Mini Catapult - Supports for the base

thingiverse

I created this awesome mini catapult by ATECH:http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:438870 The results were impressive, the catapult shot great distances with excellent accuracy, but I noticed that the thin base tended to fold up when the rubber bands were fully stretched (to achieve greater distances). I chose to add two supports on the side of the base, and I included diagonal slots on the bottom part of the rails to make room for the rubber bands, so that the whole catapult lies flat on the ground. UPDATE: I designed a better version (files marked with v2), with the sliding slots ending on both sides so that the supports would not slide backwards after shooting. I also deepened the slots for the rubber bands, so that the catapult will lie flat on the surface even if larger rubber bands are used. The catapult in the picture shows my other addition, a triggering mechanism:http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:865653 Instructions I printed this with very thin layers, 0.2mm, in PLA material. Once printed, simply slide the two rails on the sides of the base and under the rubber bands that go around the sides, making sure the diagonal slots stay at the bottom of the catapult. There's no need to disassemble the catapult to install the supports