Wooden or 3d printed ebay

[AtomicStorm]

Looking to find a lightweight, durable removable dual deployment electronics bay for a bt60 vapor. I was wondering what would be the lightest and most durable ebay kit. I like the smt designs bt60 kit, so maybe something like that.

 

[cwbullet]

More durable is aluminum or wood. Plastic prints are durable, but they are often more breakable. That being said, none will surevive a ballistic recovery.

 

[rharshberger]

Another important question what tools do you have and are you buying or building it?

 

[AtomicStorm]

Another important question what tools do you have and are you buying or building it?

I would be buying the 3d printed version and building the ply version

 

[JohnCoker]

I would be buying the 3d printed version and building the ply version

Well, then I say build your own out of plywood. A 3D printer is an excellent tool to add to your workshop, but a big advantage of it is that you can make your own custom parts.

As far as your original question: in terms of strength/weight, plywood will have common 3D printed parts beat. However, this should not be a part that experiences a lot of stress so that's probably not the most important consideration.

 

[AtomicStorm]

Yeh im not worried too much about either breaking. Im more concerned with the weight. I usually overbuild and over strengthen every project but i want to build this rocket with the least amount of ply and epoxy that i can to cut down on weight. So a basic thin 3d printed ebay i think would be perfect. Also the lighter this rocket is and the more sections that it breaks into, the more durable it will be because there isnt as much force on the parts.

 

[cerving]

You can make a very light sled out of basswood, or laminate wing skin ply over foam. Using nylon hardware saves weight, too. You don't need any metal at all for a LPR sled... you can run some 3mm Kevlar right through the coupler, epoxy it to the sled, and tie loops at each end to attach your shock cords.

 

[heada]

https://www.apogeerockets.com/Electronics_Payloads/Electronic_Bays
They're not the cheapest but there are some very good options for LPR av-bays. There is a BT-60 av-bay that will fit a 2S 400mAh and Eggtimer Quark very well. I converted a few Estes BT-60 based kits to full dual deploy with this av-bay. They also post step-by-step instructions on building and using the av-bay which is very helpful for someone who has never done electronics before.

 

[JohnCoker]

Yeh im not worried too much about either breaking. Im more concerned with the weight.

Birch plywood has a density of 0.68 g/cm³, which is much lower than PLA (1.24) or ABS (1.04). Plus a higher tensile strength so you can make your parts thinner.
https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/properties-table/
I love 3D printing, but plywood is a pretty awesome composite it must be said.

 

[DragonRocketry]

I like plywood.

 

[kevin.mcgee]

Looking to find a lightweight, durable removable dual deployment electronics bay for a bt60 vapor. I was wondering what would be the lightest and most durable ebay kit. I like the smt designs bt60 kit, so maybe something like that.

https://alwaysreadyrocketry.com/product/blue-tube-av-bays/

 

[sandeja1]

I like plywood.

View attachment 462139
View attachment 462140

That is very nice! Did you build that from scratch or was it assembled from a kit? If from a kit, where did you get it from please?

 

[AtomicStorm]

https://alwaysreadyrocketry.com/product/blue-tube-av-bays/

I didnt see a bt60 size bay but i could look at their picture and order the right parts to make one myself. Seeing that birch is lighter and more durable, i may end up using either that or making a fiberglass sled with birch bulk heads.

 

[AtomicStorm]

Are there any lighter options for rails besides steal? Seems like a ton of weight.

 

[DragonRocketry]

That is very nice! Did you build that from scratch or was it assembled from a kit? If from a kit, where did you get it from please?

These and few other sizes are my design and will be available as a kit soon.

 

[AtomicStorm]

The only thing that is making want to do a 3d printed bay is that i want to have a little 2"x1" door on the side of the rocket held on by magnets that i can pop off and underneath it will be a charge port for the lipo, and a arming switch with a led power indicator. I know its alot but thats my style.

 

[AtomicStorm]

These and few other sizes are my design and will be available as a kit soon.

I would love one of those!

 

[JohnCoker]

Are there any lighter options for rails besides steal? Seems like a ton of weight.

Aluminum and Nylon are available for threaded rod.

 

[AtomicStorm]

Aluminum and Nylon are available for threaded rod.

I was looking at some nylon earlier today but idk how small of rod they make and i dont know how strong it would be.

 

[JohnCoker]

I was looking at some nylon earlier today but idk how small of rod they make and i dont know how strong it would be.

I have used #8-32 Nylon rod for a 38mm ebay where space was at a premium. Note that two Nylon threaded rods to through the end caps.

 

[Dugway]

Here's my 3D printed Eggtimer setup. There's lots I can do in plastic to make things lighter that I would have a hard time doing with plywood. This is all nylon and it has worked very well thus far.

 

[Jowayen]

This is the sled I built for a 38mm tube. It is 3" long and weighs 2.5 oz not including the black powder.
I plan on using it to do drogueless DD in my 38mm MMT Big Daddy and in a more standard 3FN rocket with F & G motors going to 4,000 ft.

 

[AtomicStorm]

I have used #8-32 Nylon rod for a 38mm ebay where space was at a premium. Note that the end caps.

View attachment 462289

I want that

 

[AtomicStorm]

View attachment 462299

This is the sled I built for a 38mm tube. It is 3" long and weighs 2.5 oz not including the black powder.
I plan on using it to do drogueless DD in my 38mm MMT Big Daddy and in a more standard 3FN rocket with F & G motors going to 4,000 ft.

So you have the charge on the inside of the bay? Thats a cool design!

 

[AtomicStorm]

Here's my 3D printed Eggtimer setup. There's lots I can do in plastic to make things lighter that I would have a hard time doing with plywood. This is all nylon and it has worked very well thus far.

Is that a nc bay?

 

[Dugway]

Is that a nc bay?

It can be, it fits inside a 38mm tube. I glue a 1/2" piece of coupler inside the tube, kind of like a motor block, and then a thumbscrew holds the whole thing to the bulkhead, which can be the base of a nosecone or a dedicated electronics bay. I have versions of the aft piece for one or two thumbscrews, depending on the diameter of the airframe. I connect e-match/centrifuge vial/foam earplug ejection charges to tool-less terminal blocks in the aft piece:

 

[AtomicStorm]

It can be, it fits inside a 38mm tube. I glue a 1/2" piece of coupler inside the tube, kind of like a motor block, and then a thumbscrew holds the whole thing to the bulkhead, which can be the base of a nosecone or a dedicated electronics bay. I have versions of the aft piece for one or two thumbscrews, depending on the diameter of the airframe. I connect e-match/centrifuge vial/foam earplug ejection charges to tool-less terminal blocks in the aft piece:

Very clean design, is it easy to access and change out charges at the field?

 

[Dugway]

Very clean design, is it easy to access and change out charges at the field?

Sure. The charges can all be prepared before launch day and then just plugged in to the terminal block while loading the recovery laundry. I run the same design in all of my rockets greater than 54mm in diameter or so. Big airframes get two for redundancy.

 

[AtomicStorm]

I like the built in hole for the launch lug, one of my first rockets(amazon) had that, super quick build.

 

[cwbullet]

View attachment 462299

This is the sled I built for a 38mm tube. It is 3" long and weighs 2.5 oz not including the black powder.
I plan on using it to do drogueless DD in my 38mm MMT Big Daddy and in a more standard 3FN rocket with F & G motors going to 4,000 ft.

Do you want that 3D Printed?