This week, our first assignment was to head out and find a toy of our liking, and take it apart. Initially, my mind was racing because I wasn’t too sure about toy I would choose. I wanted something that didn’t have any electronic parts, that’s for sure. What I was hoping to find was a toy that worked purely off of the mechanical parts it was comprised of. I went over to the local 5 Below and spent what felt almost like an hour in the store, trying to pick something out. Initially, I was going to pick a Beyblade (a childhood classic), but unfortunately the launcher part of the toy was riveted. So I settled for the next best thing: a nerf gun.
The nerf gun turned out to be good choice. It has no electrical components and is simple enough to under stand. Load the gun with a “bullet”, pull the mechanism to complete loading the gun and prepare the trigger, aim, fire. Easy stuff. I used to play with toys like this all the time when I was a kid. It brigns back a lot of fond memories.
Nerf Action!
Hazarding a guess, based on how the gun works, I would say that the inside is most likely comprised of a series of springs and a simple lock mechanism to keep the gun from misfiring and help it work as intended. What is clear is that the trigger does not offer any resistance or firing mechanics unless it is locked in place by pulling the handle on the “hammer” at the back of the gun. The sensation of the trigger can be described as feeling “loose” when pulled without the locking mechanism. But once locked, there’s a great deal more resistance. I would argue that there is also something on the inside that works in conjunction with the lock mechanism and springs that pushes the bullet out the barrel once fired.
The Nerf Gun was very easy to take apart. Both halves of the body are held together by a set of 5 screws that are affixed along the handle and the main body of the gun. The gun is built up of: