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Superior Siege Weapon
Superior Siege Weapon
As the supreme siege weapon of the medieval era, the counterweight trebuchet demanded great respect. By utilizing the potential gravity of a counter weight, a medieval trebuchet could sling projectiles hundreds of feet towards the enemy. How could I memorialize this piece of technological history? After completing some research about the basic design and principles of a trebuchet, I got to work on creating my own version.
Design Focuses
Design Focuses
Throwing arm length ratios
There are two parts to the trebuchet's arm. There is the throwing arm that is connected to the projectile sling, and then there is the shorter counterweight arm. The throwing arm should be approximately three times longer than the counterweight arm, or have a 3:1 ratio. Therefore, I designed the throwing arm to be longer and slimmer than the counterweight arm
Counterweight
The counterweight should be approximately 100 times heavier than the projectile. In order to effectively throw my dog's ball, 7.5 pounds seemed to be the optimum counterweight
String and sling
The trebuchet releases a projectile via a sling that can slip off of a hook when the right angle is reached. In order to effectively release the projectile, I found that the string connecting the sling to the throwing arm should be about as long as the throwing arm
Launch!
Launch!
After some tinkering with the release angle, I finally got it to reliable launch my dog's toys! This model will no be taking down castles anytime soon, but it is an awesome part of history that now brings fun to my living room!
After some tinkering with the release angle, I finally got it to reliable launch my dog's toys! This model will no be taking down castles anytime soon, but it is an awesome part of history that now brings fun to my living room!
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