Group 19 - Product Name Here
Contents |
Product Overview
For this project we are going to dissect two very different Nerf guns. We are going to take apart a traditional dart gun and a newly released disc shooter. The dart gun is a part of Nerf’s dart tag series and is called the Speedload 6. It has an integrated clip that holds six darts, and to fire it you pull on the back and it loads the bullet and gets the gun ready to fire. The Vortex Vigilon, which is the disc shooter, is similar to the Speedload 6. It has an integrated clip that holds five discs, and it shoots the same way as the Speedload 6. The goal of this project is to compare and contrast two similar guns, made by the same company, that perform in similar yet different ways. Also, we want to see if they are as different or as similar as they seem. We are dissecting these guns to see which technologies are similar, which are different, and if we can improve one using the others technologies. Over the next few weeks we will be attempting to accomplish this goal and our results will be thoroughly documented and posted on our Wiki.
Team Overview
Richard Sambuco: Project Manager
- Contact Info: rjsambuc@buffalo.edu
Cell phone number: (631)-365-3904
Sean Amundsen: Technical Communication Coordinator
- Contact Info: seanamun@buffalo.edu
Ian Dipace: Technical Expert
- Contact Info: iandipac@buffalo.edu
Matthew Szmak: Analysis and Research Correspondent
- Contact Info: mjszmak@buffalo.edu
Project Gates
There are several steps in completing this project. In order to complete it in an orderly fashion it has been broken down into certain gates that separate the requirements of the project as a whole.
Gate 1: Project Planning
Work Proposal
We will be dissecting the Nerf Vortex Blaster Vigilon that shoots discs and the Dart Tag Speed Load 6 which shoots whistling Velcro tipped darts in order to compare the gun designs. We plan to take two hours per gun for dissection and rough analysis. The tools which we seem to require are a small screwdriver for the exposed external screws and needle nose pliers for prying apart any components which maybe stuck together. Its is possible that we will need a cutting tool such as a Dremel, however until we open up the guns we will not know for sure. We plan on taking the first half hour of each dissection to remove the outer casing by removing the external screws with the Phillips head screwdriver. We will Document the dissection with photography and will analyze the ease of removal. We will analyze the deconstruction process keeping in mind that many Nerf enthusiasts like to modify the toys, which may have influenced the way they are designed in order to allow for easy deconstruction. We will be analyzing the screws to see if they are all the same size and looking for reasons for a possible variation in length. We will then spend the next hour removing and cataloging all of the internal components and analyzing how they interact, such as the firing mechanism and the trigger system. The final half hour will be dedicated to comparison between the two guns internal mechanisms and how they function. The Vigilon and the Speed six are made of plastic, which may pose the possibility of us scratching and chipping the casing while disassembling them. We must also be careful not to snap any of the small plastic components. All of the members of our group are at the same level of mechanical inclination. Although we have all had experience using hand tools in technology classes we have not dissected a Nerf gun in the past and this will be a new experience for all of us.Some of our strengths and weaknesses are represented in Table 1 along with certain skills we want to improve on from this project.
Table 1: Our team's strengths and weaknesses
Assumed Procedure to Follow
Before and after each step pictures and a written catalog will be taken. All parts will be numbered, categorized and stored safely.
- Step 1: Remove the external screws.
- Step 2: Measure lengths of screws.
- Step 3: Separate the two halves of the gun.
- Step 4: Deconstruct the trigger system.
- Step 5: Deconstruct the firing mechanism.
- Step 6: Analyze the clip system.
- Step 7: Deconstruct and analyze any unforeseen internal components.
Management Proposal
- This product dissection is going to require good teamwork and collaboration, however we will be designating specific jobs for each member of the group to focus on. In order to give each other the chance to have their say on the assignment so we have designated a project manager to settle disputes. There will be certain roles in which everyone is going to have to fulfill in order to divide the work load amongst everyone and have the work done in an orderly fashion. The different jobs which will be assigned include Project Manager, Technical Expert, Analysis and Research Correspondent, and Technical Communication Coordinator. These jobs will be assigned to each of the four group members and create a work environment in which we will all be occupied on a different component of the project. The project requires certain deadlines in which we have to follow in order to complete the project. Figure 2 represents a time line in which our group plans on following in order to complete the project on time.
- Figure 2: Project Timeline
- Our group meeting times vary on a per work basis, however, we have a short ten minute meeting following every class in order to talk about when we should meet and the work we should be doing on our own to prep for the meeting. We have longer meetings planned as necessary in order to finish the project in a timely manner. The meetings will also be planned around the class times and work loads for other classes. If someone is not able to attend a meeting they will send their prepared work to one of the other group members in order make progress despite their absence.
Project Manager
Richard Sambuco
- The project manager is going to also be our task manager. They will not necessarily be the leader of the group but rather a manager that is going to be keeping the tasks organized and making sure that everyone is keeping up on their job. Although everyone is going to be working together there still needs to be someone to keep the tasks designated to a specific person or pair of people. If there is proper organization kept the assignments will be completed on time and hopefully without conflict. The project manager will also be the communication contact between the group and the professor. He will be managing the group meeting times, communication with the professor and the organization of the project as a whole. In addition to these assigned tasks the project manager will be helping with all those other jobs in the group if one person has a lot more work than another due to the varying work load associated with the different stages of the product dissection.
Technical Expert
Ian Dipace
- The technical expert will be the person in charge of the disassembling of the two products. They will be taking apart each gun and documenting the steps taken in the procedure. This person will be keeping each part separate from the different guns and different steps in the dis-assembly. The technical expert will follow the procedure referenced above until there has to be something which was missed. They will then have to approach the dis-assembly at their own judgement and learn the inner components of the guns. This is an important asset to the gun because someone has to fully understand the components in order for a full analysis of the Nerf gun’s technical aspects. The technical expert will be working closely with the Analysis and Research Correspondent in order to have more than one person understand the inner components of the two different Nerf guns. The technical expert is going to be the main consultant if there is a question of where a part was located or how to reassemble the gun back together.
Analysis and Research Correspondent
Matthew Szmak
- The analysis and research correspondent is going to be the group member in charge of applying the principles of mechanics and dynamics to the analysis of the gun. This member will be working alongside the technical expert to make sure he fully understands where each part was located in the gun to see how the energy was transferred throughout the whole mechanism. The research correspondent will be applying the equations of the kinetic energy and potential energy stored through the gun. Then there will be the the analysis of if there can be improvements made to the mechanics of the gun. Research will be done to see what can be improved and what would make the product more innovative and appealing to the consumers.
