Large High Power Pad Build

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Crap the horizontal section of 2" channel was not set in the right spot in the pics above (in ref to question 2).
Here it is in the right spot....
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Question 1: The three 2x2 1/8" angles that run horizontally along the trailer frame (zoomed in picture 4), I am worried about weld distortion due to their thickness. Should I consider 3/16"?

Question 2: The pillow block or bearing mount sits atop 2" square tubing 1/8" thick. The will be reinforced with the horizontal channel running between the pillow block mounts. I do NOT plan on welding closed the ends of the square tubing with caps in order to access the nut to tighten down the blocks.

Personally, I'd just clamp the snot out of them and weld away. Lots of cheapo vise grips should keep it lined up.

I think the pillow blocks will be fine on the open tubing. If you're really worried about it, you could use some black pipe as a spacer and make the one bolt a lot longer, to go completely through the box tubing. That would allow you to weld closed the one end.
 
Personally, I'd just clamp the snot out of them and weld away. Lots of cheapo vise grips should keep it lined up.

I think the pillow blocks will be fine on the open tubing. If you're really worried about it, you could use some black pipe as a spacer and make the one bolt a lot longer, to go completely through the box tubing. That would allow you to weld closed the one end.

Thanks for the help! I'm thinking the same thing. Clamp the hell out of it and apply heat slowly and evenly to the joints.

I'm going to finish the last few cuts this weekend and will be welding this guy up next week. Very excited to be done with the launcher so I can focus on the prepping the rocket for Balls.
 
Yesterday I assembled my wireless launch controller. I wanted something that was essentially plug and play. I found a 12V wireless remote with theoretical 2000m range on eBay from the Chinese seller Carymart for $70. The device uses a rolling code to "encrypt" the signal. The battery is a small 12V/12amp from Amazon for $30 and the box is $10 from Amazon.

To increase safety I added a switch on the pad box to turn on the receiver. It is located 60ft from the pad and gives me ease of mind when connecting the leads.

The system has no continuity check but I use two igniters at the pad and this hasn't failed me yet.

Should work nicely this year.
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Took the day off to weld yesterday and I plan on finishing up after work today. All in all it's going together great!
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Thanks guys! Finished all the welding yesterday. I plan on getting everything assembled on Sunday. I will have lots of pictures then!
 
I'm not sure how I didn't notice before that you're using a 4'x4' trailer. How are the other pieces of truss going to store on it?
 
The additional section stores directly underneath the pivoted section. I will have pics soon!
 
Done-ish!!!! I turned this toy trailer into a beast!

Completed the outrigger mounting under headlamp. Tomorrow all of the steel goes to get powder coated red...I want nothing to do with painting this thing. The pictures were taken throughout the day. And I will take better ones once I do final assembly.
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So I may have mentioned rail warping in another thread and that's what I'm dealing with right now. The 1530 or 1.5x3" extrusion is dead nuts straight. However the welded aluminum truss does have some twist it appears on a 2m section (not surprising given all the welded cross members). Anyways when I fitted up the two 2m sections and added the rail I noticed that the aft rail clamp was not in line with the truss tubing whereas the other 5 were. I rotated the top truss and that lessened the gap but did not eliminate. If I clamped the aft clamp it warped the rail. So the fit is definitely sensitive to the clocking of the truss.

I will not settle for any warping to the rail. That will certainly not result in a perfectly vertical takeoff which is what I need this pad for.

Tonight I have three sections of truss and will try different combos to see which one is the straightest setup. Here's to hoping that such a combo exists.....heh.

PS. the raw steel/ welded parts all got dropped off for powder coating before work today.


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One of the trusses definitely has twist in it. It even rocks side to side when on a flat surface. If you buy from Global Truss beware of that... I'm guessing the risk of having twist increases with the length of the truss section. If you can buy these from a store so you can check em before you buy do so.

The other two sections link up nicely and the rail is looking spot on.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1471918856.643279.jpg
 
One of the trusses definitely has twist in it. It even rocks side to side when on a flat surface. If you buy from Global Truss beware of that... I'm guessing the risk of having twist increases with the length of the truss section. If you can buy these from a store so you can check em before you buy do so.

The other two sections link up nicely and the rail is looking spot on.

View attachment 299678

Return it- tell them it is defective.
 
I assembled the pad today for the last time. Not much is left to do. I have to make some wheel chalks and rebar stakes for the three trailer jacks and four guy wires.

Now I plan to shift my focus to getting the rocket (Workbench 2.0) ready for its second attempt at 100K+.

I'm really happy to have all the work done well in advance of the launch, past years have been some real sh*t-shows. This time I plan to arrive well rested and well prepared.

Here are the pics (in daylight and I slid a rocket on there for ya!):
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That looks awesome.

Now all you need is a hydraulic lift system to get it to vertical😎
 
That looks awesome.

Now all you need is a hydraulic lift system to get it to vertical😎

Thanks Mark! I do plan to add one in at some point, perhaps next summer. I'm just stoked to be self sufficient out there - especially during the high altitude waiver rush hour!
 
Very nice build Kip! Great workmanship, thanks for posting a build thread! Lots of great ideas which I hope to put into use.
 
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