Demonstration Video

A demonstration video of Prototype 1. All of the darts specified in the project proposal were used.

Weekly Blog Update

Weekly Blog Updates

Week 1 - 6:
Worked on Prototype 1, developed design outlines and CAD drawings. Considered costs of materials by comparing relative strength and quantity per dollar.
Eventual construction materials decision:
- PVC sheeting
- PVC tubing
- Wood

Week 7:
Completed build of Prototype 1. Analyze and tested prototype 1 for range and effectiveness. Created parts for magazine.
Identified issues with design of prototype 1:
- Secondary barrel is restricting dart flight through front of gun. Hand sanded plunger assembly is not accurate enough to send darts straight down the barrel.
- Spring can be compressed further to allow for greater range
- Pump Handle and Plunger Connection is under too much stress during firing. Cement seal is breaking after sustained use.

Design revision of Prototype 2 to account for flaws
1. Removal of secondary barrel
2. Addition of plunger-stop inside barrel to relieve stress on connection assembly
3. Shifting of cut patterns 1 inch back to increase spring compression

Week 8:
Began construction of Prototype 2. Built magazine mock-up, tested for dart feeding. 
- Magazine design is too construction intensive and our tools are not accurate enough to tool the precise requirements. 
Redesign of magazine is necessary for effective dart feeding.

Week 9:
Prototype 2 construction impeded by catastrophic break in main gun tube. Due to a flaw from the milling process, when accidental use of high range setting caused a crack in main barrel. The prototype was subsequently mended using PVC glue. Will continue to test viability of the prototype and change model as necessary.

Specifications

Here are the main targets for this project:

Design a Nerf Gun that is capable of doing this:

1. shoot 4 types of darts
2. average a distance of 40 feet to 50 feet (held at zero degrees)
3. a firing rate of at least 10 shots per 30 seconds
4. less than 2 misfires per 20 shots
5. a minimum firing range of 25 feet

Gun Photos

A picture of each tested Commercial gun is shown below.

Tek 6

Spectre Rev-5

Star Wars-White

One Shot

Rayven

Star Wars-Black

Raider CS-35

Raider CS-35 (clip, other view)

Maverik Rev-6

Sample Data

Below is collected data for 8 different types of guns (most of which are Nerf guns). Each bullet was tested with each gun to find out whether or not they could be loaded and fired, and then to determine the range in which they landed and their average distance fired. On the right side of the data each guns max clip/barrel size is given, along with their firing rates.

	Stream Line	Whistlers	Velcro	Suction (long)	Suction (short)		Number of Shots	Firing Rate (30 seconds)
Star WarsBlack
Taken by gun	no	yes	yes	yes	yes		1	8
firing range (ft)	0-10	15-27.5	17.5-22.5	17.5-25	17.5-22.5
average distance fired (ft)	0.2	20.5	19	19	18.5
Raider CS - 35
Taken by gun	yes	no	no	no	no		35	38
firing range (ft)	15-20
average distance fired (ft)	17.5
Spectre Rev-5
Taken by gun	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		5	14
firing range (ft)	20-30	17.5-25	20-25	17.5-25	15-22.5
average distance fired (ft)	24.5	20.5	21	19.5	19
Rayven
Taken by gun	yes	no	no	no	no		35	38
firing range (ft)	20-25	0	0	0	0
average distance fired (ft)	21.5	0	0	0	0
One Shot
Taken by gun	no	yes	yes	yes	yes		1	13
firing range (ft)	0-5	20-30	20-27.5	17.5-30	10-20,
average distance fired (ft)	1	24	23	23	14
Tek 6
Taken by gun	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		6	17
firing range (ft)	7.5-12.5	5/6 jammed	10-20,	2/3 jammed	12-17,
average distance fired (ft)	9	0	15	9.5	15
Star Wars White
Taken by gun	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		1	10
firing range (ft)	17.5-27.5	17.5-25	15-22.5	17.5-25	12.5-20
average distance fired (ft)	21	20.5	18	21	17.6
Maverik Rev-6
Taken by gun	yes (curved)	yes	yes	yes	yes		6	12
firing range (ft)	17.5-32.5	17.5-25	17.5-25	22.5-27.5	12.5-22.5
average distance fired (ft)	25.5	19.5	20	24	17.5

Analysis of Dart Types

There are 4 typical dart types sold commercially for use in Nerf guns. This will be a quick analysis and definition of these four types in terms of how they will factor into the project.

First off is the Suction Dart, two of which are represented above by the blue tipped darts. These darts are the most numerous and widely distributed type among most commercial products and are usually included with most guns that don't utilize Streamlines. While all the other dart types are essentially exclusively produced by Hasbro through Nerf, most other toy companies also produce suction darts as well, though in somewhat different sizes. Suction darts have averaging flight lengths, sometimes flying less than streamlines, but are generally more reliable.
Steamline Darts, shown above as the orange tipped dart were created specifically for use in Nerf's clip-system guns. They're shaped to be able to fit into the mechanisms inside the clip-system guns because the reverse plunger assembly restricts the size of the heads. These darts often lose accuracy over longer ranges as the smaller head size impacts the dart's aerodynamics and weight.
Whistler Darts, are not shown above, however they have the same basic characteristics of Velcro Darts, which are shown by the orange and black tipped dart. Whistlers simply have no velcro attached to the tip. These darts have the best flight characteristics out of the dart types as the hole cut into the head sides for the whistle imparts a spin on the darts as they travel, allowing for more accuracy and longer range.

Project Information:

Project Title:

Universal Nerf-Gun Design

Project Abstract:

Commercially sold toy foam-dart guns or, Nerf-Guns are designed specifically by individual companies to work with their own products. Nerf-guns sold by Hasbro will only take Hasbro sold darts, while BuzzE’Bee designed products only BuzzE’Bee Darts and so on. Even depending on design, different models from the same manufacturer can require different darts as well. These factors combine to create a logistical nightmare when organizing Nerf-Tournaments and games, as individuals all bring equipment that is incompatible with each other. This project aims to solve these problems by designing, testing and building a ‘Universal Nerf-Gun’ capable of using a wide variety of darts, without sacrificing performance or cost properties.  It must be clip-fed, in order to maximize usability and convenience in play and also be able to sustain or surpass the typical range of a store-bought model of the same design.