Technical Communication Coordinator
Sean Amundsen
- The technical communication coordinator is going to be in charge of the editing and revising of the project. They will overlook the written reports before updating the wiki with the information. This group member will assign certain tasks back to the rest of the group to edit certain parts of the documents to distribute the work load evenly. Then he will advise for the information to be returned to him in order for him to read over the information again to double check for spelling, grammar errors and format. The technical communication coordinator is then going to look over all of the edited data and supervise and coordinate the posting of the information on the wiki. This group member will have the final say in editing the wiki and the formatting of the presentation of each gate in the wiki.
Even though everyone is going to have a specific authoritative role in the group there will be complete collaboration on each part of the assignment in order to get complete understanding and experience from this project. We will all work together in order to complete the project for each deadline and be able to understand all aspects of the technical components for the oral presentation at then end of the course project.
Product Archaeology: Nerf Vortex Vigilon
Development Profile
The Vortex Vigilon was released by Nerf on September 10th, 2011. This is a very new product so a lot about its product development and when it was being developed is not readily available. Rumors for the Vortex series started in February of 2011. Nerf didn’t officially confirm the Vortex series until April of 2011. During the creation of the Vortex series, the economy was in a recession. A lot of companies were and still are struggling to stay afloat. Consumers don’t spend as much on toys anymore due to hard financial times. Nerf created a series that generated a lot of buzz and was very cool. One big global concern that Nerf has take into consideration is violence, in particular gun violence. The dart gun can be closely related to guns in the mind of kids. The disc blaster gets away from that a little bit because the disc doesn’t compare as well to real bullet whereas the dart does. Nerf wanted to release a gun that could shoot a longer range than the traditional dart gun. The consumer wanted the ammo to fly farther and Nerf delivered.[1]
Usage Profile
Nerf guns are strictly a toy. The intended use of this product is for entertainment purposes. It’s a way kids can play with guns that look like the ones in their favorite video games, or so kids can shoot each other without actually hurting one another. It’s a fun toy that is to be enjoyed by kids and possibly college students or people of all ages who like playing Nerf with their friends. The product is designed to be used in the home or backyard of the consumer. A professional environment is no place for a plastic gun. Kids and young adults are the target age so generally you are not going to see these in a professional assembly. The only job this performs is entertaining and making the consumer happy.
Energy Profile
There a few types of energy used in this product. The main energy is created by the spring. When the gun is cocked back energy is stored in the spring, and when the gun is fired that energy propels the disc forward. Another type of energy is of the lever that creates the spin on the disc. The disc will not fly right without spin. Upon inspection there is a lever that also pushes on the disc when the trigger is fired. The lever is curved and goes from a flat stationary position, then goes from flat to the left side of the gun pushing on the disc and creating spin on the disc. All of the energy the gun uses starts with the human. The person uses his arm to cock back the gun and create compression in the spring which stores the mechanical energy. Next the person in possession of the gun pulls the trigger. The trigger releases the Potential energy of the spring and transfers it to Kinetic energy by propelling the disc forward out of the gun. When pulling the trigger the person also activates the lever that puts spin on the disc causing the disc to shoot out of the gun while rotating.
- Figure 3: Anticipated Functional Model for a Nerf Gun
Complexity Profile
The Vigilon has a lot of small plastic and metal components in it. The major components are the trigger components the lever that causes spin, the loading component, the clip component, the spring that propels the disc forward, the unjam/unloading mechanism and the discs themselves. Each component is surprisingly simple. The components were developed in such a way that they seem quite simple, and work together extremely well. For example the clip component is opened with a lever near the trigger. Based on observation when you hit that lever a plastic piece that is holding the clip in place recedes into the gun and the clip opens up. The component interactions on the other hand are very complex. The spring has to be perfectly timed with the trigger and the lever that causes spin. If one of those fails at any point during the firing process the disc won’t fire. If the loading component doesn’t work then you have nothing to fire so the component interactions are very complex.
Material Profile
The gun consists of very few materials. The main material that can be seen is plastic. The casting of the gun is made of plastic and so are the majority of the components. The plastic is different for some parts that do different jobs but it mostly seems like the gun is created by the same type of plastic. The screws are made up of metal along with the spring. The discs are made up of hard plastic with a foam coating on the outside of it. Upon observation there doesn’t seem like there is any other materials used on this gun. This gun is very simple when it comes to materials and we do not believe that there are any other materials in this gun besides metal and plastic.
Interaction Profile
The product is very user friendly. The gun’s handle is very ergonomic and works for both left handed and right handed shooters. The user holds the gun by the handle and places his/her pointer finger on the trigger and the hand that isn’t holding the gun loads and cocks back the gun and prepares it to fire. The user interface is very intuitive. The second you open the box you know the correct way to hold it and how to shoot it. The ergonomics of the gun are very obvious. It’s extremely comfortable in your hand and the weight is distributed very well. The gun is very easy to use. There are instructions on how to use it but the gun is set up in way that is self-explanatory. The design of how the gun shoots makes it very easy to use. Regular maintenance is not required for this gun. The ammo makes it so that there is no maintenance required unlike a real gun. There are replacement parts available but that is if your gun breaks and you have the technical inclination to repair it yourself.
Ammo Profile
The thing that makes the Vigilon so unique is the ammo. The disc used in this gun is very different than anything else Nerf has used in the past. One of the design problems of the Vortex series addressed was how far can we make this fly? The disc allows for this to happen. The discs design allows for a lot of lift. The disc is flat on top and curls downward toward the edges. The bottom is hollowed out in the center and that is what creates the lift. The air gets caught underneath the disc causing lots of lift and extended flight time. The disc is made of hard plastic so that it is stable in flight, but it has a foam covering so that it doesn’t hurt when a person is hit with it.
- Figure 4: Ammo from the Nerf Vortex Vigilon
Product Alternatives
The Nerf Vigilon has no competitors in the market for disc shooters except a small foam disc shooter from X-Stream. The X-Stream shooter is motorized and is only analogous in the type of projectile it uses. The X-Stream shooter is much cheaper but is not of the same caliber as the Vigilon. The Vigilon uses mechanical energy supplied be the consumer whereas the X-Stream shooter uses batteries and makes a high pitch whining noise. The patent on the technology the Vigilon and other Nerf disc guns contain has been unlawfully used in the past by Buzz Bee toys. Nerf won their law suit against Buzz Bee and no other competitor has come up with a competitive product for the disc shooters.
