launch rail questions

I have seen the extruded Al launch rails, the square ones shaped like an x for use with rod buttons. Is this an extrusion that is available for uses other than launching rockets? or something that is made up just for the rocket community.

it is a common extrusion. Check out https://www.8020.net/Solution-1.asp for some examples of how it can be used.

kj

80/20 inc. 1010 & 1515 rails are modular framing that we have adopted as launch rails.

They are standard aluminum T-slot extrusions used world-wide for industrial framing applications in both inch and metric dimensions.

Metric sizes include 10mm x 10 mm aka "MakerBeam", 15 mm x 15 mm aka "OpenBeam", 20 mm x 20 mm aka mini rail using M5 screws, and 25 mm x 25 mm using 6 mm rail buttons.

Some clubs have some of these rails. All of these rails are stiffer then 1/4" rods so they are gaining favor in some clubs but are by no means universally used.

American sizes include 1" x 1" aka 1010 rail (the "standard" launch rail using 1/4" rail buttons) and 1.5" x 1.5" aka 1515 rail (the "large" launch rail using 5/16" rail buttons).

Most clubs have 1010 and 1515 rails for their high power pads.

Bob

FWIW - this is how this type of beam is typically used in circles that don't involve rocketry:


This is one of the stations on the assembly line in the facility I work in. You can see that the beams are used in a number of ways - the structure of the station itself, to support various fixtures and vision optics, to mount the computer, etc. You also see it turn up in trade show displays, office furniture, etc. That's sort of the whole point - its highly modular, so you can build all sorts of things from it. I'm tempted to use some to build a rocket rack/stand, similar to what people do with PVC. It won't be as cheap, but it would be adaptable and would have a sort of built-in pun to the design...

This is an example of a transportable self-contained PSI FAST-1(TM) portable Low Earth Orbit Simulation System that uses 8020 Brand Aluminum T-slot extrusions. The vertical posts are 2020 posts and the horizontal beams are 4020 beams. The system generates large area high flux 8 km/s orbital velocity atomic oxygen beams in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber to simulate the atmosphere impacting a satellite orbiting at 100-600 km. The system cost $350,000 in 2004 and has ~$3,000 of 80/20 aluminum extrusion.

I designed it to be transportable via truck or airplane and required extremely stable framework to maintain optical alignment of the high power pulsed CO2 laser to the vacuum chamber. It was transported 550 miles by Yellow Freight from my lab, rolled of the truck to our customer at UPITT, connected to a 208 volt, 30 amp 3-phase power line, a standard lab compressed air line, a cooling water line, and an UHP oxygen tank, and was operational without any optical adjustments of the high power CO2 laser and beam director in less than an hour after pumping down to 10-13 atmosphere!

Bob

Thanks for the replies, Im going to have to get a bunch of the T slot extrusions, It seems like a great prototyping quick assembly option for building all kinds of things.

I designed it to be transportable via truck or airplane and required extremely stable framework to maintain optical alignment of the high power pulsed CO2 laser to the vacuum chamber. It was transported 550 miles by Yellow Freight from my lab, rolled of the truck to our customer at UPITT, connected to a 208 volt, 30 amp 3-phase power line, a standard lab compressed air line, a cooling water line, and an UHP oxygen tank, and was operational without any optical adjustments of the high power CO2 laser and beam director in less than an hour after pumping down to 10-13 atmosphere!

Click to expand...

if thats not a testimonial for the system, i dont know what is. What kind of lab do you work in and what do you do if you dont mind my asking?

That 8020 is almost universally used in FIRST robotics to build the robots.

ffmurray said:

Thanks for the replies, Im going to have to get a bunch of the T slot extrusions, It seems like a great prototyping quick assembly option for building all kinds of things.


if thats not a testimonial for the system, i dont know what is. What kind of lab do you work in and what do you do if you dont mind my asking?

Click to expand...

I am a principal scientist at Physical Sciences Inc., a small, employee-owned R&D company with ~140 employees headquartered in Andover, MA. We're somewhat unique in that we can work on any type of interdisciplinary technical problem provided we can find a funding source to solve it.

Most of my work involves defense and aerospace problem solving. The FAST-1(TM) AO source, the heart of my LEO space simulation chambers like the one in the photo, is a fusion of our research in pulsed laser rocket propulsion research and space environment research. PSI was the principal research organization in laser rocket propulsion from the mid-70s to mid-80s. PSI developed the theory of pulsed laser rocket propulsion and conducted experiment demonstrations of a hydrogen propellant thruster with an Isp = 3000 seconds. We also modeled upper atmospheric and LEO nuclear effects and radiative processes and conducted laboratory simulation experiments for AFGL. When NASA "discovered" unexpected spacecraft degradation in LEO in the early days of the Shuttle, they issued a RFP for the development of a LEO simulation system that generated orbital velocity atom oxygen flows in the laboratory to simulate the on-orbit material degradation effects. Several dozen NASA and DoD contracts were issued but we were the only one that succeeded in providing an exact laboratory simulation for which we were granted US Patent 4894511 and dozens of papers and technical reports. (example https://iestjournal.org/doi/abs/10.17764/jiet.2.39.2.742777748hg58j77?journalCode=jiet.2) and I built, consulted and/or licensed all of the AO sources based on this patent. I built the one in the photo for the University of Pittsburgh under a USAF MURI (Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative).

Bob

Bob,
That is really interesting. That sounds like a very interesting job. I hope to, once I finish my schooling, to be able to do interesting problem solving like that.

bobkrech said:

They are standard aluminum T-slot extrusions used world-wide for industrial framing applications in both inch and metric dimensions.

Metric sizes include 10mm x 10 mm aka "MakerBeam", 15 mm x 15 mm aka "OpenBeam", 20 mm x 20 mm aka mini rail using M5 screws, and 25 mm x 25 mm using 6 mm rail buttons.

Some clubs have some of these rails. All of these rails are stiffer then 1/4" rods so they are gaining favor in some clubs but are by no means universally used.

American sizes include 1" x 1" aka 1010 rail (the "standard" launch rail using 1/4" rail buttons) and 1.5" x 1.5" aka 1515 rail (the "large" launch rail using 5/16" rail buttons).

Most clubs have 1010 and 1515 rails for their high power pads.

Bob

Click to expand...

This was a very useful explanation. Thanks Bob!