Rapid Fire Needler

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Revision as of 20:08, 30 November 2009

Executive Summary

Tracey - when report is finished

Market Analysis

Tracey - write summary here

Current Market

Currently, there are many products designed to simulate shooting a gun for play. These products include: NERF weapons, paintball, airsoft, water guns, laser tag, off-brand foam projectile weapons, cap guns, elastic launchers, net launcher, and other, small projectile toys. We researched these products to determine what features are currently available to users as commercial products, what designs have been patented, and what modifications users make to the out-of-box products. Below, is a summary of each product family is presented:

Nerf Weapons:

There is an incredible amount and variety of nerf weapons available. Just looking at the guns that shoot darts, there already exists a gun for just about every purpose. There are small guns, large guns, guns with massive ammo clips, battery powered guns, two in one guns, guns with electronic games/scorekeeping, and guns with interchangable parts. See this page for all the guns listed on Nerf's website. Because of the shear number of Nerf guns that already exist, it is clear that they have filled their own niche very well. A better product might be able to distinguish itself by appealing to a different age group, or by having a very unique design (or combinations of designs).

Here is one ranking of the ten best Nerf guns currently and previously marketed.

Paint Ball Guns:

The sport of paint balling is played by using marble size plastic balls filled paint as the ammunition. The balls are shot with the power of a compressed air tank and are designed to break and spill paint on the target upon impact. With a high enough velocity they leave welts on bare skin, hence players will often wear protective clothing and are required to wear protective face masks and goggles. The paint gives a clear indicator of a hit target during the game play and is a non-toxic and water-soluble for safety and easy clean-up. Referees are presents during the game to unsure the rules are upheld. The games are held primarily outdoors in prepared playing fields with various obstacles and cover. The sport of paint balling is pretty ubiquitous throughout the US and many other countries. There are professional teams, annual tournaments, and high performance guns for the more enthusiastic players. Despite being a potentially painful pastime paintball is statistically the lowest injury sport recorded by the AMERICAN SPORTS DATA, INC in 2003. It should be noted that paint ball is a significantly more expensive past time than playing with Nerf guns. Paint Ball guns can be purchased for anywhere between $50 and $5000, however most people who have played paintball will rent. A day of skirmisches will run the consumer $50 to $100 for a gun, a gas canister, several hundred rounds, and protective equipment. More information about the sport itself can be found under the Paintball Wikipedia entry.

Air Soft Guns:

Air Soft weapons have plastic BB's as ammunition and use compressed air, batteries, or air-spring energy for propulsion. The majority of the guns are replica models of military issued weapons. They have a very convincing appearance of being a real gun barring an orange plug on the barrel (in ordinance with US Federal Regulation). In order to not alarm authorities the guns must be transported discretely; additionally there have been reports of people using Airsoft guns to commit crimes or being shot down while holding an airsoft replica gun. Consumers typically use the guns on targets or in organized live action role playing games and skirmishes. Score is kept during the game based on the honor system and safety goggles must be worn during game play. The police and military also use the guns in training programs since they look very similar to and are weighted about the same as real guns. Airsoft is significantly more expensive than Nerf and about on par with paintball with prices for guns between $30 and $4000. Ammo costs around $20 for 500 BBs.

Supersoakers and Other Water Guns:

These guns shoot out water at their target. They require pumping in order to build up water pressure for firing. They are played with outdoors in warm weather only. There are no specific rules and minimal safety precautions. Better guns can shoot up to 39 feet. They cost anywhere from $5 to $300.

Laser Tag:

There is no projectile with this sport. The player will aim at targets and other players with an LED 'laser' and fire with a infrared signal. The signal is picked up by the other player's vest or the target's receiver as a hit. The score is kept electronically by the computers' embedded software. Rules are also enforced with the software. For example there is no friendly fire counted in the score or firing is revoked from a player after he/she is 'killed'. Laser tag is usually played indoors and has many options for customizing the game rules and game scenario. Laser Tag is also used by the police and military for training exercises. More about Laser Tag.

Off-Brand Foam Projectile Guns:

As a cheaper alternative to buying a true Nerf Gun a consumer might seek an off brand Nerf Gun. They manufacture toy guns very similar in concept, appearance, and function to Nerf. It is possible that there are differences in performance between off-brand and Nerf guns including range, power, aesthetic appeal, features, and quality. Foam dart gun enthusiasts will also modify these off brand Nerf guns. One manufacturer of foam dart shooting guns is Buzz Bee Toys. In contrast to guns such as Buzz Bee's, Nerf is known for building its guns out of a more durable plastic.

