Ultimate Slingshot Challenge Tool Design! :)

[Cogito]

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can improve my multitool slingshot design for the 1 piece challenge tool?  Or does anyone have nice graphics editing abilities to make it look nicer.

I present to you the Hexy Beast 

[Tofty]

I feel it could do with a bit more of a handle:



I'll do a CAD drawing of it in a bit, using correctly sized hexes, to show how it might look.

[captain spaulding]

Metro might be able to help. Hes designed a few slingshots.

[Metropolicity]

Metro might be able to help. Hes designed a few slingshots.

I got mine brewing. Just need to carve out some time.


There is always a way, hack on!

[captain spaulding]

Metro might be able to help. Hes designed a few slingshots.

I got mine brewing. Just need to carve out some time.


There is always a way, hack on!

Oh whoops. I didn't notice there was a "challenge" going on with this I thought he was just making one for the heck of it. Guess the lack of sleep makes me loopy.

[Etherealicer]

That is an interesting looking ?coin?

Well usually you would want your fork to be low and wide, rather than high and narrow.
I suggest you do not exceed the dimensions of a credit card
Also consider using a single strand, instead of a fork (similar to the Philippine Pana), I'm also pretty sure Joerg Sprave did a single stranded slingshot with pellets.

[Cogito]

I feel it could do with a bit more of a handle:



I'll do a CAD drawing of it in a bit, using correctly sized hexes, to show how it might look.

My thought was that a person could put their thumb and index finger through the two wrench opening holes on the sides to use as a grip in order to keep it compact.  Does the tool dimensions have to be the same as the coin dimensions or can we make it credit card sized like etherealicer suggested?

I don't have a pocketwrench but it's inside shape is what I would like to use for that fork area, I'm not sure how wide or narrow that might be, we might need to cut some from the top of it to make it work.

Also I can't find any pictures or links of a single stranded slingshot, can you link one for me etherealicer?

[Cogito]

I spotted the dimensions for the water/laser cutting in the original thread   TBH I would prefer if this tool was allowed to be thicker.

[Etherealicer]

Also I can't find any pictures or links of a single stranded slingshot, can you link one for me etherealicer?

Of course I can
Slingshot Channel, I'm pretty sure he shoots it in one of his videos...

Another youtube video by Gamekeeper John

[Cogito]

Also I can't find any pictures or links of a single stranded slingshot, can you link one for me etherealicer?

Of course I can
Slingshot Channel, I'm pretty sure he shoots it in one of his videos...

Another youtube video by Gamekeeper John

That does look cool, but I don't know how it would fit into my design, do you have any ideas?

The other thing is it would prevent the tool from being worn like a necklace like how I have it now. With the elastic material being the thread that goes around your neck and the tool being the bling so to speak

[Cogito]

The caplifter area doesn't seem very clear so I decided to put some pictures in of other people who used it to help clarify my intention.





I feel like it should still be functional even after making it much larger than those already in use in the pictures.

[Cogito]

Also if it's easier there is a second option for the pocketwrench type opening.

The original design that I wanted is this type of opening:


However if it's easier to machine or might have some extra design benefit we can go asymmetrically and use one side as straight like in this generic design:

[Etherealicer]

(Image removed from quote.)

I can see a penguin... Wait that is not a Rorschach test

Also I can't find any pictures or links of a single stranded slingshot, can you link one for me etherealicer?

Of course I can
Slingshot Channel, I'm pretty sure he shoots it in one of his videos...

Another youtube video by Gamekeeper John

That does look cool, but I don't know how it would fit into my design, do you have any ideas?

The other thing is it would prevent the tool from being worn like a necklace like how I have it now. With the elastic material being the thread that goes around your neck and the tool being the bling so to speak

Actually a single attachment point does not warrant a single rubber band. You can see that all with pellets ultimately split into two strands. You can also have two attachment points next to each other. alternatively you could have the end of the single band hooked to your handle and for shooting you would have to unhook it.

[PTRSAK]

I can see a penguin... Wait that is not a Rorschach test

I can't see the penguin... 

[pfrsantos]

I can see a penguin... Wait that is not a Rorschach test

I can't see the penguin... 

Neither can I, but I can see Ganesha...

 

[Cogito]

I can see a penguin... Wait that is not a Rorschach test

I can't see the penguin... 

Neither can I, but I can see Ganesha...

 

I can see Ganesha, but I can't see the penguin.

[Ombudsman]

Also if it's easier there is a second option for the pocketwrench type opening.

The original design that I wanted is this type of opening:
(Image removed from quote.)

However if it's easier to machine or might have some extra design benefit we can go asymmetrically and use one side as straight like in this generic design:

Interesting that when I did this design i expected the Pocket Wrench guys to use it, but it was Nite Ize who got inspired by it for their DoohicKey tool... 

[Cogito]

Etherealicer is there a benefit to switching to the single band method over what I have right now?

[Etherealicer]

Etherealicer is there a benefit to switching to the single band method over what I have right now?

Nope its primarily a form factor and the question how big your "coin" is going to be. Basically, it gives you another option.

[pfrsantos]

I can see a penguin... Wait that is not a Rorschach test

I can't see the penguin... 

Neither can I, but I can see Ganesha...

 

I can see Ganesha, but I can't see the penguin.

Maybe Ganesha ate it...

 

[Cogito]

Etherealicer do you mean that with your idea I could make it more compact?  Because compactness is very desirable to me for this multi-tool.

