If I could do a website completely dedicated to 3d printed catapults, I would. In fact, from now on, SolidSmack is all 3D printed catapults, all the time. I kid of course. There are simply not enough 3D printed catapults to make that topic interesting, However, there is one which is quite interesting. Jonas Dalidd designed a four-piece, 100% 3D printed catapult with enough power to launch flaming golf balls out your window. He calls it the Guardian catapult, an entry for the Type A Machine Desktop Warfare contest and, as you might guess, was born out of frustration with the more complicated medieval cow-hurling equipment.
Being printed with a Type A Machine’s Series 1 3D Printer, this catapult isn’t your castle leveling variety, but Jonas does use a very simple, adjustable spring design that will have you throwing wet globs of cat hair up to 20 feet. What inspired the simplicity?
From Jonas:
I’m often frustrated by the complex assembly of models on Thingiverse and other sites. They require filing, drilling, a trip to the hardware store, etc. So, my goal was to design a catapult that was simple to assemble and also 100% 3d printed.
It consists of only 4 parts and assembles together in about 30 seconds. The tension on the torsion springs can be adjusted by simply rotating the spring on the pegs by 90 degrees. This way you can adjust the power to shoot anywhere from a few feet to 20 feet. By having a frame that is 3d printed in one piece it is incredibly strong.
I also wanted to give the piece a commercial feel, i.e., something you would buy at the store, so that meant high res STLs with fillets everywhere and a paint job (plasti-dip). The paint job is not perfect (I don’t have the patience for all the prep work). Anyway, I hope you like it and enjoy the video!
I don’t know about you, but the bucket looks perfectly designed to hold the average size meatball–which, I might add, can be purchased in bulk from many a reputable deli. Nice work Jonas! Best of all, you can download the Guardian catapult from Ponoko for $2.99.
