what we *really* need for markings...

all this talk about decals and lettering and dry-transfers, etc...

...resurected an idea i've had for years...

I understand some of the mechanics and most of the electronics and I **know** it is do-able (possibly even easily)....

Someone with a few printers, lots of time and some engineering under thier belt should work on this...

an inkjet (or laserjet) printer where you slip a body tube onto a mandrel instead of loading paper into a hopper.

Just use your favorite CAD tool to draw up your body pattern (base color, fin lines and all) and print the bloody thing right onto the body tube! White body tubes a must unless you make this contraption with ALPS printers.

but just IMAGINE what you could do!

A secondary, but related item would be the ability to print right onto sealed fins and nose cones as well.

technologically, it's *nothing*. No new tech, no new tools. Just modifying existing devices with existing technology for a specific function.

I doubt if you would sell many, but I would certainly buy one! LOL

I ought to just make the time and *build* one, but *time* is not my friend at the moment...
jim

HMMM,

No decals to cut out...no decal water, is it too warm is it too cold.

No pealing the sticky crappy decals that nobody really likes ...fingerprints under the clear (so the BATF will be able to tell what hobby terrorist built that deadly weapon!)

No decal setting solution...no broken wrinkled decals...no decals yellowing in a year.

What's the fun in that?

sandman

I think the place to start would not be with a printer, but a PLOTTER. I remember my high school had a plotter for the then-new CAD class, on the once-new i286's

You could slot the BT's on a spindle, tell the plotter "yeah, it's a roll of paper but it's only 28% full so it's exactly a BT-55's diameter" or whatever, set your image size to width = BT length, height = BT circumference, and, well... go.

The plotter we had handled 36" wide rolls of paper if I recall correctly, which would handle body tube lengths for almost any model rocket application.

And the only parts you'd need to modify the plotter would be:
a) spindles correctly sized to each size body tube you wish to draw on
b) attachments so the spindles will connect to the plotter the same way a paper spool would

OR... make the same kind of conversions to a modern "large format" printer, which seems to be today's version, where -- drumroll please -- you print onto a 24, 36, 42 or 60 inch roll from an inkjet.

Originally posted by jflis
Someone with a few printers, lots of time and some engineering under thier belt should work on this...

Click to expand...

This sounds wonderful..... so who is an engineer in our group?

I once rode on a train... oh. not that kind of engineer. Sorry.

Another, similar approach would be to make a body tube wrap with full markings and everything. Obviously this wouldn't work on odd shapes like nose cones, but it is an idea.

Alternatively, you could roll your own body tube. I recall there
used to be a rocket kit on the market that required that
you roll your own body tube from the material and instructions
included in the kit. You would need software to adjust your
image to break apart in the right places so that they match up
when rolled. Then you print it out while your material is still
flat, separate along the perforations, and roll your own.

Whacky!

Sounds like Jim's Midnight Express, to me. There are a few paper models of rockets on the net that use this approach too.

Will

you may be refering to the Estes Tech-pack Rocket kit .you roll your own tube.It's availiable in the Estes educater series

yep, very familiar with printing body tube patterns and either cutting/rolling them into body tubes, or design them to be printed on lable paper then used as a body wrap. Reference the FlisKits Midnight Express rocket kit and A.C.M.E. Spitfire body wraps in the Free Download area of our site.

i'm thinking more of a "new method to paint conventional rockets" sort of thing. I have some of the engineering background to do this, just not the time...

would be a hoot of a device though, extra cool if you could get it to do odd shapes like nose cones and fins too

Originally posted by jflis
would be a hoot of a device though, extra cool if you could get it to do odd shapes like nose cones and fins too

Click to expand...

And ACME Spitfires!!