Building the Impossible | 100 Dart per Second Nerf Gun - Part 1

100 darts per second, from a single magazine and single barrel. Is it possible? I have no idea, but it sure won't stop me from trying. You may be surprised at just how quick it can get.
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In this video, I begin work on the core of my 100 dart per second nerf gun. The concept uses a rapidly spinning magazine to feed darts into a custom belt drive system and propel the darts forward. In this video, I fire up to 8 darts at a maximum rate of 50/second, but it should only take a little more development to turn this into 80 darts at 100/second. It's going to be insane, that is guaranteed.
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[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Very cool! Always wear heavy gloves when snapping acrylic on a score line. It can shatter in a jagged manner; you will slide your wrist over the sharp points...and you'll be calling 911 if that happens.

[@lucasjohnson5803]

I was about to do this for a project, great tip

[@lordbored2706]

The real LPT is alwys in the comments

[@madxenomorph]

I have a nice scar on my thumb from when I was doing that with glass mirrors, so yeah, gloves.

[@kalebnelson4569]

Wear green socks so if it’s st Patrick’s day you don’t get pinched.

[@hugegamer5988]

If the scoring does nothing and you can’t break it for the life of you, that’s not acrylic but polycarbonate. As far as making things that bear any load when you’re not solely using it for optical clarity, just hit that unknown piece with a hammer. If it’s acrylic it will shatter instead of do nothing and you shouldn’t have used it to begin with.

[@tomallo99]

Okay, wow... at the start of the video I thought the goal is practially unobtainable, but the magazine idea is so good... I'm blown away to to see it working as well as it does. Ingenius, super stoked to see the next video! Only a bit of a shame that the whole magazine will be empty in less than a second lol

[@3DprintedLife]

I want to add a fire rate and burst amount selection so it'll be possible to not drain the whole mag in a second. But where's the fun in that?!

[@samuelschurman3762]

@@3DprintedLife You should talk to the guy who's currently working on a blaster called the MOAB. It's basically an m134 minigun but as a nerf blaster and it's gorgeous. The thing is insane and besides having multiple firing modes can unload darts at a ludicrous 3000 darts per minute.

[@TrabberShir]

@@samuelschurman3762 100 per second which @3DprintedLife is going for is twice that firing rate. 60 seconds * 100 darts = 6000 darts per minute. I hope the uploads come a bit more often than past videos on this channel, I foresee major and possibly expensive engineering challenges associated with accelerating the darts to 40m/s in 5ms. The drag force on those pins looked high enough to gouge most ramp materials and/or shear the pins at 8000 m/s/s of average acceleration.

[@samuelschurman3762]

@@TrabberShir yeah i know the fire rate he's going for is higher. The blasters themselves are also fundamentally different. This is technically a drum fed flywheeler with a single barrel where as the MOAB is a belt fed multi barrel springer. That's right a springer with that kind of fire power. What I was getting at though was that he has his blaster hooked up to a display that shows his current ammo and let's you change the fire rate and mode on the fly. Maybe he could provide some insight on that front.

[@FGC292]

Gotta make an auto-loader to reload it in 1 second now.

[@SpencerPaire]

Nice! This build is so dope! I'd add a suggestion of putting the ramp that pushes the darts to feed forward on a solenoid, so that when you want to fire, the solenoid pushes the ramp down so the pins engage and push the darts forward. That way you don't have to shoot at a low ROF as you spin the magazine up to speed. And you can put an encoder of some kind on the drum so the ramp isn't pushed into the pins. Also, for the feeding ramp, I'd suggest putting a strip of steel on the faces that feed and return the puns; I'd be worried that at the speeds and forces you're using, the pins will destroy any plastic control surface. I cannot wait to see the next part of this build!

[@3DprintedLife]

Great minds think alike, I had something very similar to that in mind! I definitely want to empty the entire mag in under 1 second which won't be possible without a pre-spin.

