Estes #1916 MX Missile project

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robnee

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Thought I would take some time to post some photos of the MX Missile project I am working on. I'm modeling all of the plastic parts from this kit in Open SCAD for 3d printing. Some photos of the parts are below. They consist of the fin unit, lock ring and display nozzle. This kit had a removable fin unit that used a bayonet type mount to attach for flight but came off and was replaced with a display nozzle for scale appearance. I'm still working on the nose cone and hope to post the whole thing to Thingiverse soon. Since the Gemini Titan and Titan II kits shared similar parts I intend to do those as well.

Plans are here: https://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/est1916.htm

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how much clean up, if any, was required to get the parts to look this good? Our 3D printer at work, MakerBot XL, requires a lot of clean up.
 
how much clean up, if any, was required to get the parts to look this good? Our 3D printer at work, MakerBot XL, requires a lot of clean up.

The fin unit requires the most. Some require none. The fin unit prints with pillar supports that need to be removed and because the fins are thin and unsupported through part of the print show small ripples. They could use some filling but I probably won't because the unit only clips on for flight. It comes off for display. I drew the parts with optimal printing in mind. Some of the parts that were originally single units in the kit are broken up. That helps. The mechanical parts need a tiny bit of work to operate smoothly.

I use a Printrbot Metal Simple. Once tweaked and calibrated the prints are very nice and smooth.

I have a tiny bit of tweaking left to do before I post the parts files.
 
2014-08-10 21.05.48.jpg

The PNC-60MX came out pretty good. The measurements are approximate. I'll update them once I get the exact measurements. Ought to have this all posted in a couple of days.
 
So, I just posted all of the design and STL files for the Estes MX Missile #1916 to Thingiverse.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:427688

The parts allow you to recreate this kit. It's pretty neat. There is a lock ring that glues to the base of the rocket and the removable fin unit (the scale model has no fins) attaches to the lock ring using a bayonet style mount.

Check it out and let me know what you guys think!
 
Does anybody want to make a set for me? I don't have access to a 3d printer. Just send me a quote.

Thanks!
Brandon
 
Would be nice if they could be printed out of clear plastic.
 
I've tried printing the parts out of natural (clear) PLA. The problem is that the surface finish is polished so the fins are optically clear. I'm probably going to design an alternate version with grooves to hold the fins. Then, the fins could be make out of Lexan and glued to the body of the fin unit. This would improve the way the rocket looks when prepped for flight. It would also make the unit easier to print.

I'll give it a try and post a design picture here for people to comment on.

Rob
 
Something like this:

FinUnit.jpg

This is what it looks like printed in natural PLA with a single Lexan fin as compared to the part printed whole in white PLA.

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Assembled unit in clear PLA with Lexan fins.

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Here's the model finished with 3D printed parts. The nose cone was painted with 4 coats or sandable primer and sanded between coats to eliminate the layer lines. Not much more work than finishing a balsa cone. The display nozzle was left rough because I felt it looked OK that way. The fin unit uses lexan fins for better clarity. I'm pretty happy the way it turned out. Parts are on Thingiverse.

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