Why aren't there many 18 mm composites?

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ScrapDaddy

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When it comes to 18mm composites as far as i know there are only 3 the D21, D24, and the D13. Why Is it that there are only 3?
 
The main reason being cost.

I can pack 2 6" O motor grains in the same time it takes me to pack 5 18mm loads. A manufacturer can get say $500 for 2 O grains versus $25 for 5 18mm.

Plus there just isn't a market for 18mm composites like there is i bigger sizes.

Ben
 
but it goes both ways you can get 18mm reloads at about half the cost of a 24mm reload and you can use adapters
 
but it goes both ways you can get 18mm reloads at about half the cost of a 24mm reload and you can use adapters

Well, it almost doesn't go the other way :D

Otherwise there would be alot more of them on the market. The cost return is just not there. No matter if you say more people would buy 18mm then 24mm the money just isn't there with the labor involved.

Ben
 
Don't forget the Apogee D10W. It's got -3, -5, and -7 delays.

There's also not a lot of market for 18mm composites because they're just too powerful for most 18mm rockets. A D21, or even a D13, will shred a lot of them, or launch them so high that they're very hard to recover. As Ben pointed out, there's no real reason to use them in a 24mm rocket when D12s are available and cheaper. They also can't be

The only major uses for them are Machbusters like yours, the occasional rocket (like my Rama) that is too heavy for a C6, and the occasional contest model.
 
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well actually D12's sell at about $12 dollars and a 3 pack of reloads for a 18/20 is $7.90 at valuerockets.com

Here is the chart
D12 D24/D13
1) $12 $38 (casing and motor)
2) $24 $46
3) $36 $54
4) $48 $62
5) $60 $70
6) $72 $78
7) $84 $86
8) $96 $94 THE RELOAD HAS BEAT THE D12!!!!!!
 
There can also be significant technical challenges in very small composite motors, including efficiency problems and ignition methods.

Also true; I assume these are why AT no longer sells B, C, and E 18mm loads...
 
Quest has no composetes and the ppl at quest are friendly they will allow a production lisinse
 
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well actually D12's sell at about $12 dollars and a 3 pack of reloads for a 18/20 is $7.90 at valuerockets.com

...but once I use my 40% off coupon at Micheal's......

Also, the first two online retailers I check sell D12 for less that $10.

I used a friend's 24/40 casing once.....to much of a PITA to use. Way to easy to get grease on the delay element. I can only imagine how much more difficult the 18/20 is to use.

I would bet that 18mm rockets are probably marketed more toward kids. One must be 18 to buy composite motors. https://tinyurl.com/ajh2f Not a good idea to have a product that most users can't even buy.


My philosophy is this....Anything I build that I would want will fly on a D, I would probably want to fly on a E. So I put a 29 MMT in it to keep my options open (F, G, etc).


Alan

NAR & TRA L2
 
...but once I use my 40% off coupon at Micheal's......

Also, the first two online retailers I check sell D12 for less that $10.

I used a friend's 24/40 casing once.....to much of a PITA to use. Way to easy to get grease on the delay element. I can only imagine how much more difficult the 18/20 is to use.

I would bet that 18mm rockets are probably marketed more toward kids. One must be 18 to buy composite motors. https://tinyurl.com/ajh2f Not a good idea to have a product that most users can't even buy.


My philosophy is this....Anything I build that I would want will fly on a D, I would probably want to fly on a E. So I put a 29 MMT in it to keep my options open (F, G, etc).


Alan

NAR & TRA L2

Ok fair enough price is almost equal. But in the long run you will save money, and you will get more power but the 18mm size is not only for kids it is a great area for 1)record setting 18mm has less drag then a 24mm 2) machbusting 3) most importently for people who are on a budget: D
 
Use a q2g2 igniter

In an 18mm motor, a twin-lead igniter like a Q2G2 can take up a significant portion of the throat area. This not only increases chamber pressure at startup, but also creates a significant pressure drop as the leads are ejected through the throat. Depending on the propellant composition, this pressure drop can trigger combustion instability, or even extinguish the motor.
 
In an 18mm motor, a twin-lead igniter like a Q2G2 can take up a significant portion of the throat area. This not only increases chamber pressure at startup, but also creates a significant pressure drop as the leads are ejected through the throat. Depending on the propellant composition, this pressure drop can trigger combustion instability, or even extinguish the motor.

I don't have the experience or the background to comment on this assertion. What I can assert is I get Copperheads to ignite the motor about 70% of the time. With the Q2G2, I am at 100%.
 
