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| Here's our trebuchet designs so far, in reverse chronological order. Telos  Click the picture above for a page dedicated our 37' trebuchet. Fixed Trebuchet  This is the trebuchet that we entered into the October 25, 2008 Lake Orion, MI Pumpkin Launch competition. We converted our previous hinged trebuchet into a fixed counterweight trebuchet. After some trial and error experiments, we discovered that we could throw about 50% further with this design, compared to the hinged. Not all sizes/designs of trebuchets end up throwing further using a fixed counterweight, but this certainly one did. As you can see, we added two "arm-savers" to help raise the counterweight box. It required a bit of complicated engineering, but it ended up working quite well. We got about 325 ft. out of this design, launching an 8 lb. pumpkin, with up to 350 lbs. of counterweight. Hinged Trebuchet Improved  We made a few modifications to this design, adding some reinforcements to the axle, removing the wheels, and generally bulking everything up. This picture was taken at a public launch demonstration we did at a elementary-middle school in Michigan. We loaded up to 300 lbs. into this counterweight box, and we launched anything from a soccer ball to produce up to 200 ft. Hinged Trebuchet  This is our first attempt at a box-style hinged trebuchet. This design clearly worked much better than our previous version. While not perfect, suffering from excessive weight on small wheels and not enough clearance for the box, we learned some helpful discoveries in the process. Mini Trebuchet  This picture demonstrates the culmination of months of fine-tuning our design, but the concept of a mini trebuchet came very early in our history. We figured we would take a chance by building about 15 mini trebuchets and see if we could sell any at a local fair. As it turns out, we sold out the first day, and our little business was off and running. Standing only 10" high at the top of the A-frame, this mini trebuchet can consistently launch a bouncy ball over 30'. People of all ages seem to enjoy the history and uniqueness of this working trebuchet model. One gentlemen thought he might use it as an elaborate business card holder (works quite well in the counterweight box), and one woman thought she might use it to launch milk bones to her dogs! No matter how you use it, the inherent fun is undeniable. This version, plus a do-it-yourself kit, are available for sale in our Store. Lego Trebuchet  It's only 8" tall, but it tosses a lego man's head up to 19 feet! (including a generous bounce on a carpet) Not bad! Trebuchet with Free Weights  This is our first attempt at building a trebuchet. As the story goes, Michael was inspired by an episode of Junkyard Wars, called Ryan, and after just 8 hours of building, we were firing our first trebuchet over 100'. |