[@IAteALightbulb]

I was legit about to comment that

[@kg-Whatthehelliseventhat]

​@3DprintedLife hello I would like some help with a project for my new kitten. I can't afford much but I would like to pay for the guidance, I could probably do the building of the project. Please reply. I thank you in advance

[@TD-er]

"Also, for the feeding ramp, I'd suggest putting a strip of steel on the faces that feed and return the puns;" In other words... "pun intended" :)

[@Illyclone]

@@3DprintedLife Preface: Idk anything about anything Would it be possible to have a ramp that you actuate sitting behind where the darts rest. So the belts for firing and the drum spinning are both running off the same trigger pull, and then pulling the trigger to engage the ramp starts the firing? Like you push the ramp into place behind the magazine, and the darts are like the piston with the ramp being the camshaft. Without using pins extending out of the magazine. I assume this is all already completed and am looking forward to seeing how you handle it in the future video.

[@SamanthaStra]

Really makes you appreciate the engineering that goes into high rpm miniguns. The way the magazine's rotation chambers the darts reminds me of that handheld m231minigun

[@Sillybutts]

Awesome! I've been wanting to try belt-flywheels for a few years, super cool to see it finally in practice.

[@Email1212xxpl]

i'm a software developer who just started his journey with robotics and man... you are like a final boss of robotics :D Such a great way to figure out possible solutions for very complex problem. Subscribed for more content. Great job

[@MaxNippard]

Just a tip for cutting clear plastic sheet products. The plastic with the purple look to the edges is polycarbonate and is much less brittle than PMMA often just called acrylic and sold under many brand names like Perspex, Plexiglas etc. It's often easier to score both sides of the cut line before snapping on the edge of the bench. Scoring with the back edge of a snap-off blade knife can help get the score line deeper with repeated cut strokes. This helps avoid snapping the tip of the knife in the narrow score line as you try getting in deeper. Also wear gloves if you want to avoid cuts if the plastic doesn't snap nicely on the line and leaves jagged sharp bits. I don't remember the gloves most times and the good news is skin is self healing!

[@timehunter9467]

I’m using acrylic sheets but going overkill with a dremel, snapping plastic will always go wrong for me no matter how deep I score it 🤣

[@superslash7254]

There's also lexan, which is even less likely to shatter.

[@fancygiraffe3340]

Yeah, I saw him using his bare hands on that plexi and winced a bit. Would highly recommend gloves.

[@MattOGormanSmith]

@@superslash7254 Lexan is the DuPont trade name for polycarbonate. DuPont's special skill is making up cool names for stuff.

[@cosmocorner]

Such a cool build already! Super excited to see it progress! Would be hilarious to take the final build to a nerf war; Practical? Obviously not. Terrifying? Hell yeah.

[@3DprintedLife]

The intimidation factor makes up for the absurdness of it!

[@komilover1]

put a flame at the tip and flame darts maybe

[@komilover1]

joke

[@Nugcon]

Bro is gonna be laying down suppressive fire

[@thesoupin8or673]

This was so fun to watch! It's a really cool design challenge. I'm excited to see the next video!

[@3DprintedLife]

Thanks glad you enjoyed!

[@replica3061]

8 year old me, kicking down the door to my little sister’s room:

[@ttgydddsd6305]

"My motivation for this is not really clear" wow this is relatable 😂. My wife often asks why am I building X project and 9/10 I can't really explain why

[@hgec]

I must say, I am very impressed by the thinking outside the box, the innovation and the ability to solve problems. One of the most creative videos I've ever seen. impressive.

[@user-lb3db5qq5d]

This is awesome! Already hyped for the next video!

[@feku_pl]

40s reaction time go BRRRRR

[@600do]

This project is insane! I've been trying to make a shortened dart drum mag for my launcher, but just keep failing to make it smooth. I can't wait to see the next part!

[@Amakratacjan]

The quality of this video is an absolute blast given how many subs u have, you are on par with Proper Printing and the bois, get up there mate, subscribed!