Product Archaeology: Nerf Speed Load 6
Development Profile
The Speed 6 was released in March of 2011 with an unknown initial development date. The key economic concern at the time of development was the bad economy. They designed this gun to be priced low but still have some build quality. One of the Global concerns this product addresses is to not replicate a real gun that poses a threat but rather a toy that would still be appealing to its target demographic. The Nerf Company is a United States based company and sells in the states as well as internationally. The intended impact on the consumer was to be an entertainment and for it to be fun. This would impact society by creating a fun game of Dart Tag and later possibly an international Dart Tag League.[2]
Usage Profile
The Nerf Dart Tag Speed Load 6 is intended to be used as a toy and in a Dart Tag game. This product is for both home and professional use and is used in the NDTL or the National Dart Tag League. We consider the NDTL as professional use because it is a championship league with teams competing for a grand prize. The Speed 6 performs the job of shooting a dart at another dart tag player or for leisure. This gun is entertaining and very fun to use and play with.[3]
- Figure 5: Speed Load 6 Dart.
Energy Profile
In the Speed 6 there is mechanical energy used. This mechanical energy is imported from the user cocking the gun. After the gun is cocked the energy is stored in a spring as potential energy. The user then adds mechanical energy by pulling the trigger to release the stored energy in the spring and makes it kinetic energy. This energy is transferred to the dart by use of a pneumatic system and that is turned into the motion of the dart. The energy transfer can be represented in the functional model represented in Figure 3.
Complexity Profile
In the Speed 6 there are six components. The components are the dart, trigger, loading mechanism, firing mechanism, and the slide to unjam the gun. The individual components do not appear to be too complex from the outside but may be more complex internally. An example of which is the loading of the darts into the internal magazine. They are simply pushed in and a spring pushes back against the dart to keep it at the top. From what can be seen, some of the interactions between the parts are complex. The cocking mechanism may be complex in its interaction with the loading mechanism. This interaction is internal and cannot be determined as of yet.
Material Profile
The Speed Load 6 appears to be made almost completely of plastic. The heads of the screws holding the gun together are metal and the darts that come with the gun are made of foam, and a plastic tip that has micro Velcro on it. There is also some paint used on the gun to give it more definition. Other materials you cannot see would be metal for the spring in the trigger and firing mechanism. We believe that the rest of the internal components are either metal or plastic.
User Interaction
The user interacts with the product in a hands on way. Users have to load the darts into the internal magazine as well as cock the gun and pull the trigger. The interfaces are very intuitive because as soon as you grab the gun you know how to hold it, and how you are going to load and cock it. The Speed 6 is very easy to use. Once you load the darts into the magazine, you cock the gun and pull the trigger. All of these motions are simple to do. The Speed 6 does not need to be maintained in any regular way but if anything breaks it can be replaced with replacement parts.
Product Alternatives
Buzz Bee toys company produces plastic toy dart guns that serve the same purpose as Nerf dart shooters. For an analogous dart type shooter from Buzz Bee the general price point is approximately five dollars less than the Nerf model for the fifteen dollar range and ten dollars less for the models thirty dollars or more. The advantage to the Buzz Bee models are the lower price and cheaper ammo. The Buzz Bee models have a cheaper feel to them and are aesthetically simplistic with solid colors and few variations in color scheme which can be seen as a negative from a consumer standpoint. As far as performance is concerned, the two companies guns fire with generally the same velocity according to independent testers online that are dart gun enthusiasts. However there has been no official comparison done by a credible organization.
Gate 2: Nerf Gun Dissection
Cause for Corrective Action
- Although our work and management plan supplied a general guideline for the dissection and phase two in general it lacked necessary specificity. Our work proposal consisted of half hour dissection segments however we did not plan for the time it took to categorize and document each step in the dissection process. The Nerf Vigilon took approximately two and a half hours which was much longer than we planned for. We have corrected this time management and estimation error by reassessing the time it takes our group to analyze and document. Although the only tools we needed to dissect the guns was a screwdriver, a smaller sized Philips heads with a skinnier neck would have made it easier to access and remove the screws without marring the plastic. The internal components of the gun were difficult to keep track of Because we had not planned for them to be so complex or for so many of them. Although the dissection was completed, we did not have a set date or time to complete it which led to the entire group dissecting the two guns in an impromptu meeting after class. We realized during the dissection that it would only take two people to dissect each gun, yet we feel it was beneficial for each individuals understanding that they be present and active during the dissection. We had not planned on splitting up the work load for each gate however we have seen a greater output of work in each group member when it is individually assigned with a due date. By splitting up the assignment based on ability of the individual and availability to accomplish the task we have seen an increase in quality. As far as conflict resolution and need for disciplinary action our group has been fortunate to not have to take any action due to a conflict. Although we feel it is unlikely that the group will have major conflicts the project manager will solve all disputes with a final decision. Seeing that a conflict may arise with the project manager we will contact one of the instructors in order to mediate our conflict. Scheduling has also been somewhat of an issue with our group. We have corrected this by planning on group meetings every weekend seeing as we are all available on the weekends. Group meeting will also be scheduled by the project manager through a comparison of schedules and communication via text messages and phone calls in order to find optimal meeting times. In the unlikely event group members have excess free time and want to work on part of a gate they are free to do the work as long as they present their work to the group at the next meeting and have it edited.
Derivation of Difficulty Scale
- To describe how difficult each step is we have to define a meaningful scale. Our products didn’t require any other tools but a screwdriver and a little elbow grease. Some screws were harder to take out than others, and the way certain parts fit together made them difficult to take out. We are going to describe each step as Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy is defined as a part that comes off the gun by unscrewing it and being able to remove it with almost no force such as removing the two halves of the casing from each other. Medium is defined as a part that is interconnected with other parts but does not require any intense manipulation in order to separate them. Medium difficulty requires that you unscrew another part in order to unscrew that part or remove a connecting spring or lever. Hard is defined as a part that is interconnected with other parts and requires unhooking or unclasping in order to separate them. The difference between hard and medium is that the parts are connected to each other intricately rather than being merely fastened in someway to the casing or connected to each other by a spring. Also a part that is permanently connected to another part will be considered hard on our difficulty scale because of the deconstruction required to separate them. Now that we have our scale we can go through our steps of dissection.
