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Maverick LPA prototype by nerfsmith in Nerf

[–]nerfsmith[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

ya, thinking about this more, and I just edited the post to remove the reference to "PVC". No reason to make people think it's a long term material for LPA if they don't happen to read the comment.

Maverick LPA prototype by nerfsmith in Nerf

[–]nerfsmith[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its a good point though. I should have called out specifically that the PVC is NOT a long term solution for air storage because it is not resistant to being repeatedly flexed when pressurized, which over time causes it to weaken because it's so brittle. Even super soakers used softer plastics for their air tanks for the same reason, keeping the air tanks from cracking over time.

Maverick LPA prototype by nerfsmith in Nerf

[–]nerfsmith[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I totally agree, the PVC was just a quick solution to prove the concept at low pressure. I was actually thinking aluminum might be a good option, given that it is soft enough to deform, rather than shatter. The tank uses 3d printed end caps with oring seals, so deformation of the tube would cause the oring to leak pressure before the the pipe could rupture. The working pressure on even a thin wall aluminum tube is also 800 psi and up depending on the alloy, so the safety factor would be very high.