Water Gun Trigger Mechanism
About This Project
This project was the culmination of my 1A term group project. We were tasked with creating a a toy/entertainment device for SpinMaster LLC and my group decided to build a multiplayer reaction-based water game. The game was simple - both players have a button and there's a light between them. When the light turns on, the players push their button and the player who pushes the button last gets sprayed by a water gun. My task was to design and build the trigger mechanism for the guns so that the losing player would reliably get sprayed.
Design
I tested different methods of activating the trigger such as a rack and pinion setup but decided to eventually go with a winch and motor system. There would be a bracket around the trigger attached to a winch with fishing line. When the motor would actuate, the winch would pull the fishing line which in turn would pull the bracket and activate the trigger.
The water gun would move when the winch spun, so I designed and 3D printed a mount in SolidWorks that would hold it in place.
Electrical
I programmed an Arduino microcontroller in C++ to actuate the stepper motor and winch mechanism after a button was activated by one of the players. The stepper motors were then run with individual A4988 drivers powered by a separate 12V, 7A power supply.
Final Product
