Thread: Air Cannon that shoots confetti?

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I've never built an air cannon before but I'm wondering if anyone has and tried shooting confetti out of it? I'm looking at building one for my halloween party, aiming it toward he ceiling and ka pow....

Any tips or thoughts would be helpful. (Including a how to) since I'm about to start searching.

I'm also looking to integrate with DMX

You just need to load the confetti in the exit tube. An air cannon is just a air tank with a valve that can release the air rapidly. Like a sprinkler valve. If you put the confetti in the tube that comes out of the valve you have your confetti cannon.

What I would do is make the tube removable and pre load tubes with confetti. That way you can rapid fire like a mortar. I would use O-Rings to create a tight fit for the tube. That way the tube will not pop off from the sudden pressure of the air cannon.

I have built many air cannons in the past few years using PVC and simple sprinkler valves from HD. They have one simple principal really, and that is to have one large volume of air (high or low pressure depending on the effect etc.) a sprinkler valve and a barrel. Thats really all you really need. Now for DMX control you'll just need a simple interface device that can give out a 12v or 24v signal (Besides theatrical control I'm not too familiar with DMX) but in my imagination thats all you would need. For a rapid or slow loading cannon you'll def need O-rings and clearly some way to have the barrel fastened tightly to the rest of the cannon. This makes everything soo much more difficult at this point. So you'll have to fab it on the fly to work.

A word of advice: If you plan on using sprinkler solenoid valves then make sure to go to HD or Lowe's and grab a few of them ASAP! They usually don't last much longer than June - July on the shelves.
Good Luck with the project and have fun!

very cool advice, thanks

PVC isn't an appropriate material for most air applications. Besides pressure specifications, PVC degrades - especially in sunlight.

To any unfamiliar - Use Caution