1.0The SOLIDWORKS Bloghttps://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblogStephen Endersbyhttps://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/author/stephen-endersbyMaximize your punkin' chunkin' catapult with SolidWorks Simulationrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="4ivOSz9XL3"><a href="https://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2012/10/maximizing-my.html">Maximize your punkin’ chunkin’ catapult with SolidWorks Simulation</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2012/10/maximizing-my.html/embed#?secret=4ivOSz9XL3" width="600" height="338" title="“Maximize your punkin’ chunkin’ catapult with SolidWorks Simulation” — The SOLIDWORKS Blog" data-secret="4ivOSz9XL3" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">
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https://blog-assets.solidworks.com/uploads/sites/2/6a00d83451706569e2017d3c991392970c.jpg1426801Have you ever wondered how far you could throw a pumpkin? No? Me neither. However, a lot of people not only give this significant thought, they also meet in a big field to test their weird and wonderful contraptions at the Punkin' Chunkin' World Championships. In a nutshell, teams compete to see how far they can launch a pumpkin by catapult, trebuchet, or air cannon. I first learned about this weird and wonderful completion a while ago, and I decided that rather than build my own physical catapult and test it, I would do the smart thing--build and test it in SolidWorks first. Now, I didn’t want to spend a ton of time creating a detailed model to test; I just wanted a quick and dirty model that I could use to test my design hypothesis and make some initial determinations, namely: What beam sections to use on the design? Where to put the arm stop? What are the impact stresses? How far would the pumpkin go? So my first design was quite basic, but it still had enough detail to provide meaningful design data. This is a really important point for any design analysis: analyze early and often to get the maximum benefit.