I had a rocket 3D printed... should have recorded the first flight!

Alas, I only recorded the second one. I have a longer video that explains how it's made, etc, but suffice to say that it's a min. diameter 13mm rocket with 3 fins and the launch rod lugs printed in. No parachute, no streamer, just a tether for the nosecone.

Flown on an A10-3T, First flight went a solid 800-1000 feet straight up perfectly, came down tumbling and landed with light damage to the lip of the nosecone due to overpressure from the ejection charge. No fall damage.

Second flight went into that tiny patch of trees you see, and I lost the damn thing. Pretty sure it was nozzle damage from loading/removing the motor with a pair of pliers previously. I guess I'm waiting until the leaves fall off to find it!
[YOUTUBE]c0pM2LfJxjE[/YOUTUBE]

So you say you had it printed. What printer did you use. It looks a little big for most DIY printers like the Mendelmax.

apburner said:

So you say you had it printed. What printer did you use. It looks a little big for most DIY printers like the Mendelmax.

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It could have been printed in sections on a DIY printer, but I think Shapways' stereolithography printers could easily handle something this size.
I would definitely be interested in what kind of printer was used, as I will be getting an FDM printer some time very soon.

Sorry to hear you lost the rocket, though!

apburner said:

So you say you had it printed. What printer did you use. It looks a little big for most DIY printers like the Mendelmax.

Click to expand...

Rocketbuilder said:

It could have been printed in sections on a DIY printer, but I think Shapways' stereolithography printers could easily handle something this size.
I would definitely be interested in what kind of printer was used, as I will be getting an FDM printer some time very soon.

Sorry to hear you lost the rocket, though!

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It was indeed a Shapeways product. FDM could be used, but it'll take a lot more TLC. I believe dimensions were ~ 210mm long by ~70mm wide/tall (fins). I have a second revision coming in, and as soon as it does I'll try it out and if it's a good one, release it to the public for purchase. You can see my designs at https://www.shapeways.com/designer/wetmelon

I have what are effectively scaled-up versions of the 13mm rocket for 18, 24, 29, and 38mm which all work great in Rocksim. Even without modifications I'm nearly breaking NAR altitude records (in sim), but the 38mm has issues finding engine casings small enough, and it goes too high to realistically fly without dual-deployment, which is not currently modeled (but will be!). Material prices start at ~$20 for the 13mm and run to about $80 for the 38mm. Everything's designed to be friction fit, but everything will be prototyped and tested with real motors and deployment systems before they go on sale

I just found a 3d printing studio in my town. Im going to be looking into trying some parts out. I sort of familiar with Mastercam do you need special design software or can most files be converted and used? Does it differ from machine to machine?

just found a 3d printing studio in my town. Im going to be looking into trying some parts out. I sort of familiar with Mastercam do you need special design software or can most files be converted and used? Does it differ from machine to machine?

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Honestly, I don't know, I've just ordered stuff from Shapeways.

Anyone want to launch a rocket?

https://i.imgur.com/65SVzZ2.jpg

The one on the left was misprinted so they sent me a new one. After I had the new one, I epoxied the nosecone on the bad print and launched it (after fixing a fin with a heat gun). Went about 800 feet and worked great, lawn dart into a football field with zero damage.


In addition, I have some more prototypes coming. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/wetmelon

How much are 3D Printers and what are the choices for materials. Is it paper or some sort of card stock?

AfterBurners said:

How much are 3D Printers and what are the choices for materials. Is it paper or some sort of card stock?

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There are a lot of different printers, and https://www.reddit.com/r/3dprinting has a good community for hobby printing with a lot of information. Hobby printers run $300-$2500 and typically use "FDM", which is basically a hot glue gun for ABS and PLA plastics. There are other hobby printers that use photosensitive liquid polymers.

The machines that produce what I ordered use what's called SLS - Selective Laser Sintering - where they fuse a Nylon powder together layer by layer. It has a higher tensile strength than SCH-40 PVC with a lower density, and is accurate to .1mm. Those machines run in the $50,000 + range as I understand.

Further SLS printers can do Titanium, steel, etc. and Shapeways has been developing methods for lost wax castings wherein they print the wax mold, cast the brass/silver/etc then remove the wax, which is really clever. https://www.shapeways.com/materials?li=nav lists the materials that Shapeways can produce.