air hockey table

[vr_owner]

hi guys im trying to design an Air hockey table. i would like to it be around 2x1meters but im not sure what i would use to push air through the holes i was thinking of getting a small compressor, or maybe a couple of fans, what do you guys think would be the best thing to use, and does anyone know of an tutorials or instructions, that would be great i tried to google it but i didnt get much

[gopher]

we've got one of them & i think it has a fan.

when i can be bothered i'll go downstairs and have a look how it's setup

[Boonz]

you could probably get away with using 6 fans under the table. a compressor would be too noisy

[VL Berlina 5speed]

electric leaf blower, moves alot of air and fast, just give it a little tweck and adjust the power into it making the blow less possibly

[Holden2gether]

I would say that you would want a high flow/low pressure set up which would rule out using a compressor which is designed to increase the air pressure,you wouldn't want the puck thingy getting blown off the table everytime you played ,if you dropped the pressure back to a usable level (3-4 psi) then the flow wouldn't be enough to lift the puck.Maybe something like a vacuum cleaner motor or two that shift alot of air but at a low pressure,did you ever do that trick of putting a golf ball on the blow side of mum's old Electrolux? kept the ball floating nicely.Or as already suggested maybe a leaf blower set up,might be noisy tho...I know the neighbour's one at 8 o'clock in the morning while I was still asleep is

[Julie]

What a great idea, please tell me you arent going to hand drill the hundred of little air holes though! lol

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

http://www.schools.ash.org.au/daptoh...ckey_table.pdf
Not much info but it all helps.

[ProphetVX]

I know this may seem like a stupid idea but you could get an array of 12 inch computer fans (about 20 or less all up with the dimensions you stated) and run them off a computer PSU. It'd be incredibly quiet and probably cost $100-150 if you buy the fans in bulk, and could just use an old computer that isn't in use anymore and rip out the power supply.


Those fans move a fair bit off air, so you may even get away with use half the amount if you position them evenly.

[ProphetVX]

What a great idea, please tell me you arent going to hand drill the hundred of little air holes though! lol

More like thousands, if the holes are 2cm apart thats 5,000 holes

[14secvp]

1 vacuam cleaner should be heaps space your board with holes in it an inch above another sheet with no holes seal up the whole thing plug in your vacuam on blow sweet as if theres to much air drill a hole or two in the inlet pipe to let some air escape ive got plans here somewhere ill try dig them up tonight.

[kalais6]

Not being rude, and I commend your efforts for giving something a go. But for all the effort, your time and the parts required would it not be just as cost effective to go and buy one ?

[ProphetVX]

Not being rude, and I commend your efforts for giving something a go. But for all the effort, your time and the parts required would it not be just as cost effective to go and buy one ?

To buy a wooden air hockey table, not a cheap plastic one you're looking anywhere upwards of $500, I think the parts would come in cheaper than that.

I get the feeling it may be a D&T project for school, I know quite a few people who did it while I was at school.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Quiet is the key to the design when choosing a fan. A large bladed type that isn't too noisy should do the trick. Even two smaller ones maybe.

[calais_304]

just thinking, you'll need at least 5 fans, one in either corner and one in the middle of the table, you'll need to have the same pressure comming out of the holes on at least 80% of the table for it to work properly, and not have areas pushing out more air then others.
another option is run thin piping under each row of holes (with matching holes of course) and have 2 inlet pionts on either side of the table and hook it up to a compressor/blower to get an even distribution.

anyway have fun with it and once you work it out post up a tutorial, i wouldn't mind making one up.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

just thinking, you'll need at least 5 fans, one in either corner and one in the middle of the table, you'll need to have the same pressure comming out of the holes on at least 80% of the table for it to work properly, and not have areas pushing out more air then others.
another option is run thin piping under each row of holes (with matching holes of course) and have 2 inlet pionts on either side of the table and hook it up to a compressor/blower to get an even distribution.

anyway have fun with it and once you work it out post up a tutorial, i wouldn't mind making one up.

Not necessarily as the whole unit is sealed. The box would pressurize first then the air would come out of the holes at an even pressure, if the fans were blowing too fast then you may have a bit more pressure directly above the fan but it wouldn't make that much difference as the holes are only 4-5mm.

[ProphetVX]

just thinking, you'll need at least 5 fans, one in either corner and one in the middle of the table, you'll need to have the same pressure comming out of the holes on at least 80% of the table for it to work properly, and not have areas pushing out more air then others.
another option is run thin piping under each row of holes (with matching holes of course) and have 2 inlet pionts on either side of the table and hook it up to a compressor/blower to get an even distribution.

anyway have fun with it and once you work it out post up a tutorial, i wouldn't mind making one up.

That all depends on the size of the fan and the distance from the holes that the fan is positioned.

What I'd personally be inclined to do would be create two boxes, one that is partially within the main box (blowing air out the holes) which contains an array of fans drawing air from the outside in, but has a roof so it cannot directly blow on the table holes, it would rely on compression within the box chamber to force air out of the holes, giving consistent air across the table.

Obviously you'd need slightly more powerful fans to do this over ones that blow directly out the holes.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Obviously when I say the box is sealed, it is apart from where the fans are mounted. They will have to draw air from outside, but if the housing that contains the fan is sealed where it is attached to the box, then you will have positive pressure in the box. That idea will probably work too prophet, but as I said, the holes are too small compared to the surface area of the underside of the table to make any difference to the pressure coming out of individual holes.

[14secvp]

PM me your email address I found my plans and scanned them but to large to post even when zipped ill send them to you via email

[Tree cutter]

It would look and sound tough with a big supercharger bolted on the side of it withan electric motor driving it. It would probably be best to get a transformer to reduce 240 volts down to 12 volts and then run some thermo fans like you would normally run on a car radiator

[AttaBoy]

Get a twin turbo setup and a V6 to feed the turbos. Your hockey puck thingy would shoot to the sky or possible blow your table apart!!!!
Seriously as I have been building computers for years and can honestly say that a couple of 120mm case fan is enough (not the slow quiet ones) but you might need quite a few though spread it evenly. I suggest you get a variable resistor so that you can adjust the fan speed and fine tune to exact specs. On another note as I have experimented with the fans before - these fan are capable of running higher voltages than stated on their stickers/label if you need to get them to spin faster but don't increase the voltage too much.

[14secvp]

You could use a heater fan out of a car they move a lot of air and should be more than enough and relativly quite

[14secvp]

heres some plans guys