Dissection of the Nerf Vortex Vigilon
| Step Number | Description | Difficulty Level | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remove the screws from the main casing of the gun. We have to remove the screws from the sliding mechanism and one screw from the front of the gun. We removed 12 black screws from the main casing of the gun. We first took off the sliding mechanism because that piece was separate from the casing. Next we pulled the casing off of the gun. The two halves of the casing not only serve the purpose of housing the internal components but also give the gun it visual appeal. It seems that although the screws are meant to connect the two halves permanently, they also allow for the consumer to deconstruct the gun if they choose to do so. Rather than melting or riveting the two halves together, Nerf screwed them together possibly because it is cheaper or because they want to allow the consumer access to the internal components. | Easy |  |
| 2 | One side of the casing which we are going to call the cavity, which we took off in step one has some parts connected to it. To remove those parts we have to remove two black screws from the ammo door. Then we have to take out the screw from the thumb toggle switch that opens the ammo door.Lastly remove two silver screws from the plate holding the spring mechanism for holding the ammo. | Easy |  |
| 3 | Once the gun was open we had to start unscrewing the internal components so we can analyze their functions. Remove all silver screws and one black screw from the inside in order to remove the internal components from the casing. There are three silver screws and one black screw. The one black screw is by the main white spring in the front of the gun. Once you remove those screws take out the internal components. This step was difficult because there are a lot of components and small parts. It took us a while to figure out which screws we needed to take out to unscrew the internal components from the casing. | Hard |  |
| 4 | Now that we have removed all of the internal components from the casing we are going to dissect the internal mechanisms. | N/A |  |
| 5 | We started by taking off all of the pieces that are not attached by screws. We took out the spring and the piece that the ammo sits on. We pulled them out. They were held in by a track on the inside of the chamber and the spring was attached to the inside of the ammo holder. | Medium |  |
| 6 | We started with the ammo reservoir and the trigger mechanism because those components were the easiest to get at. Remove two screws off the back of the ammo reservoir. There are three black screws. | Easy |  |
| 7 | Remove the one black screw holding the trigger to the reservoir. Now we can take off the trigger and the bracket holding the disc chamber. | Medium |  |
| 8 | In this step we are going to remove the actual ammo reservoir from the internal components. Remove two black screws next to the disc reservoir and underneath the barrel. Remove the large spring and the orange pieces above it. Remove two more screws on the disc reservoir and you will be able to disassemble the disc reservoir. | Medium |  |
| 9 | Remove two more screws off the internal components and you will have completely disassembled the internal components. The rest of the components were clipped or fit together. The white spring mechanism and the part that connects it to the chamber is one example of that. | Medium |  |
Dissection of the Nerf Speed Load 6
| Step Number | Description | Difficulty Level | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First we unscrewed fourteen screws from the main casing of the gun. | Easy |  |
| 2 | Next we unclipped the yellow cosmetic front cover. This required the use of some force. We were then able to remove the four hidden screws that were underneath the cover. | Medium |  |
| 3 | Then we removed the clip from the gun. When we took the clip off of the gun some of the internal parts the clip plate was housing came out of the gun. | Medium |  |
| 4 | We removed the screws off of the slide mechanism and take the gun apart. Only one side of the casing had internal components attached to it. | Medium |  |
| 5 | Next we removed the spring and loading mechanism. There were two screws we had to take out near the tip of the gun. We then were able to carefully remove the casing of the gun. A lot of the pieces were held in place by the casing of the gun. When we opened it up we took the trigger out. It wasn’t attached by screws so we were able to just take it out. | Easy |  |
| 6 | Once we took the internal components off taking them apart wasn’t hard. The parts were all either clipped together or in the case of the spring and the barrel, slid onto one another. We started by removing the spring holder part. We then removed the firing mechanism. We separated the firing mechanism to analyze all of the components. No tool required. | Medium |  |
Product Dissection Assessment
Sub-function Analysis
1-Case, 2-Trigger, 3-Spring Guide, 4- Cocking Mechanism, 5-Chambering Mechanism, 6-Barrel
Speed Load 6
The first sub function in the gun is the case. The case houses all of the components and is connected to certain parts in order to secure them and allow them to withstand the translation of energy through them to the ammo. The cocking mechanism is connected to the casing by a screw compressing its two halves together around a slot in the case. The cocking mechanism is connected on this slot in order to allow the user to pull it back and translate mechanical energy through it. The cocking mechanism is also connected to the tube and barrel via a small grey plastic arm. The arm is screwed to both the cocking mechanism and the tube-barrel assembly, but can freely rotate round the screw because the hole in the plastic arm is larger than the threads but smaller than the screw head. This connection allows the user to translate mechanical energy to the spring via the cocking mechanism. The spring guide is located in the rear of the gun and is attached to the case by compression between the two halves. The spring guide forces the spring to stay parallel to the tube and barrel and makes sure the energy stored in the spring will translate to the forward motion of the tube. The tube is connected to the barrel via an air tight seal thanks to an internal o-ring. The tube slide along a plastic track that was included on the barrel during the molding process. The track is lubricated and provides little friction to impede the sliding of the tube. The tube form an air tight connection with the barrel in order to translate the kinetic energy of the tube moving forward into pneumatic pressure in the tube and barrel. This pneumatic pressure will provide the force to eject the projectile. The round chambering mechanism consists of an internal spring in the integrated clip wich forces a round into the chamber when the cocking mechanism draws back the barrel and tube. The chambering mechanism uses the energy stored in the spring when the shooter depresses it to load the round. The chambering mechanism is the sub system which introduces the material into the main shooting function. The spring loaded internal clip is connected to the case by a small plastic pin that was integrated into the casing mold. It is connected in this fashion in order to reduce the amount of screws used and to make the installation of the spring easier during assembly.
1-Trigger, 2-Case, 3-Cocking Mechanism, 4-Chambering Mechanism, 5-Rotation Arm, 6-Coiled Spring, 7-Clip Spring
Vigilon Vortex
As with the Speed sixth the Vigilon has a case which houses all of the internal components and is in some way connected to all of the parts that perform the sub functions. The cocking mechanism in the Vigilon is similar to the Speed Six in that it was attached to the case through a slot. The cocking mechanism is directly connected to the chambering mechanism through a plastic pin that feeds through a hole on the rear of the chambering plastic piece. This connection was made so solid due to the force the user will be putting on the mechanism when they pull back on the slide. The chambering mechanism is also the mechanism which translates the mechanical energy of the cocking mechanism into the potential energy stored in the spring. The part of the mechanism which is connected to the cocking mechanism slides back which pulls back a white plastic arm that has a spring coiled around its turning axis. The chambering mechanism is pulled back which interacts with the white piece of plastic by drawing the arm back and translating the translational energy into potential in the coiled spring. The arm is not physically attached but rather set in a slot on the underside of the sliding part of the chambering mechanism in order to be able to slide back while raising and lowering slightly due to the change in angle the plastic arm undergoes. This connection was made to be free floating because this will be the motive force that throws the disc forward when released. The arm is held in place by a small inclined plane that the arm can push past on the way back but becomes temporarily locked in place when the plane is pushed back over by a small spring. This small plane is forced back to the side when the trigger is pulled via a second small plane that the trigger force into the first plane. The connection between the trigger and the second plane is riveted together due to the shear force the consumer may put on it and the amount of time the trigger will be pulled. There is a circular arm in the cavity the disc travels through on its way out of the barrel slot. This arm put spin on the disc as it is leaving which adds to the discs flight time. Each of these sub systems are placed in their location in order to perform the actions needed to launch the projectile.