What I can assert is I get Copperheads to ignite the motor about 70% of the time. With the Q2G2, I am at 100%.

As I said, it depends on propellant composition and motor design. (We're very blessed with HTPB, from a combustion stability standpoint.) For different 18mm composite motors, things may (will) change. You may not even be able to fit an igniter through the throat of an 18mm APCP B motor. Longer 18mm motors become more workable from an igniter standpoint (cf. some of Rocketjunkie's designs, or Kosdon's 18mm G motors :cyclops:) since the throat diameter grows as well.

edit: Not to say that these challenges aren't insurmountable. They're a fun problem to solve. But a commercial manufacturer may not want to deal with the trouble, when there's money to be made elsewhere.
 
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As I said, it depends on propellant composition and motor design. (We're very blessed with HTPB, from a combustion stability standpoint.) For different 18mm composite motors, things may (will) change. You may not even be able to fit an igniter through the throat of an 18mm APCP B motor. Longer 18mm motors become more workable from an igniter standpoint (cf. some of Rocketjunkie's designs, or Kosdon's 18mm G motors :cyclops:) since the throat diameter grows as well.

edit: Not to say that these challenges aren't insurmountable. They're a fun problem to solve. But a commercial manufacturer may not want to deal with the trouble, when there's money to be made elsewhere.

Understood.
 
I was working at AeroTech when the 18mm RMS 'B' & 'C' reloads were cancelled.

As I was reviewing the sales data at that time, the 'B' & 'C' reloads had been ordered exactly ONCE by each of the hobby distributors/dealers. There had been no re-orders in over six months and no indications that there would be any orders.

I then made a presentation to the owners of AeroTech concerning this development and my recommendation was to discontinue these small reloads. My recommendation was accepted and as far as I know, AeroTech never received any flak over discontinuing the 'B' & 'C' reloads.

They just never sold enough to justify keeping them in production. :(
 
I was working at AeroTech when the 18mm RMS 'B' & 'C' reloads were cancelled.

As I was reviewing the sales data at that time, the 'B' & 'C' reloads had been ordered exactly ONCE by each of the hobby distributors/dealers. There had been no re-orders in over six months and no indications that there would be any orders.

I then made a presentation to the owners of AeroTech concerning this development and my recommendation was to discontinue these small reloads. My recommendation was accepted and as far as I know, AeroTech never received any flak over discontinuing the 'B' & 'C' reloads.

They just never sold enough to justify keeping them in production. :(


That makes sense, I suppose. It prolly wan't ecomomically viable to compete directly with Estes BP motors.
 
I was working at AeroTech when the 18mm RMS 'B' & 'C' reloads were cancelled.

As I was reviewing the sales data at that time, the 'B' & 'C' reloads had been ordered exactly ONCE by each of the hobby distributors/dealers. There had been no re-orders in over six months and no indications that there would be any orders.

I then made a presentation to the owners of AeroTech concerning this development and my recommendation was to discontinue these small reloads. My recommendation was accepted and as far as I know, AeroTech never received any flak over discontinuing the 'B' & 'C' reloads.

They just never sold enough to justify keeping them in production. :(
Gary also said that in a thread on one of the forums (either here or at YORF) last year. I'm not sure if the thread was actually about these topic, but I do remember asking about them at one point, and then seeing his response. I was wondering about the same thing as ScrapDaddy.

MarkII
 
Great Minds Think Alike :)
As you look at the selection, you almost inevitably wonder about it at some point. But if Aerotech started making them again, how many B and C reloads do you think you would ever actually buy? (Be honest.) My own take is that rather than fret over the fact that there are only a couple of reload formulations on the market currently for the 18/20 RMS case, instead I appreciate the fact that the 18/20 RMS system even exists at all and that someone makes commercial-grade reloads for it. That's pretty cool when you think about it. If sufficient interest ever built up for 18mm B and C reloads, Aerotech would no doubt consider making them again.

Propellant research by hobbyists is not a subject for this forum, but I will just mention in passing that there is at least one manufacturer of 13mm reload cases for use in research. That form factor is pretty darned small.

MarkII
 
I assume retirement was short lived...

For the rocord when you get the D21 from apogee components they GIVE you a Q2G2 igniter and tell you the truth I probobly wouldn't buy the b and c loads as I can pick a pack of the estes ones for about $5 at my walmart : ( but there Is no reason to stop making the E25
 
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