Okie dokie people, time for an update. Thanks to BryRocket I have a way to mount the camera and altimeter in the coupler. The back plate of the camera mount is extended to accommodate the Telemetrum and it will all be mounted in the coupler on the threaded rod. This is the most stable and strongest way to mount the camera in the rocket using structural components that already need to be there. He is making hole drilling guides for the coupler as well. A big thanks to BryRocket for designing and printing it.
I don't have it yet but looking forward to seeing the design up close.
I have heard a lot of stories where people have had resin tipped nosecones melting and deforming causing rapid unplanned disassembly of their rockets. I do not want a rapid unplanned disassembly so I want to insulate it. The easiest way I can think of doing this is to spread some JB Weld or some Cotronics epoxy over the nosecone and sand it smooth to coat about the top third of the nosecone. If you have another idea on how to insulate it let me know as I am interested in learning more. I am not sure what material people use as an ablator on mach 3+ flights but I would love to know. After this rocket flies I plan on building a 3" version and then a 4" version so I will need to know these tricks.
I am going to start work on a new oven today. I have a filling cabinet and some foil coated insulation foam to make it. The first step is to rip everything out of the cabinet and cut the insulation to fit. I am going to create a tube that is specifically to heat the air with my outdoor space heater and use another heater with a fan to blow the heated air into the oven. The inlet for the heated air will be offset to cause the air to circulate within the oven. The reason I am doing it this way is because the heaters I have are too powerful and would likely overheat the epoxy and this is the best way I can think of to make it so I do not have the heater pointed directly at the rocket. I want to make absolutely sure I do not have hot spots in the oven that can cause a fin to warp as well. I will be using digital meat thermometers to measure the temperature around the oven and I will practice maintaining the temperature by hand. last time I used this epoxy it hardened after around 45 minutes, so after that I will take it out of the bag and leave it in the oven for the rest of the 4 hour cure time. I bought perforated release film to use under my peel ply so I can get a smoother finish on the epoxy out of the bag, despite this I think I will need to brush on another coat to make sure I can sand it and not have to worry about cutting the carbon fibers. Is it okay to brush this second coat on right after it comes out of the bag so I can reduce the amount of time I have to manage the oven and watch it with a fire extinguisher at the ready?
I will video the oven build and the lamination process. Hopefully I can find a friend interested in helping laminate this rocket.
To cut the carbon fiber the last time I used the rocket to create a paper template, then transferred that to cardboard and used this as a template for the carbon fiber. I would then line the edges with masking tape and cut through the tape so it would hold the threads in place. I cut this excess off after the cureing process. I will purposely cut the material a little larger to allow for the leading and trailing edges to get laminated.
I will cut 3 sections of the 2x2 twill with the point of the triangles facing down and 3 sections with the point facing up. The layer with the point facing down will be underneath the layer with the point facing up. I am no engineer yet, but with my limited knowledge I think this is the best way to layer the carbon for strength and ductility. If you look at the threads it creates so many triangles within the weave and will allow for some ductility because the fibers on the upper layer are perpendicular to the fibers of the lower layer but are at an angle to forces that are perpendicular to the fin. If I am completely wrong please let me know, and let me know why. I am here to learn.
To do list for this project:
Build new oven
Sand fillets and body tube
Build the Av-bay
Do ejection tests
Laminate the fins
Insulate the nosecone
Paint
Clear coat
If you have any suggestions, tips, ideas let me know!
I have been really busy with work and school lately so I haven't been able to do a whole lot of work on this project so it has stagnated.
-Matthew