[@EgorKaskader]

A quick suggestion with the WAGOs: put the power input cables into the centre slot and the loads into the closest ports first, higher load closer to the input. This shortens the path across its contact rail and can help reduce voltage drop, which, in my personal experience, allows a bit of a better performance on low voltage DC and protects the Wago itself from being overheated by high currents DC requires (it is meant for AC use, after all). It can be marginal depending on how many amps you're drawing, though. EDIT: you can also use drilled out and reamed brass insert nuts as bushings for the rods, which should offer a bit less friction than the metal on plastic setup.

[@Skinflaps_Meatslapper]

Silicon bronze bearings come in all the shapes and sizes he'd need, reaming out threads on a nut seems like extra steps

[@3DprintedLife]

Good tips thanks!

[@davisdiercks]

I had an idea for a hyper-fast blaster when I was a kid, but mine was going to use air power and simply rotate a big drum which puts each new dart in front of a constant air stream. SO COOL to see an even better idea coming to reality!!!

[@crutchgecko]

I was thinking the same! Pneumatics often simplify everything. I feel it would last longer and be less jam prone. Could even use a co2 cannister for that to keep it light. Maybe the bullets could even feed in with the same power source somehow? Now that I think of it, why load sideways? You could feed the bullets through a tube from behind the breach - in line! Hmmm imagine filling a garden hose with nerf and then pressurise said hose! You'd get back to back nerf bullets! Not sure how you'd control it unless you had a low pressure for feed and a solenoid valve to trigger larger pressures for firing....😊

[@jama211]

So cool! I'm keen to see how this project progresses!

[@GMC997]

Cool, can't wait for Part 2!

[@Klipik12]

This is cool! With the new Mythical drum mag advertising around 100 DPS I was wondering if a belt driven system like the hyperfire could ever reach its full potential, and you're on the road to proving it's possible!

[@cxpKSip]

Drum mags for the win!

[@LisithasMakerPlace]

This vid deserves a million views! Great project bro...

[@Corruptinator]

(5:08) YIKES. You weren't kidding on "Overkill". That drone went flying supersonic!

[@fastweirdo]

If you get stuck on the action mechanism for the lever arm, I'd suggest getting a curved pusher bar to push out and push in the round. It should have something like a 60 degree angle when laid flat, but curves around the drum to ensure an even force as it transitions from fully out to fully in.

[@AirzonesBlasters]

If you consider an afterburner, keep it brushless. Very high ROF on brushed motors will lead to headaches. Even with that, running actual crush in the flywheels will cause a pretty significant stress on the ESC's, so make sure you use good ones. It is very possible to de-solder the mosfets with high ROF demands... Done it a few times lol. Secondly for a ROF claim to really count, it needs to be measured. It's a lot easier to measure when you're driving the pusher directly, so you may need to look at something like a light gate or something of that nature on the barrel. Plenty of people showing off "50dps" blasters with small n20 gearboxes with a simple division of it's rpm on a nominal voltage. Having sensors in the blaster will also help identify bottlenecks and issues. It's very useful to have, even outside chasing numbers. You already know, you are chasing milliseconds... Lastly, you gotta field it. There are "big numbers" blasters, and there are fieldable blasters with big numbers. The latter is the most impressive. Good luck.

[@TommyHoughton]

Awesome video, I'm a huge fan of projects like these. Looking forward to part 2!

[@boltonky]

Really cool and love fact people can do this in CAD and 3d print them, i have to do it on paper or my head but does remind of the days of office wars in an IT/Engineering company until people actually got seriously hurt and we decided we should stop

[@TezzCruiz]

This is a fantastic build. Easily won a subscription to your channel. High quality editing, pacing, and entertainment value are only surpassed by the top tier engineering and execution. Keep it up, this is the kind of content we all love to see, a rare gem indeed.

[@coryman125]

Love stuff like this. Just pure engineering, showing all the different iterations, seeing what works and what doesn't. I thought the goal seemed completely unreasonable going in, but you've got a really good start here!

