Gravitrax - reloadable cannon

The standard Gravitrax cannon only fires once. I wanted to play around with something that could be easily reset. Eventually, I may create a motorised version, but this is moderately fun on its own, and could lead to a new kind of game whereby the aim is to keep a ball (or balls) in motion for the longest time.

There are a few things that I realised in the process of making this. Choice and quality of magnets are important. I started with some cheap ones from Amazon and they broke very easily. First4Magnets (UK) are really good. I used 2 of 10mm x 2.5 N42. In order to get consistent results I needed to play around quite a bit (use of Blu Tack on ladders, careful adjustment of magnets, component stability in the base) and still think there is more to learn.

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvbWs1nMoAw