Certain Factors Discovered
Societal Factors
- Society and Nerf fans have greatly influenced Nerf guns and how they are made. The Speedload six was designed to meet consumer demands and societal issues. The gun needs to be safe for children. Safety is always a huge factor that influced the design such as the restrictor on the air compressor which sets an upper limit for the velocity of the projectile. The Speedload Six solves these problems in a very interesting way. For safety it has doesn’t shoot fast enough to hurt people. This was accomplished by the internal systems of gun. The spring used isn’t strong enough to store the energy needed to make the projectile go fast enough to harm someone. They did this specifically so that when the dart was shot it also wouldn’t hurt. The weaker spring doesn’t create much air pressure and the restrictor makes sure the projectile doesn’t get launched fast enough that it can hurt people. At the same time the spring stores enough energy to still shoots fast enough for kids to have fun with it.The Vigilon accomplishes the safety concern a little bit differently. The goal of the Vigilon was to create a gun that shoots farther than the traditional dart gun. They couldn’t keep the ammo a dart because to make that go far enough, they would have to increase the speed of the dart to a dangerous level. They used a disc instead. To get enough spin on it they used a different kind of spring. They used a wind up spring attached to a lever that flings the disc, instead of using pneumatics and traditional springs. There is an internal circular arm which causes rotatation on the disc and increases flight time.
Economic Factors
- The Speedload Six is a very simple gun. When we took it apart there were not a lot of parts in it. That makes the gun very economical and easy to make. It is cheaper to manufacture and easier to put together. This makes the gun cheap and easy to use. Another economic factor is that both guns are made from the same plastic and use the same screws. Since the company uses standardized parts they can buy in bulk and pass the saving on to the customers. When we opened up both guns we noticed that all of the plastic used for the internal components of the gun we the same. They are all orange industrial grade plastic. Another similarity between the two guns was the screws. Every screw used on both guns was a long black self-taping screw, a small black self-taping screw or a medium length silver self-taping screw. Using the same plastic and the same types of screws for all of their guns saves them a lot of money on parts and manufacturing.
Environmental Factors
- The environmental concerns of the world today affect almost every product and Nerf is no different. When we opened up the Speedload six we found out that minimization of material and waste was how they affected Nerf. The amount of plastic used on the Speedload six was minimized such as empty parts of the cavity created by the casing. They found a way to condense all the internal components so they would fit and perform while not using too much plastic or making the guns to heavy. Less plastic saves them money on production material and on gas for shipping due to the lower weight. The reduction in carbon emissions helps out the environment in a positive way by not adding unnecessarily to global warming. Since the same plastics were used for the casings and the internal components of both guns the company is able to cast all of the parts on site. Because all casting can be done in one place not having to ship certain parts to other factories in order to be assembled the company save more money and reduces shipping emissions further. When there is no need to use multiple forms of plastic waste is minimal and excess landfill space is not consumed.
Gate 3: Nerf Gun Analysis
Project Management: Coordination Review
Our group attempted to correct our issues with time management by assigning work on an individual basis. We then took the work edited it as a group and added it to the wiki. Although this method proved to save time and keep each member on task, the wiki had less flow or in other words a concise tone and quality. This showed through in the grading of the Product archeology in gate 2. Our group spent little time on the formatting of the information and focused more on the content. We are correcting for this by utilizing more tables and bullet points in gate 3. Our meeting schedule which we corrected last time and made more consistent has been working well and allowing all members of the group to finish their parts of the project on time. We as a group decided that finishing the gate before the due date and then going to office hour to get suggestions on how to refine the project would be most beneficial. Our conflict resolution plan to default to the project manager has been working well. Recently there was a conflict for one of the meetings due to prior obligations. The project manager decided going forward with the meeting one man down would be better than rescheduling due to the time constraints. We feel more confident in our ability as a group to address the four factors after we recently went over them in class. We corrected our misconceptions on what presentation style was required for the gates by talking to the instructors and changing the layout of our gates on the wiki. Rather than writing technical analysis in paragraph form, we will be utilizing tables we recently learned to make in the wiki. Our communication as a group has improved due to our recent corrective decision to utilize phone calls rather than texting. It seems that when we talk on the phone rather than text, information comes across clearly and we become more reliable to complete an assignment and get back to the group with the results. It seems that it was easier for group members to procrastinate while communicating through texting but found it hard to do so when they were required to directly speak to other members of the group and tell them why they did not finish their work.
Component Summary
Nerf Speedload 6
| Component | Picture | Function | Material | Manufacturing Process | Times Used |
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| Case |  |
The main function of the case is to hold everything together and give aesthetics for the product. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 2 (1 per side) |
| Trigger |  |
Takes user signal and energy and outputs this signal to the firing mechanism in order to release the spring. | ABS Polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Spring Guide |  |
Maintain the spring parallel to the rest of the pneumatic tube while energy is being stored in the spring | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Main Spring |  |
Translate the spring energy to the pneumatic tube. | Spring Steel | Coiling | 1 |
| Pneumatic Tube |  |
Chamber air to create pressure to fire dart. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Dart Chamber |  |
Slide it back and the dart will be chambered. When dart is in chamber pneumatic tube pushes air through this part to export the dart. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Cocking Mechanism |  |
Connects to the Dart Chamber and translates the human input to the internal chamber. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 2 (1 per side) |
| Internal Magazine Track |  |
Slides the darts up to the chamber so they can be loaded when cocking mechanism is pulled back. | ABS polymer plastic and spring steel | Injection Molding and Coiling | 1 |
Nerf Vortex Vigilon
| Component | Picture | Function | Material | Manufacturing Process | Times Used |
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| Case |  |
The main function of the case is to hold everything together and give aesthetics for the product. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 2 (1 per side) |
| Trigger |  |
Takes user signal and energy and outputs this signal to the firing mechanism in order to release the spring. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Loading Spring |  |
Load the discs up towards the chamber of the gun. | Spring Steel | Coiling | 1 |
| Ammo Holder |  |
Have the discs stay in a concentrated place so that the spring can push them up towards the chamber so they can be loaded. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Cocking Mechanism |  |
Connects to the Dart Chamber and translates the human input to the internal chamber. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 2 (1 per side) |
| Disc Chamber |  |
Attached to the spring and moves in sync with it so the disc can be guided to the muzzle. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
| Firing Spring |  |
Locks when cocked back and and when released moves the disc through the chamber. | ABS polymer plastic and spring steel | Injection Molding and coiling | 1 |
| Circular Arm |  |
Applies a small frictional force to cause the disk to spin. | ABS polymer plastic | Injection Molding | 1 |
Product Analysis:Nerf Speed Load 6
Component complexity scale:
Our component complexity scale that applies to the analysis of both guns which ranges from one to three. On our scale one is the least complex and three is the most complex.