[@silkdragon47]

You have earned my subscription! I'm super exited to see what the finished build is going to look like

[@TheJohtunnBandit]

Super cool! Some ideas I had while watching include: in the final product, you can make the magazine spin up button into a grip safety like a 1911, or maybe a middle finger button below the trigger; use a rolling cam to cam the darts into place; use a dyson style impeller to blow air into the barrel (once you have a barrel) for additional speed.

[@Sanyunya]

For inertia reasons, I would suggest using a set of Micro-flywheels for the second stage. Should be easier to fit and rev up to get some serious fps out of the short darts. You should then be able to just put a Worker SCAR barrel on the end of a short brass barrel to impart decent spin on the darts as long they’re traveling 200 fps or less. Love the video! Keep up the good work!

[@AlexJoneses]

they already are flywheels, but it would be cool to see him replace the stock flywheel motors with drone motors as it would probably handle the load much better

[@lucaskennedy2774]

@@AlexJoneses He's talking about the second stage that @3Dprintedlife mentioned for increasing the dart speed further, he said he's going to implement it in the future

[@vincentwu2848]

Wow, the results are pretty phenomenal considering you haven't even included a barrel yet!

[@trif55]

Wow, amazing channel, love the drone footage, got seriously into that around 2017 for a couple of years! The state machine is very interesting too, more research required

[@welshdave5263]

I think this is the first video of yours I've seen, I've subbed! Just a little gutted that this video is less than 24 hours old, meaning I can't skip to a future point and see part 2, as it's not made or uploaded yet.

[@devdanielrs]

With a drum that large spinning that fast you could adjust the loader to just use centrifugal force. Reverse the curve direction of the slots, and you can keep them pushing outwards using some small weights. This will have a much higher density and a simpler loader will make it more reliable. To further simplify you could also switch from a belt drive to a CO2 launcher, triggered much faster by the drum itself, and saves you having to "poke out" the darts before firing, if you fire the air from behind the drum.

[@nachgebaut4176]

The Problem with Co2 is that you need more tools and maybe make custom parts out of metal. I'm having my own Project with an Co2 airsoft and I only have a 3D printer at hand, it's very difficult I would say😅

[@falin9557]

This is awesome, ngl. If you want a tip to improve it, use the solenoid to control a cam. Using the spin-up button, the belts and the drum rotates and if you press the trigger (which doesn't work if it isn't running), the solenoid pushes the cam forward and let the darts be pushed, otherwise, they won't be pushed into the belts. In adition, you could add a firerate control, like some real weapons have, and that would adjust the speed of the drum to match the firerate. I hope this helps you or inspire you. I'll suscribe to know how this project advances EDIT: I've just thought that you don't need the solenoid to push the rods that push the darts, you can just put some simple mechanisms to push a cam into the path using the trigger itself. I'll try to draw it: | | | | |____ | / | / |___ | ^ \ |-------

[@SomeOrdinaryJanitor]

mans just made single barreled minigun. i think looking into rotary machine guns would have been a good idea, although what you designed was essentially a reverse minigun. instead of the feed mechanism being stationary while barrels rotate, it's the other way around...

[@FABBuildit]

That is so sweet!!! I love it! I'm building a pan tilt nurf blaster and I was thinking about rifling the barrel.

[@yoctoflop]

Can't wait for the next video! What an awesome project.

[@von...]

its really wild how beneficial taking Digital Logic 1 & 2 in college was for me, it was before there really was much of a creator space on YT - but like learning how to approach low level FPGA programming (VHDL mostly) & break down 'I need a black box to do this' into actual controller code + a functioning system is an S-tier skill imo (even though I've never made a single dollar with it in my 90% js based software career haha). I did not expect how much fun it would provide me after school in my free time (especially when I was in the trenches dying after pulling an all nighter working on the 16-bit computer final project lol) Big ups on this video, I hope you get more people into building their own cool ideas, because I would not be a engineer today if I didnt decide to take on a project outside my skillset when I was in High School a decade ago.

