Home-Made Gauss Machine Gun Debuts On YouTube

[Andy Chalk]

Home-Made Gauss Machine Gun Debuts On YouTube

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Nothing says "home defense of the future" quite like a fully-automatic weapon that uses electromagnetic coils to fire ferrous metal slugs.

In Mechwarrior lore, the Gauss rifle [http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Gauss_Rifle] is one of the most feared weapons on the battlefield. It fires metal slugs at extremely high velocities for unparalleled range and accuracy, and because it doesn't rely on ammunition propellant or explosives, it's relatively safe and easy to keep fed. The downside is that it takes a whole lot of power to move those slugs at a useful speed, making them big, heavy weapons - not the sort of thing you carry around in your back pocket.

Jason Murray's Gauss gun doesn't pack enough of a punch to bring down a giant fighting robot (and possibly not even a guy in a heavy winter coat) and the accuracy doesn't appear all that hot either, but the simple fact that it works as well as it does is mightily impressive. Powered by a pair of 22.2 volt Lithium-polymer battery packs, his "CG-42" fires caseless steel slugs at a rate of 7.7 rounds per second with a muzzle velocity of just under 140 feet per second - a small fraction of the 1400-ish ft/s velocity of a conventional handgun round but still enough to mess up your day, especially if it hits home in a sensitive area.

But more important than any of that, it's stupidly cool - this is an actual Gauss machine gun, designed and built by a single guy who has a thing for "making concepts from science fiction become reality." It looks great, too. I'm not really what you'd call a "gun guy" but this is definitely something I'd love to have hanging on my wall.

Source: Delta-V Engineering [http://www.deltaveng.com/]


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[Ukomba]

Hmm, why not have all the magnets on upon initial firing and have them turn off in sequence as the projectile moves through? Could be a power supply issue I guess.

The gun seems to be about as powerful as a bb gun or paint ball gun. The lack of noise makes it appear less powerful as well.

 

[fix-the-spade]

The only thing missing is that loud BEEeeeeewwwwwwwww noise as the capacitors charge up, I love it! Begs the question on how would you add a spin to the projectile though, can't exactly rifle magnets in a way that would generate useful rotation. Finned round?

 

[JamesBr]

I hate to be a spoilsport, but people have been making homemade coilguns for years, why is this special?

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Getting a lot of tumble on the projectiles, but the construction quality of the rifle is VERY good!

I've often considered trying to build something like this, but my plans involved a hopper of ball bearings. The clip idea is super-sweet though. Really like the bullpup configuration.

It's probably due to lack of rifling... It isn't shown, but I doubt it is (also no mention of bullet spin on the guns stats over on his page). I'm a complete layman when it comes to projectile physics so excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong, but he probably would have been better with Ball-bearings, as you had considered. The length vs its width and breadth would have a sever impact on it's trajectory. Heck a shorter bullet would have probably worked better.

That said, it looks pretty sweet, but there is something abjectly terrifying about watching someone fire a homemade gun.

The only thing missing is that loud BEEeeeeewwwwwwwww noise as the capacitors charge up, I love it! Begs the question on how would you add a spin to the projectile though, can't exactly rifle magnets in a way that would generate useful rotation. Finned round?

Yeah, something akin to missile ballistics maybe.

But is there no way to generate spin WITH magnets? Like, maybe a strip on the bullet (perhaps curved slightly around the bullet) that acts against the magnets pull but inefficient enough to adversely affect acceleration? (Think like how too + magnets meet they repel each other)

Just like ballistic physics, I'm a complete layman when it comes to magnetism.

 

[Somebloke]

Here at Aperture we fire the whole bullet. That's 65% more bullet, per bullet!

Come on - you know the guy was thinking it. :7

 

[Jandau]

I think that barrel needs to be rifled, that would help with the projectile tumbling and instantly increase the power of the weapon.

Other than that, the question is, how is this superior to gunpowder weapons? Off the top of my head, easier to produce the ammo (it's just metal slugs), a lot less noise, would work in a vacuum (for all your Space Marine action). On the downside, there's plenty of electronics that can get messed up and field repairs are pretty much out of the question (I doubt soldiers will be carrying around space circuit boards in their packs), while regular guns don't really have much that can go wrong (other than the occasional jamming problem).

All in all, the weapon would have to provide a noteworthy increase in firepower to be worth the added risks and hassle of all the electronics. Perhaps we'll get there one day, but not soon...

 

[JamesBr]

It's probably due to lack of rifling... It isn't shown, but I doubt it is (also no mention of bullet spin on the guns stats over on his page). I'm a complete layman when it comes to projectile physics so excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong, but he probably would have been better with Ball-bearings, as you had considered. The length vs its width and breadth would have a sever impact on it's trajectory. Heck a shorter bullet would have probably worked better.