- 1) The part is mostly flat and requires a relatively simple mold that has few raises or recesses. This level of complexity is defined for parts that serve small roles in the overall function of the gun. These components are connected to other components in a simple straight forward manner such as one pin or a small lever.
- 2)These components are three dimensional molded pieces that require a form with many recesses and raised pieces that may require extensive milling to make. These components are made to translate some sort of signal and can be intricately connected to other components. They require skilled manipulation in order to assemble them.
- 3) These components are of the greatest complexity and may require machining after the have been molded. The form in which they were molded has a great many of raises and recesses and may require more than a two form mold in order to be made. They interact with a multitude of other components and must translate signal and energy. These components have multiple parts and may require human manipulation for assembly.
Nerf Speed Load 6
| Component | Case | Trigger | Spring Guide | Main Spring | Pneumatic Tube | Dart Chamber | Cocking Mechanism | Internal Magazine Track |
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Metal because it's strong enough to be stretched and go back to its normal position after being stretched |
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Product Analysis:Nerf Vortex Vigilon
Nerf Vortex Vigilon
| Component | Case | Trigger | Loading Spring | Ammo Holder | Circular Arm | Disc Chamber | Cocking Mechanism | Firing Spring | ||
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It is 2.5 in high by 1.5in wide and 1in thick.
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* The economic factor the firing spring forced engineers to consider was the cost of production and assembly as well as the cost of inputs such as material cost. A global factor is that they need to place their plant where they can get to petroleum byproducts for the plastic in the firing arm. A societal factor of IM is that workers aren't put in danger because a lot of the process is done by machines.Environmentally IM doesn't waste a lot of material. | ||
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Solid Modeled Assembly
The CAD package used for the solid modeling was Autodesk Inventor. This solid modeling software was chosen because one group member has had previous experience drawing in this software. It is a user friendly version of the solid modeling software by Autodesk.
The components that were chosen to be drawn were of the main function from the Nerf Speed Load 6. Without these parts the gun would have no way of firing the dart as it includes the mechanism to push the air behind the dart.
Engineering Analysis
A key component in any Nerf gun is the spring that causes the gun to fire and supplies the force required to push the moment arm to translate the energy stored in the spring to the projectile. In the Nerf Vigilon Vortex we found the moment arm is restricted by a plastic pin that requires input from the trigger via the user to fire. the force needed to release the arm can be found by using equations of equilibrium. Testing of this product can also be done using certain sensors measure the force being used. Below a analysis problem is set up to show how how an engineer may approach this problem to find the force needed to move. The engineer can vary certain aspects of this problem to get the desired output for the product.
- Problem Statement: If the coefficient of static friction between the lever arm and the pin is μ=0.35 and the force the lever arm places on the pin when cocked is 35N, find the force required to pull the pin back and release the arm if the force on the pin is being supplied to the pin via an inclined plane at 45° on the nub as shown in the diagram below.
- Diagaram:
- Assumptions:
- Assuming the lever arm is incident to the pin at 90°.
- The nub(shown below) is incident to the inclined plane at 45°.
- Static friction is greater than kinetic friction.
- 100% translation of energy and force, neglecting all other friction than those stated.
- Force of arm on pin is 45N and mu static is 0.35.
- Once static friction threshold has been overcome, the pin will retract and the arm will be released.
- Governing Equations:
- F(friction)=(coefficient of friction)*(Normal Force)
- F(friction)=(Force needed)*(cos45)
- Solution Check: In order to check the mathematical result one could attach a force gauge to the sliding mechanism that is incident on the nub. When the arm is released the reading on the force gauge is the necessary pulling force.
- Discussion: For a well designed firing mechanism to operate within the constraint's of the pulling capabilities of their target demographic, mainly kids, the necessary force must be humanly possible. The design factors such as the incident angle on the nub, the coefficient of friction and the force of the arm must be taken into account.
Design Revisions
There are several revisions that were able to be found on the component and subsystem level of the products. Since we compared the two different types of Nerf guns the advantages and disadvantages of the two different guns. From the analysis of both these guns certain factors of both can be seen and which ones need to improve on certain aspects of the guns.
First Revision
The first design revision can be found when comparing the differences in the Nerf Vigilon Vortex and the Nerf Speedload 6. There are several differences in both these guns but one that can be applied to the gun is the simplicity of the product. The Speedload 6 is very similar to the Nerf gun series that have been made in the past. It shoots the darts like the general model of a Nerf gun. The Nerf Vigilon Vortex is a disc shooter. This is a change from the conventional dart shooter that Nerf is known for. When dissecting the product the component system of the firing system turned out to be much more complex than that of the dart shooter. A reason can be the new release of this product in September of 2011. The disc shooter has not been manufactured several times in different ways compared to the dart shooter Speedload 6. When analyzing the Nerf Vigilon Vortex firing system we found:
- There were several parts pieced together to create the firing mechanism. All these several lose parts were a challenge to keep track of when taking apart the gun to see what the actual function of each was.
- In order to fix this the small parts should be fused together with the larger part to make it simpler in the making. An adaptive design can be created in order change the complexity and merge the parts into a single part or more larger parts rather than the one part and many small parts.
Economic Factor: The change in the amount of parts will cause the production cost decrease. If the same material of plastic is used in the manufacturing process then the time to manufacture the components for the firing mechanism will be decreased. With the amount of plastic decreasing, the production time decreasing, and the amount parts and complexity of those parts decreasing there will be a sure decrease in the cost.
Environmental Factor: Plastic use is always an issue when it comes to redesign. In this case the use of plastic would decrease and that would be better for the environment. End of life waste has been a concern with consumer products such as Nerf guns for years. A redesign of this nature would reduce the space it would take up in a landfill and with a recycling program could be refurbished and reused.