[@Hack_Life.Everyday]

dude thats Genius! keep up the good work. Looking forward the next part

[@Engineezy]

Crazy build so far! Can't wait to see this thing finished

[@3DprintedLife]

Hey, thanks! I actually just recently came across your channel from your wobbly phone people sculpture video, love the content!

[@gatlingtommy]

Sorry bro, I reached the impossible 100 dart/second today! 🎉 So I am first on that milestone, puh! But again, nice concept of yours and I would like to see how fast yours will go!

[@3DprintedLife]

Bah! Well congratulations sir! I’ll do my best to go even faster ;)

[@BarneySaysHi]

When you fired that volley into the livingroom, my mind added the BRRRRRT from an A-10 to it 😁

[@Asdfghjkl-vh4ut]

Definitely worth a sub!! Stoked to find your channel 👍

[@masonkrcmarik7303]

Incredible work man. I can’t wait for part 2.

[@gabetower]

My first introduction to your channel; super cool!

[@ChrisPkmn]

10:20 I'm so glad someone else has this bane quote living in their head rent free

[@SamanthaLaurier]

What a neat idea! I've gone ahead and subscribed, looking forward to the next one

[@someadvids5655]

mate this is absoloutly amazing! carnt wait for the part 2! you have a new subscriber! take care and have a great day!

[@mm321706]

Subscribed….great project and video! Can’t wait for the completed build

[@maxbrinker9333]

That’s absolutely bonkers I was proud of myself 5 years ago for 30+ darts per sec this is so far beyond that

[@Tyberes]

do you just love when you can use a project as justification for a new tool? the best financial decisions are always made in those circumstances

[@DonCarlione973]

That's pretty cool man! I like to watch people put their logic to practice. Very interesting 👍🏻👍🏻

[@monkeybarmonkeyman]

Must have been a very satisfying moment when those darts hit the door with a soft rat-a-tat-tat... very slick indeed.

[@matthewyoung2554]

Neat! I've been pondering a similar project, but using compressed air instead of motors.

[@DarylBanttari]

Using the solenoid to knock itself into the trash was an amazing throwaway joke

[@PlayNowWorkLater]

Super engaging storytelling. And great filming/cinematography. Also, it kinda goes without saying but, killer project. Even if just for the learning process

[@darkshadowsx5949]

i dont care about nerf toys but i can appreciate the engineering and effort put in to break a record.

[@samoyed2296]

such a sick build please keep going and make it PERFECT

[@kjamison5951]

That look from your cat… withering. Interesting project and I look forward to the next stage. Thanks!

[@efaracing4000]

Great progess man! All the best on the future design tweaks👍💪

[@TheColinputer]

Kitty be like "You haven't petted me for 2 months since you started building that. Not impressed"

[@mr.campbell912]

Very interesting, I'm looking forward to see how this progresses.

[@knerdknight9109]

In 10 minutes, I went from "Adam Savage did mods too. Wonder what this guy does?" All the way to "I can't wait to see what he does next. Subbed. Wait.. what else does he have posted?!?"

[@Debbiebabe69]

Dip the darts in diesel before loading, add a barrel, and put a lit lighter on the end of the barrel. Fireball launcher!

[@alexandratsankova5825]

i loved the self-ejecting into the trashcan at 1:54 😂

[@iDoPew]

Awww yeah! Really looking forward to seeing your advancements on this! 😍 Awesome work so far! I was tinkering with belts for some time but just couldn't get them to survive the abuse for long enough. That feeding angle idea of yours is simply GENIOUS! I have been working on my ex-corona project 'PewPew' for way too long already. Recently achieving over 60DPS with some overvolting, i think that's about the glass ceiling with a solenoid+flywheel approach. Looking forward to you cracking those 100DPS! SUBSCRIBED! 🤩

[@STRAWHATLUKEWOLF]

This is awesome!!! I came across your KZbin channel today. I also have a 3-D printer but I’m not very good so maybe I could use this channel to help improve my skills. also your channel is really cool. Your definitely my favourite KZbinr

[@iwiwawakapina3750]

the first firing test gave off actually like game physics of a minigun, like, it had the accuracy that i would expect it to

[@ejanesten]

Cool build! I've subscribed to get notified when you upload the follow up video. I would probably have tried launching the darts using compressed air.

