Rubber Band Trebuchet

Don t make the rubber band really tight.

Rubber band trebuchet.

My trebuchet is a bit different than some of the others that you see in that uses a rubber band instead of a counterweight. Rubber band trebuchet materials. This catapult worked by storing elastic potential energy the type of energy you get from stretching something such as a rubber band or a spring and rapidly converting it to kinetic energy the. The trebuchet is a medieval device not unlike a catapult that was used in warfare to hurl damaging objects from afar into areas that were otherwise inaccessible such as over castle walls and into forts.

I opted for rubber bands because they gave me better results with this particular trebuchet than weights and they are much more compact. This kind of siege engine is called a spring trebuchet a form of a torsion trebuchet. This catapult works by storing elastic potential energy the type of energy you get from stretching something such as a rubber band or a spring and rapidly converting it to kinetic energy the energy of motion of a projectile in that case a cotton ball. A trebuchet works differently.

If it s too tight it will deform the hooks and if it s just snug you will actually get a little assist from the rubber. The rubber band should pull on the sides of the vertical curve not the sides of the hooks. You want the rubber band to wrap on the side without the wire back and forth.