Second Revision
When dissecting the Speedload Six and the vortex Vigilon we found that both guns were very different. The Speedload six was a very simple gun and the internal components was mainly held together by the casing. The Vigilon was the exact opposite. It was much more complicated than we thought it was going be. There were a lot of different internal components and they were all screwed to one another as well as screwed to the casing of the gun. The one advantage to the way the Vigilon was put together is that the gun had a very smooth loading motion, and the dart shot farther and faster. The Speedload six had a very rough loading motion and its range was pathetic compared to the Vigilons.To make the Speedload Six better there are a few changes we would propose to the internal components:
- Separate the spring and the chamber components
- Create a secured connection between the two components
- Have the components secured down to the casing as well as each other
We want to take what makes the Vigilon’s internal components work well together and translate that to the Speedload Six. For the change we feel that if we separate the spring component from the chamber and loading component we can make gun more efficient. We want to make this change because it would hopefully fix the rough loading problem that the Speedload six has. It would also increase the quality of the gun. If were to make the first change we would have to have a secure connection between the two components so that they stay together and work in unison. We want to secure then secure the components to the casing because another problem we identified when we opened up the gun was the fact that a lot of the internal components were loose. If we secure them to the casing then more of the potential energy can be converted directly to the dart rather than being lost because of the loose connection between the components and the gun.
Making these changes would alter a couple of the four factors.
Economic Factor: Economically it may cost a little more manufacture. You would have to change the molds for the parts and pay people to re-design the gun. It shouldn’t cost more for the consumer because the Vigilon was the same price as the Speedload six and the Vigilon had way more parts.
Societal Factor: Safety would be an issue with the proposed changes. If the gun is more efficient then the dart will shoot faster and farther and safety would have to examined a little more carefully. The maximum velocity a dart can have without injuring someone should be determined and the new velocity must remain safely under that velocity. The way the guns are viewed by the public will also change, if they shoot tooo fast and can be considered harmful then most people will view them as a weapon.
Environmental factor: The plastic use is always a factor. You may need to use a little bit more plastic to make this gun better and more efficient. Plus you would have to dispose of the old molds in and environmentally safe way. With the new mold design they could incorporate a grey water cooling system or a mold that produces less scrap.
Third Revision
One of our design changes for the Speed Load Six would be a redesign of the integrated clip. The main function of the integrated clip leads to the name of the gun which is speed loading. The gun is designed for the Nerf Dart tag and the integrated clip is so you can load your darts on the go. We as a group feel that redesigning the clip would increase the quality and function of the gun. The design changes we are proposing are:
- Make the clip removable
- Make the removable clip act as an integrated clip while attached to the gun.
This redesign would be a variant design and be innovative to the Nerf product line. Nerf currently has removable clip models and integrated clip models, but not an all in one. Although the redesign would require a change to the clip, the overall function of the gun would not change but rather be expanded.
Economic factors: The redesign would have a high initial cost due to man hours for the redesign, product testing and marketing. However the revenue we feel Nerf can generate from interchangeable integrated clips would overcome the initial cost of redesign and generate profit without having to invent new technology or design a whole new model. Being able to produce clips for the speed six that are interchangeable can be eventually be extended to other models and reduce production cost due to specialization and reduction in the variations in parts. The interchangeable clips could be sold separately which will make them a complementary product to the gun itself, which in economic terms allows each product to generate demand for each other.
Environmental Factor: An environmental impact would be the excess plastic used to make the removable clip, and the excess plastic and cardboard required to package the clips individually. These removable clips would have a negative impact on the environment and may cause damage to the companies reputation. However if they were to design the new clips to use recycled plastic then they could actually reduce their impact on the environment . Increase fuel consumption for the transportation of these clips would also be a factor.
Gate 4: Explanation
Project Management: Critical Project Review
- Our group has been working on our time management which has been one of our greatest issues. Although we have increased our communication we still need to plan meeting times better and coordinate our schedules. The team manager has not taken an active role in setting up meeting times which means our group as a whole is taking a leadership role and pushing the groups work ethic in the right direction. Our team has been lacking in technical communications in our written reports and gates, even though the engineering side of the reports are solid. We have sought out help from the instructors, and have been told to use more direct language and answer the specific questions asked. We plan to utilize individuals outside of the group and teaching assistants, in order to identify the parts of our reports that lack clarity or succinct technical communication. We plan to meet multiple times before the final gate is due and work on our own in our free time in order to deal with timing issues.
Product Archaeology: Product Explanation
Difficulty Scale
In order to define a meaningful scale we need to develop a relative scale with respect to Nerf guns on how difficult it is to reassemble them. There are three levels of difficulty that we defined based on our experience while reassembling the guns.
1) The least difficulty relatively. Reassembly only requires an alignment of the part in combination with the other part it may connect to. No tools were required and very little force and manipulation was required.
2) Medium difficulty relatively. Reassembly required connecting the part to 2 or more other parts and required some force and manipulation. Tools may be required.
3) Hardest difficulty relatively. Reassembly required reconnecting the part to multiple other parts and possibly fastening down that part in order to maintain its position. These parts require force to snap them or screw them into place, such as loading a high tension spring or a part that requires forcing an inclined plane into a clip slot.
Product Reassembly
Table 1: Speed Load 6 Reassembly
| Step Number | Picture | Description | Difficulty | Original Assembly | Challenges |
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| 1 |  |
In this step the barrel was reassembled and placed into casing. We took the cap and the barrel and put it on the slide. Next we put one end of the spring on the slide and one end in the spring cap. No screws were necessary to put these parts together. Lastly we placed the finished part into the case which also required no screws. No tools required. | 1 | The product was originally assembled by a machine. | This part wasn't too challenging. Some challenges we faced included getting the parts to fit together correctly. Since the parts weren't screwed together getting them to stay in the correct position was a little bit challenging. |
| 2 |  |
The internal Magazine Track was easy to reassemble. The spring was placed into groves that hold it in place. The slide was snapped into place. The mechanism that helps load the gun was snapped into place then screwed onto the casing using a screwdriver. | 2 | Hands were used to assemble this originally. | Some challenges we faced here was snapping the slide back into the track. This step wasn't hard and not many challenges were faced. |
| 3 |  |
The internal clip was screwed back onto the casing using a screwdriver. This was just a plastic covering. | 2 | A machine was used to assemble this in a factory. | Screwing the case on posed no challenges. |
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The trigger mechanism was put into place. The trigger fit right onto the case. The trigger spring was attached to the case and the trigger. The firing mechanism, which is the long blue piece above the trigger,was placed into the case just like the trigger. No tools required. | 1 | A machine was used to assemble the trigger in the gun casing as shown. | A big challenge with this step was connecting the blue trigger mechanism to the trigger and the barrel. This part is not screwed down so keeping it in place was difficult. |
| 5 |  |
The main case was then screwed together using a screwdriver. The two halves were put together, one with the internal components, and one with the internal clip. | 1 | The screws were originally screwed in by a machine while originally assembled. | The only issue with this step was finding a screwdriver small enough to fit into the holes in the case. |
| 6 |  |
The loading mechanism was screwed together with a screwdriver. A metal slide piece was screwed in place then screws holding the two plastic pieces were screwed together. | 1 | The screws were originally screwed in by a machine while originally assembled. | This step posed no challenges. |
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All the final touches were put on the gun. The rest of the screws were put in. We test fired the gun to see if it worked, and made sure everything was buttoned up. No tools required. | 1 | Hands were used to do this originally just as something is tested before it is shipped. | No challenges were encountered at this point. |
- The assembly that we had to do was much different than the dis assembly because reassembling gun required us to un-clip parts that are intended to be snapped into place but not removed. Disassembling the gun is much more difficult not because certain connections were permanent,but rather meant to be permanent and not intended to be removed. When being assembled in a factory the gun goes together in a uniform fashion along an assembly line, however removing the parts required much more dexterity and was not engineered to be taken apart.