[Tofty]

I've been thinking about this one for a couple of days now and i'm really struggling to put together a drawing of something that would be strong enough as a slingshot as well as having useable tools. I think the whole design needs a rethink, focusing on getting the slingshot design right first.
I like the credit card size idea as it gives a nice framework to work within. I did a search for credit card slingshot and found this: http://slingshotforum.com/topic/13267-credit-card-shooters/
I think the images in the first post are really quite interesting and may be a good basis for adding tools to.

The necklace idea worries me a little; i don't like the idea of having a lump of metal attached to myself with a very powerful elastic band. If it were to get caught on something it could be released back with enough force to cause harm.

I believe a 4mm thickness is more than suitable for this kind of slingshot, but the thickness could be allowed to increase beyond this, if the design warrants it. Waterjet cutting can after all go through more that 150mm of solid steel (that's 6 inches).

[Metropolicity]

Credit card shooters are awesome, i've made a few in the past.


So I suppose the contest isn't limited to 'coins' anymore.


Time to get cracking.

[J Mackrel Jones]

"SAK Slingshot:  Open the cap lifter and the can opener each half way.  Stretch a wide-style rubber band around them just above the base hooks and shoot BBs or small pebbles."
The Swiss Army Knife Owner's Manual

[J Mackrel Jones]

Or this (same book) -
"Will fire the mini-driver (point in the slot at the heel of the pliers and thumb on the plastic head) with high velocity and low accuracy."    Note safety gloves.  ;>)

[Cogito]

I've been thinking about this one for a couple of days now and i'm really struggling to put together a drawing of something that would be strong enough as a slingshot as well as having useable tools. I think the whole design needs a rethink, focusing on getting the slingshot design right first.
I like the credit card size idea as it gives a nice framework to work within. I did a search for credit card slingshot and found this: http://slingshotforum.com/topic/13267-credit-card-shooters/
I think the images in the first post are really quite interesting and may be a good basis for adding tools to.

The necklace idea worries me a little; i don't like the idea of having a lump of metal attached to myself with a very powerful elastic band. If it were to get caught on something it could be released back with enough force to cause harm.

I believe a 4mm thickness is more than suitable for this kind of slingshot, but the thickness could be allowed to increase beyond this, if the design warrants it. Waterjet cutting can after all go through more that 150mm of solid steel (that's 6 inches).

I'm not a slingshot expert, but I was under the impression that I had the basics for it down.  2 points for elastic attachment, the fork that it shoots through, and a gripping area.

I think any weakness of it can be overcome with thicker metal.  But what exactly do you feel is wrong with the design as it is right now?

edit: If it's the hex holes that you think are the weak point then we can use the slight indentations that they put in that credit card slingshot link.  And have just the regular 1/4 hex somewhere else on it.

[Tofty]

Firstly i'm not sure which sized hexes you want on the sides. The large hexes that would be needed for use as finger holes, would be far too large to be useful on such a small tool (19mm or 3/4"), as about 5 times less torque could be applied than the usual torque setting for a 19mm hex headed screw, bolt, or nut (M12).
Also for an open spanner (wrench) to work, contact has to be made on two of the hexes' corners, that are opposite each other, through the centreline. Anything else will cause slippage and damage to the tool and the screw, bolt, or nut's hex corners. The picture below shows what i mean.



The blue circles show where tool contact should be made, when turning the tool clockwise. The red circle shows where it would be made with the current arrangement.

The larger red circles show where the tool would be weakest and in my opinion, these are too narrow to work. With an open hex wrench of half the size of the ones in place, the material thickness, where the large red circle is would still not be sufficient to stop the wrench from bending open, even if the tool was cut from 10mm steel. The central V slot would perform even worse under load.

Closed wrenches are much stronger than open ones and therefore the material around them can be much thinner. I am in no way worried about the strength of the 1/4" and 3/16" hex points, however i would say that having attachment nicks in the sides of the arms would also be a good idea, to allow a pre-assembled sling to just be slipped over the arms, rather than threaded through the holes and tied off every time.

I'm not an expert on slingshots either, but the people on the slingshot forum are, relatively and all the designs shown, including the one made of credit cards, had at least three points of contact for the hand (forefinger, middle finger and thumb), and most had more. I would say that this was the absolute minimum amount of grip required to operate a slingshot, even a low powered one.

As i said, i think you should start again, aiming for a fully functional slingshot design, then see how tools can be integrated into it.

Of course you don't have to listen to me and i could be wrong, but i am only trying to help make the underlying concepts of the design as good as they can be.

[Cogito]

For the two middle red circles, when I put the note on the bottom I meant for the side line of the big hex (where the fingers would go) to be parallel to the pocket wrench opening, which would mean there is more material and there wouldn't be those awkward thin spots.  I unfortunately wasn't able to demonstrate it in ms paint so I added that note, which now that I look at was a bit unclear.

I also believe that if that top line of the hex is made parallel that it would resolve the blue area contact point problem.

For the bottom red circle I agree with you that there isn't enough material.  And the more I think about it, I feel like there should be a third contact point too.  I really like hexagons and if there is a third point added I would want it to be hexagonal in nature.  Just something for a third finger to grab.

To summarize I think that the 2 main problems that need to be addressed in this current design is making the bottom thicker and adding an extra spot for a third finger.

I definitely appreciate your help, you are the #1 contributor

I just don't want to consider making a new design yet until I know that this one isn't workable.

[Tofty]

Hi Cogito, (a couldn't PM you, so....)
I'm currently writing up the challenge design voting thread.
Did you get a chance to update your design?
If possible, could you please write a short summary description of your final design and it's features, to be included in the voting thread, maximum 10 lines.
Cheers,
Peter