← Back to Projects

ZOM-BLITERATOR

Custom Nerf Rival Blaster · Human vs. Zombies Club, CU Boulder

Overview

A fully custom Nerf Rival blaster designed to dominate CU Boulder HvZ events. Dual flywheel with air-powered feeding achieves 20 rounds per second. Compact and maneuverable in tight corridors.

Skills Used

OnshapeManual MachiningFlywheel DesignFFF 3D PrintingMicrocontrollerSystem Design

Results

  • Sustained 20 RPS with HIR Rival rounds
  • 70+ ft effective range
  • 500 round hopper capacity
  • Ready for Fall 2026 deployment
▼ Sub-Assemblies
The Blaster
Dual-stage flywheel

Brushed DC motors pushing 15A each with 10mm crush on Rival rounds. Custom-machined shaft adapters on manual lathe. Variable fire rate via N20 gear motor and potentiometer.

Dual FlywheelShaft AdaptersManual LatheN20 Motor
The Blower
Centrifugal feeder

Turbo-style impeller with conical air guide. Brushless drone motor controlled by ESP-32. Feeds rounds from hopper to flywheels at sustained 20 rps.

Brushless DCESP-32Impeller DesignRapid Iteration
The Storage
Hopper & Indexer

Laser-cut acrylic hopper holds ~500 rounds. Custom indexer prevents jamming. 12V motor feeds rounds single-file into the air pipeline.

Laser CuttingIndexer DesignJamming Prevention

Media Gallery

CAD
CAD model — motor shaft adapter
Render
Manufacturing drawing — motor shaft adapter
Detail
Blower feeder — centrifugal impeller housing
Assembly
Blaster barrel and flywheel assembly
Testing the flywheel system

Background & Motivation

Humans vs. Zombies is a campus-wide game where players stun zombies with foam rounds. Tank-class zombies require larger ammunition. The ZOM-BLITERATOR was built to counter hordes — 20 rps because the highest fire rate seen was ~10 rps.

Personal Development

This project pushed my skills across Onshape modeling, Arduino IDE programming, system-level design, manual machining, and physics for flywheel compression ratios. High-current wiring and component selection for extreme duty cycles were new challenges.

Challenges & Results

The blaster wasn't ready for Spring 2026, AC tubing kept kinking. After switching to septic tubing (Nerf hobbyist advice), the system works reliably. Now functionally complete for Fall 2026 deployment.

Next Steps

Planned Plants vs. Zombies Peashooter theme. Future upgrades: Mega round capability for Tank zombies, and an automatic vacuum reload system that collects loose rounds from the arena floor.