[@ShadrikEaston]

really looking forward to seeing more of this :) this is awesome.

[@KingBerry_]

the legend says that the army asked him to design new weapons

[@Alpejohn]

I loved the sound of all the darts hitting the door! Really cool project tho, cant wait to see it finished!

[@jasonclemente4392]

Wild! Cant wait to see part 2!

[@markholub97]

US: now build a plane around it. A10: haha brrrrt!

[@electricAGENT]

Holy shit this thing is soooo cool. Props dude, that is some solid engineering work! Can't wait to see it when it's done :)

[@Enderbro3300]

You do such a good job of keeping it simple imo, that drum has such minimal moving parts it'd be easy to make a bunch of them 😂 looks fantastic and I can't wait to see the rest!!

[@3DprintedLife]

Thanks! Hopefully simple means reliable 🫣

[@PowerScissor]

What a massive marketing campaign by OnShape. I can't seem to find a single channel that isn't involved with them. Never heard of them, to every single channel at some point stops to clearly say "So I used OnShape to solve my problem"

[@dromeosaur1031]

Very nice idea and execution!

[@vincenzosparks2516]

You are absolutely amazing man. This was so freaking cool to watch :D

[@3DprintedLife]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DanishMicheal]

This is so cool. Would love to see what the finished product would look like!

[@philipwharton6358]

I’m sure someone has already suggested this, but the advancers on the mag are perfect for using a pathway like a aircraft guns housing and bolts use. That way you can spin the drum as fast as you want the the round is always advanced

[@ashishsudhir]

1:54 That solenoid thing in dustbin LMAO 🤣

[@elliotmarks06]

Wow! Can't wait for you to put it all into an enclosure!

[@Jarpox]

cant wait to see part 2, you got my sub :)

[@wedot1]

your videos are better than some of the bigger channels. KEEP GOING, YOU GOT THIS!

[@shatteredskies191]

I must say it's super cool to see someone who actually knows a decent amount about nerf blasters build something like this. There's a lot of youtube channels out there that make "INSANE NERF BLASTER SUPER POWERFUL!!!" and it turns out to be a stock flywheel cage firing elite darts at 80fps. Also check out the d-dart tempest, which is a blaster with a ring that will fire as fast as the ring spins, so if you spin it by hand it will fire incredibly fast. It won't feed normal length darts without modification but I'm sure the mechanism can be adapted to be even more reliable.

[@tomheath8975]

Love this, My kinda content. Keep em coming bro 👍

[@Bianchi77]

Nice video, well done, and thank you for sharing it :)

[@ekulgaming6867]

Gatlingtommy has took this to the extreme and got 100 dps with a good 500 rounds and said it could go further

[@Benjaminfenk]

Amazing Project with very cleverly engineered mechanisms. As a side note: I really would be cautious with melting neoprene (polychloroprene) since it creates toxic chlorine fumes.

[@Crustyislooking]

i know this is going to blow tf up, great project

[@randomname4726]

Epic design and build.

[@Arsenic71]

Once the magic smoke has escaped from a component it can not be inserted again - sadly. Really fantastic project and great presentation. You have gained another subscriber.

[@CWorm]

'Blasters reach 8 rps at best' Woozi: Am I a joke to you?

[@alexnepu1561]

Very nice so far ! I've noticed the darts don't always get into firing position so I think some work on the magazine guides is needed for high fire rate. Or maybe spin the magazine the other way so centripetal force pushes the darts outwards on the magazine

[@Steampuke]

My man casually taking out his ESPER :P Nice to see a fellow nerfer in the wild !

[@Masman40777]

Truly an "it costs 19000$ to fire this gun for 7 seconds" moment