- The assembly of this Speedload 6 was very similar to the dis assembly of the gun for every part. The Speed Six was assembled with not permanent connections and required few fasteners which leads to a less intensive assembly and dis assembly.In our assembly process it can be seen that we did not follow the same reverse process. The order does not completely matter in that, some of the components do not interact directly with each other so it can be assembled in a different way than the dis assembly.
Table 2: Vortex Vigilon Reassembly
| Step Number | Picture | Description | Difficulty | Original Assembly | Challenges |
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| 1 |  |
The barrel and the spring (white piece) snap together. The barrel itself is one big piece along with the spring. No tools required. | 1 | This was originally assembled by a machine. | Snapping the spring into place posed no challenges. |
| 2 |  |
We continued to assemble the internal components by screwing on the trigger, the trigger bracket to the ammo holder. We screwed on the spinner device to the barrel. Lastly we screwed the ammo holder and trigger to the barrel. This required the use of a screwdriver. We had to fit the component to the barrel and secure them to the barrel. | 3 | This was assembled using a machine at first assembling. | This step posed many challenges. Our first challenge was finding where each part was fit together. There were a lot of small parts when we took it apart we lacked some details. Another challenge was finding where all the screw went. There were silver and black screws used on the internal components. This was a very difficult step. |
| 3 |  |
In this step we screwed down the internal components onto the case using a screwdriver. We also had to put on the front plastic covering. This just added aesthetics of the gun. We also put the spring and an ammo piece into the ammo holder.This didn't require any screws we just had to connect the spring to the case. | 3 | This was done by a machine during original assembly. | This step had a lot of challenges. Finding out where the screws go to screw down the internal components was difficult. There were a lot of hidden spots where screws went. Since black and silver screws were used in this step, this step was quite difficult. |
| 4 |  |
In this step we put the ammo holder cover on it and the release mechanism for the ammo holder cover. The release mechanism is the red piece above the trigger in figure 4. To put in the release mechanism we had to screw the piece down on the inside of the case using a screwdriver. The ammo holder cover was just placed in a track. | 2 | This was done using a machine in the factory. | The only difficulty with this step was screwing on the release lever was difficult once the internal components were in. Snapping the ammo door wasn't easy as well. It proved difficult to put in the track and make it slide. |
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To put the cocking mechanism on the gun we had to screw them together and make sure the pieces are on the track. We used a screwdriver to do this. | 1 | This was done by machinery. | This step posed no challenges. |
- When assembling the Vigilon Vortex it was found to be much harder than the actual disassemble of the gun. The whole gun was assembled in a factory and it was not meant to be taken apart. This could pose the problems for reassembling of the gun.
- The assembling and disassembling were different in the processes due to the complications of the gun. There were small pieces that we could not have control over and were hard to find the places in which they belonged.
Design Revisions: System Level
The firing mechanism in the Speed Six should be replaced with the firing mechanism from the vortex; as shown as figure 1. As a system level revision the change of mechanisms would require a reconfiguration of the ammunition and barrel but I will focus on the firing mechanisms effect. The change in mechanism would increase the performance of the gun by propelling the dart further at a faster rate of speed. By removing the excess material required for a pneumatic system, the lever arm firing system will reduce plastic which will reduce the negative environmental impact. The main factor that would drive this revision would be economic. If the new mechanism were used it would be heavily advertised along with the redesigned ammunition in order to generate interest and sales. The novelty of a mechanical firing mechanism combined with a new dart type would drive sales and eventual profits. Since the new mechanism can be a scaled version of the Vortex mechanism it can be applied cheaply and even cut production cost due to its relative simplicity in comparison to the pneumatic assembly that is currently used. By increasing the muzzle velocity the target demographic would be very excited and interested in the redesigned model. The main concern of most Nerf consumers is the performance of the gun, especially the velocity and distance it can shoot, which would both be improved by the redesign. By incorporating an existing mechanism from a similarly priced model the price point of the Speed Six could be held constant.
One design revision that we would make to the Nerf Speed Six is to make the barrel one solid piece of plastic with openings in it to accommodate the new firing mechanism. There would be a slot in the bottom to allow the firing mechanism to come up and contact the dart. Another opening would be in the side to allow the dart to be put in the barrel and be fired. This would address an environmental concern with the reduced use of plastic and molds needed to make the barrel. This would also be an economic concern of price, the reduced plastic and manufacturing time would make it cheaper to produce and can bring down the overall price of the gun. The gun would still be focused at the same audience and aim for the same price point.
The ammunition would be revised by taking the classic Nerf dart or Dart Tag Dart (shown in Figure 3) and redesign the composition of the projectile while maintaining the classically identifiable look. The new dart would be made of a dense foam to make it more stiff and have a solid plastic core to give it the structural stability necessary to take the forces of the firing mechanisms lever arm. This redesign would be required to accept the new forces exerted on the dart and removal of the existing pneumatic mechanism. The dart would have longer flight times and velocity which will allow for further shooting of the dart. The new design revision would create competition within the Nerf line and generate more sales. By creating competition within their target demographic there would be a main economic result of increased sales and profit. By maintaining the price point for the Nerf guns and redesigning the ammunition, the company would be able to market this new gun competitively with their new Vortex line.
Gate 5: Delivery
Coming Soon to a wiki near you...
