for download.

The Arduino code can be found on github

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