Please tell me if it is feasible to design a catapult that satisfies these requirements:
- must be able to launch a European¹ washing machine with a range of ~2 meters more than the distance from the street to the front window of Beko headquarters
- ideally it would accept an unmodified payload, which is a machine with the heavy stabliser bricks installed (all components working apart from the control board which is trapped in an error state because Beko will not disclose the secret unlock code)
- must be able to move fast after launch because the machine would ideally be re-used for the next set of requirements:
Nice to have:
- ability to launch a Zanussi refrigerator through the window of AEG headquarters with all components installed (the only thing broken is a cheap proprietary relay switch that is no longer produced)
I actually have two washing machines to return to Beko in this manner of projectile delivery system, both of which have an artificially shortened life due to designed obsolescence. They could perhaps both be launched together or in quick succession. I wonder if it might make more sense to use a crane-like design for a wrecking ball, which could perhaps be delivered multiple times. The complicated task would be releasing it at the righ moment on the final delivery.
¹ The signficance of European washing machines is they are much heavier due to stabilizer bricks. By contrast, American machines tend not to have them, although I’ve never lifted a front-load machine in the US so it may be more related to front-load vs. top load.
A trebuchet is a relatively simple machine that uses gravity and circular motion to launch an object a surprisingly long distance.
Basic plans can be found in many places including here:
https://www.diycraftsy.com/how-to-build-a-trebuchet/
You just might need to scale it up as the forces involved can be pretty large and it's just as likely to shake itself apart as actually launch anything of significant mass if you haven't built it strong enough.