Cap Gun:

There are no projectiles with this gun, there is only a pop noise sounded upon pulling the trigger. These guns are usually modeled after real guns, but aren't exact replicas and must have the orange plug in the barrel.

Elastic Launchers:

These types of projectile toys use an elastic band to hurl baseball size ammunition at the target. They can launch almost anything from water balloons to snow balls to eggs. Example water balloon launcher.

Net Launchers:

This product fulfills a much smaller niche than the rest. It launches a net at it's target. net launcher net launcher link 1 Net launcher link 2.

Other Guns and Launchers:

Aside from the types of guns mentioned above this a large number of miscellaneous guns and launchers that shot all kinds of projectiles. Follow this link to attain a feel for the variety.

Patents:

There are currently 40 active patents for projectile launching toys covering both functional mechanisms and ornamental designs. These patents cover the following mechanisms:

• Hydrodynamic, hand-launched projectiles
• Squirt guns
• Cap gun
• Toy slingshot
• Crank actuated firing
• Level actuated firing
• Compressed air firing, various accompanying air compressing mechanisms
• Compressed member firing, various associated configurations using compressed member firing
• Fly wheel launching
• Leaf spring launching
• Turbine launching
• Safety mechanisms for limiting pressure/shot distance
• Multiple shot firing mechanisms
• 2-in-1 gun?
• Remote controlled gun
  

Internet Community and Nerf Gun Modification:

The are many Nerf enthusiasts who modify their Nerf weapons, the majority of them do it in the following ways:

• Stock springs are replaced or augmented by stronger springs
• Rubber seals in plunger systems are replaced and lubricated
• Air restrictors are removed
• Stock barrels are replaced with PVC or brass/copper barrels
• Making "stefans" (ammunition similar to micro-darts but hand made from insulating tube)
• Plugging the over-pressure valve in pressure powered guns

On the other hand, there are more serious "modders" who have built compressed nerf guns from spare parts like PVC pipe, valves, bicycle pumps and old soda bottles. These make-shift weapons are usually powerful, but terribly ugly and unwieldy. There are also some enthusiasts who make their own weapons and put the time and energy needed to make them look good, like this man who made an M-16 style, spring powered gun that fires stefans:

Fast Action Rifle

There are no toys of the Needler on the market that fire any projectiles. There are a few enthusiasts who have made their own Needlers from scratch to be as realistic as possible, but no one has modified a projectile launcher to look like the Needler.

With the large community that supports modding Nerf blasters, a firm base of needs and desires are outlined in their published efforts. The two most common desires in the Nerf modding community are:

• Better Performance (more power, more accuracy, faster loading, faster firing, etc.)

• Better Aesthetics (more realistic, resembling a science fiction weapon, steampunk look, etc.)

Since these two motivations are the most common goals of the Nerf enthusiast, it more fully supports the choice to develop a toy blaster that resembles a common, popular fictional weapon and performs to a level higher than that of an off-the shelf Nerf Blaster.

Big Bad Bow Modifications

Nerf Big Bad Bow Mod - Shotgun/Speargun Mod

Nerf Big Bad Bow Mod - Shoots Smaller Ammo

Nerf Big Bad Bow Mod - Higher Rate Spring

Nerf Big Bad Bow Mod - Multiple Shot Barrel

Nerf Big Bad Bow Mod - Two Extra Pump Charged Barrels and a Breech Loader Instructions

Buzzsaw Modifications

Nerf Buzzsaw Mod - Motorized Flywheel

Market Opportunity

Write Summary

User Study

We conducted a user study of 3 Nerf products currently on the market to allow us to identify specific needs of users from the Nerf gun and weaknesses in current gun function and form from the perspective of the user. Based on feedback from the user study, we determined that the user needs are as follows:

• Long firing distance
• Rapid firing
• Accuracy
• Intuitive function
• Aesthetically interesting appearance
• Ergonomic design
• Retrievable ammunition

Below are summaries of user feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of each of the Nerf gun:

Big Bad Bow

General Feedback: People tended to initially think the gun was aesthetically appealing, but after using it were often disappointed with its performance.

