Quadradent - a somewhat experimental build

[BABAR]

Without the Vent
It ain't a 'Dent

I must remain true to the Duct..........

If the vent fails, there’s definitely going to be a Dent……

 

[kuririn]

Without a Duct,
It's not the same Construct.

 

[neil_w]

Without a Duct,
It's not the same Construct.

With rear eject, the wrong effect.

 

[neil_w]

Ducted ejection?
Mandatory, even if
it all blows apart


(I'll stop now. )

 

[kuririn]

When gasses vent,
it's no accident.

 

[kuririn]

The slots are there,
cuz it's hip to be square.

 

[kuririn]

OK, I'll go to my room now.

 

[BABAR]

.

Ducted ejection?
Mandatory, even if
it all blows apart


(I'll stop now. )

am I the only one that sees the irony in automatically rejecting an “outside the box solution” for this particular vendor?

 

[les]

am I the only one that sees the irony in automatically rejecting an “outside the box solution” for this particular vendor?

Not "automatically". Just the goal of the build is to have a vented dent.
Eliminating the vent causes an automatic fail in meeting the goal

Just my $0.02 worth...

 

[ljwilley]

If this becomes a kit, I am TOTALLY buying one!!

 

[BABAR]

Not "automatically". Just the goal of the build is to have a vented dent.
Eliminating the vent causes an automatic fail in meeting the goal

Just my $0.02 worth...

Lol, perfect answer. One way or another you will have a vented dent!

If you move the vent tubes to the EDGE of the triangular body tube (so lateral corner of vent matches the straight edge of the body tube) does the give more “space” between the tubes to emphasize the internal nose pyramids and the “open” central area? It will not be “right-left” symmetrical but it will be radially symetric.

Could the vent tubes be wrapped with Monocote (heat gun needed) or Trim Monocote (no gun needed) to support/seal them?

 

[les]

If you move the vent tubes to the EDGE of the triangular body tube

BABAR - I think you meant this for the other thread. But it did give me an idea for this one.

If I interpreted your comment correctly, which I tried on the Quadradent, having the tubes moved over and having 4 did not really help much (depending on the angle)



But I did have a thought to have 4 tubes, but keeping things open. Basically, put 2 near a common corner


So I get my 4 tubes, but the visibility of 2 (except from the side)

THOUGHTS??

 

[Raythain]

I don’t think you have the parts, but I’d suggest considering 5 tubes. One central to a side, and then pairs at the opposite two corners. Keeps the Trident like appearance, and you could use 3 of the 5 to duct the ejection charge.

Gives you something sturdy, but with good sight lines. The only concern would be weight. How much to the mat board tubes weigh?

Additionally, what is the total area of your vent holes? If you’re worried about the two tube version getting blown apart, the slots could be significantly longer than the round tube version, since you have so much more contact area between the square tubes.

 

[neil_w]

BABAR - I think you meant this for the other thread. But it did give me an idea for this one.

If I interpreted your comment correctly, which I tried on the Quadradent, having the tubes moved over and having 4 did not really help much (depending on the angle)
View attachment 590945
View attachment 590946View attachment 590947

But I did have a thought to have 4 tubes, but keeping things open. Basically, put 2 near a common corner
View attachment 590948 View attachment 590949

So I get my 4 tubes, but the viability of 2 (except from the side)

THOUGHTS??

That’ll look more like a slightly weird Bident I’d imagine.

 

[BABAR]

Changing topics a bit, but you mentioned concerns that square or angle tubes would not be strong enough. This surprises me , especially if you add a paper or Monocote wrap.

But if more support needed, carbon fiber strips are fairly inexpensive, really strong, and don’t compromise much space.

 

[les]

Using foam board to hold things together. The nose cones can be easily seen. I did move the tubes from the edge by 0.1" to create a slight gap on the one side. And after all, this is a QUADradent!

 

[les]

Finally - a shot of all three.
And while I should be able to check TRF, I won't be able to touch the rocket itself for 3 weeks.

Back around 7/29...

 

[les]

I'm BACK!
An 11 day cruise of the inner banks in Alaska, followed by nearly a week in Seattle. Saw whales, eagles, bears, mountain goats, glaciers. Even caught a pix of some minor calving. More luck, but also related to my pix of rocket launches! Did go to the Museum of Flight in Seattle for a "pilgrimage" to the rocket model section (toured the rest of the museum as well).

Now to re-read this thread and figure out where I stopped and what's next........

 

[les]

Not much to show. Continued papering the long tubes.

With shifting the tubes over, I need to reposition the two lovely laser cut slots and then cut the two additional ones.

 

[les]

Reattached the cut piece to shift the hole. Technically, even the wide hole would be under the small tube, but there is not much spare.... You can see the mark when the small tube will mount. Not a lot between the original edge of the slot and the marking.

I also reinforced the "tab" with a layer of cardstock inside the tube

 

[les]

Worked on the motor section. Rick provided the appropriate centering rings. Using the real Trident design as a guide, I measured the positions for the rings. I installed the engine hook, block, and the multiple rings.


There is an overlap issue with the 3D nosecones that were supplied. Again, Rick genned up this kit using spare parts he had around. Easily remedied with a saw.

 

[les]

I lost something, besides my mind....
But now I am guaranteed to find it.

Some of the tubes I had not glued the end piece on, as shown below


I grabbed the bag with the end pieces, did one tube, and then the bag evaporated.

Now I don't have the cleanest, most organized shop, but I looked several times.
I finally decided after a few days to come with with an alternative.
Which is why I know that bag will now suddenly show up.........

 

[les]

I previously mentioned wrapping the nosecones. I created a fold-up wrap that I printed on card stock. The original folded up cones had to stop short of having a point. To add some strength I clipped the end of a toothpick to help fill the space



Repeated until there were 4 short, for the top, and 4 long, for the bottom, nose cones

 

[les]

I glued the NC onto one tube (neglected to get a photo - maybe the next one)

I papered the fins


Marked fin placement


Stripped my added paper


Glued on a fin and used some guides to ensure it was straight. All of my normal fin jigs will not work with square tubes....


Presenting the first tube. I still need to fillet the fin and putty up the NC/tube joints.
And of course do the other 3...

 

[les]

Now have 4 long tubes. Still need to fillet the fins

 

[les]

I attached the large, 3D printed NC to the bottom of the top "passenger" section using 15 min epoxy.
I attache the balsa NC to the top of the "motor" section using wood glue.

I did put a few layers of glue over the bottom of the cone since it takes a beating having the ejection charge hit it "full in the face". You can see the glue through the slot if you look closely.



Overall status - have 4 long skinny tubes, with NC on both ends, slots, Lower, motor section, and Upper, passenger section. Just a little more clean up, some masking, and initial paint

 

[les]

Masked the inner parts, and started priming

 

[les]

What was grey primer is now white gloss...



I could have sworn I took a pix with the masking removed, but it is not on my phone.

I made some foam board alignment jigs, but still had a bit of an issue getting things aligned. so I modified the jigs and used some angle irons and some clamps. To give me sufficient working time I used 30min epoxy, Only one tube is actually glued - the other is in place to help insure alignment. Here is a shot of my Rube Goldberg monstrosity. Both the top and bottom tubes were glued at the same time.

 

[neil_w]

Jigging this rocket (and any Trident-like rocket) for accurate assembly seems critical. I wish I could remember how I did mine when I was a kid... certainly there were no jigs in those days (I think?) I think I got it all pretty straight and clean but can't for the life of me remember how.

 

[les]

I recall just using a flat surface with both tubes laying down next to each other. Carefully rotating and moving forward/back to get it aligned (at least for the first tube)...