That said, it looks pretty sweet, but there is something abjectly terrifying about watching someone fire a homemade gun.

There is no rifling on a coil gun, it's one of the drawbacks to the design.Don't quote me on this, but I'm not sure the bullet would be able to spin properly anyways since it's being pulled through the barrel progressively instead of pushed from the back.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

It's probably due to lack of rifling... It isn't shown, but I doubt it is (also no mention of bullet spin on the guns stats over on his page). I'm a complete layman when it comes to projectile physics so excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong, but he probably would have been better with Ball-bearings, as you had considered. The length vs its width and breadth would have a sever impact on it's trajectory. Heck a shorter bullet would have probably worked better.

That said, it looks pretty sweet, but there is something abjectly terrifying about watching someone fire a homemade gun.

There is no rifling on a coil gun, it's one of the drawbacks to the design.Don't quote me on this, but I'm not sure the bullet would be able to spin properly anyways since it's being pulled through the barrel progressively instead of pushed from the back.

Okay then, thanks for that. I edited a bit more into my post. What if one was to use the magnets to cause the spin? Like a small slightly curved magnetised strip on the bullet (or in the barrel?) that acts against the coils pull but not enough to affect acceleration?

 

[JamesBr]

Okay then, thanks for that. I edited a bit more into my post. What if one was to use the magnets to cause the spin? Like a small slightly curved magnetised strip on the bullet (or in the barrel?) that acts against the coils pull but not enough to affect acceleration?

Don't know, I'm not a physicist ^^ I'm not sure if the coil around the barrel "locks" the bullet in place or how much energy would be lost fighting against that tendency if that were the case. I'm sure if it were effective, someone would have done it already. To be fair, the rounds from this gun go WAAAAY slower than an actual bullet. At actually lethal speeds, the spin might not be necessary. Railguns, for example, don't spin their shots (since they are on a rail I know, but still ). Who knows, it might end up being more a shotgun in terms of range and accuracy and less a rifle if the tech ever gets there.

 

[Elate]

While it may not be powerful enough to kill someone, I'd say it would be a useful non-lethal weapon perhaps a step above rubber bullets.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Did anyone else read the title as "Home-Made Glass Machine Gun?".

Anyway I got to say that is an impressive and leathal looking gun!

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

Hmm, why not have all the magnets on upon initial firing and have them turn off in sequence as the projectile moves through? Could be a power supply issue I guess.

The gun seems to be about as powerful as a bb gun or paint ball gun. The lack of noise makes it appear less powerful as well.

The lack of noise is probably due to the fact that it isn't a combustion gun. But I feel the need to point out that lack of noise doesn't mean lack of power. Either way, I wouldn't want to stand in front of it.

 

[Rblade]

Hmm, why not have all the magnets on upon initial firing and have them turn off in sequence as the projectile moves through? Could be a power supply issue I guess.

The gun seems to be about as powerful as a bb gun or paint ball gun. The lack of noise makes it appear less powerful as well.

The force exerted by a coil is directly proportional to the current. The more coils you have in parallel the lower current your power source can supply to each of them. That would be my guess for why switching is better, although through the black art of circuit building that might be fixed and you might be right on it just being a power issue

 

[Daemascus]

I think that barrel needs to be rifled, that would help with the projectile tumbling and instantly increase the power of the weapon.

Other than that, the question is, how is this superior to gunpowder weapons? Off the top of my head, easier to produce the ammo (it's just metal slugs), a lot less noise, would work in a vacuum (for all your Space Marine action). On the downside, there's plenty of electronics that can get messed up and field repairs are pretty much out of the question (I doubt soldiers will be carrying around space circuit boards in their packs), while regular guns don't really have much that can go wrong (other than the occasional jamming problem).

All in all, the weapon would have to provide a noteworthy increase in firepower to be worth the added risks and hassle of all the electronics. Perhaps we'll get there one day, but not soon...

As low powered as this gun is, adding rifling would only really add drag, slowing the projectiles more. Fins or groves on the projectiles for self stabilization would probably work better.

 

[Ukomba]

Hmm, why not have all the magnets on upon initial firing and have them turn off in sequence as the projectile moves through? Could be a power supply issue I guess.

The gun seems to be about as powerful as a bb gun or paint ball gun. The lack of noise makes it appear less powerful as well.

The lack of noise is probably due to the fact that it isn't a combustion gun. But I feel the need to point out that lack of noise doesn't mean lack of power. Either way, I wouldn't want to stand in front of it.

I am well aware of that. The silence is also likely due to the projectiles being subsonic.

I know sound doesn't equate to power. I said it 'makes it appear' less powerful. It's like sound design in a game. A pathetic sounding gun comes off as under powered even if does good damage.