Automatic Disc-Shooter with Arduino IR Remote Control

As I wanted to combine some 3D printing with electronics and I thought that it would be nice if the result would be something the cat loves to play with :-)

So I came up with this little disc shooter.

As you can see, the mechanics are pretty simple. To fully understand it, take a look at the next image.

The orange part is the most important one. It acts like a spring and also holds the discs back so that they don't fall out of the device.

The red slider presses the disc through the spring and after a certain point, the spring speeds the disc up and shoots it out.

The servo rotation is converted into a linear motion through the gear wheel and the gear rack.

There is a disc shaft which can hold up to ten discs for fully automated operation.

The parts are put together with the little green dowels. I also added in a later version (see second video) two layer straps which give the whole thing more stability. (But they are not easy to put together.)

Take a look at the next cool slow-motion video. Turn the sound on!

btw: I added some “ears” to some of the models to make them easier to print, but you need to remove them afterwards. They protect your print from warping.

use the model and code at your own risk and have fun!
don't aim or shoot at living beings! 

The code is designed for a cheap arduino nano. It allows you to operate the shooter via your keyboard (serial monitor) or via an infrared remote control.

Set the serial monitor option for carriage return to no carriage return and input a number between 0 and 180 for the position of the servo.

The monitor will also show you the keycodes of your IR remote control so that you can update the code to match your IR remote control.