User responses:
1) Sight was useful for lateral accuracy, not vertical
2) Large learning curve for an accurate shot
3) Not as exhilarating as other Nerf weapons
4) Ammo breaks easily
5) Operation is not immediately apparent, unclear on how to hold it
6) Limited range
7) Too large
8) Recognizable
9) Can not de-cock the gun without firing
11) User expected more function and interaction based on aesthetics; it's just a normal gun at its root
12) Retrieving ammo is a hassle

Rapid Fire 20

General feedback: This weapon was praised as the most enjoyable to use, but there were frequent complaints people had about getting the gun ready to fire.

User responses:
1) Loading process is tedious See a video of reloading the Rapid Fire 20
2) Good for shooting crowds.
3) 20 rounds in 2.2 sec is impressive, unique, and exciting for most people
4) Not very comfortable
5) No pressure gauge, no user feedback
6) Pumping become difficult after 20. Pumping force is too great for small child
7) Tube behind grip is annoying
8) Hard to aim, there is no sight
9) Pump feels flimsy
10) More satisfying to fire than other Nerf guns
11) User gets feeling of quality with firing performance
12) Picking up all the fired ammo is tedious
13) "Single Fire" mode does not function properly, fires 4 to 5 darts instead of 1. Requires some finesse to fire one shot.
14) Wasn't apparent at first that it needed to be pumped to fire
15) Not all of the darts fire; occasionally some get stuck or do not have enough pressure
16) Not aesthetically pleasing
17) Too violent for children according to some people
18) Unbalanced and cumbersome mass for a 7 year old
19) Pumping process is tedious

Buzz Saw

General feedback: This weapon is very different than a standard Nerf gun, and has a lot of annoying quirks because of it.

User Response:
1) Too much lag between trigger pull and ball firing
2) User loses time in steadying the gun after the winding phase (step 2) and before firing (step 4)
3) Sound is uncomfortable and prolonged for some users, but intimidating for the target
4) Sound does not accurately portray performance
5) User can vary projectile distance
6) Strength and experience limit gun performance
7) Runs out of ammunition quickly
8) “Buzz Saw” is a violent name
9) Cannot pump and fire at the same time. Balls get stuck in gun when one is pulling on light blue handle; The design includes a ball release switch to address this issue
10) Balls gets stuck in top of hopper
11) Gun does not shoot at an angle greater than about 45 degrees
12) The loading phase (step 6) is time consuming

Stakeholder Needs

Since our target market is older, smarter, and stronger than the target market for the Big Bad Bow, we have different weighting of stakeholders.

The primary stakeholder for the design of our toy gun is now the gun user. As described above, our user is a consumer 13 years of age and older. They will have the most interaction with the gun and will be more critical of it's shortcomings than the Big Bad Bow user. The needs of the user are that the gun

• Must be aesthetically pleasing
• Must not break easily or degrade in performance and appearance over time
• Must perform better than a Nerf gun in terms of distance and accuracy
• Must be a "cool" and peer-approved product
• Must be entertaining to use (ex. interactive function)
• Must be easy to load and require little maintenance

One secondary stakeholder would be the parent(s) or guardian(s) of this user. The parent will need to be able to go the store and buy our product. They also have to be concerned with the conduct of the user (adolescent) in the context of social situations. They will also be responsible for returning the product, arranging for maintenance, or buying more ammunition. If applicable, they might also help in product assembly. The needs of the parent are that the gun

• Must be easily accessible for purchase
• Must be relatively inexpensive
• Must be safe for the adolescent
• Must be safe for bystanders
• Must not appear threatening or stir up attention from authority figures

Another secondary stakeholder would be the retailer of the gun. They are responsible for handling, stocking, and selling the gun. The needs of the retailer are that the gun in packaging

• Must not require any special handling care
• Must be stackable since it will be a relatively inexpensive product
• Must have an attractive appear to be noticed in the store.

Design Competitiveness

Marketability

Cost & Profitability

Conclusions

Design Documentation

Ian with help from Natty

Assembly Drawings

Bill of Materials

House of Quality

Tracey

Design Analysis

Greg

DFMA

FMEA

DFE

Mechanical Analysis

Scott

Prototype Documentation

Team - when prototype is finished

Design Process

Natty

Team Member Contributions

State of Project