3D Printing Looking for Electronics "Sled" designs for a 5.5" Airframe

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DRAGON64

Well-Known Member
TRF Supporter
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
5,209
Reaction score
2,751
Location
Toney, AL
Some of fiberglass 5.5" rockets come with 14" long electronics couplers, mine did, and I was wondering what designs I might look to print for just such a space(?) I have all of two RRC2L's and a couple batteries that I need to Jam in the bay, and I guess I do not need to get to complex.

I had considered just mounting one of the 4" orange designs from Additive Aerospace, but they mount on 1/4-20 rod, and these larger kits come with 5/16-18 rods and hardware I believe.

Anyway, I am honestly brain farting here, and suggestions would be most welcome.
 
Some of fiberglass 5.5" rockets come with 14" long electronics couplers, mine did, and I was wondering what designs I might look to print for just such a space(?) I have all of two RRC2L's and a couple batteries that I need to Jam in the bay, and I guess I do not need to get to complex.

I had considered just mounting one of the 4" orange designs from Additive Aerospace, but they mount on 1/4-20 rod, and these larger kits come with 5/16-18 rods and hardware I believe.

Anyway, I am honestly brain farting here, and suggestions would be most welcome.

Can you just go "old school" with a plywood sled and brass tubes?

IMG_6763.JPG IMG_7006.JPG IMG_6769.JPG
 
That is of course always a possibility, but for this build I wanted to print features that I would normally glue or bolt to a plate. I used a design similar to yours for my L3 12-years ago, but now that I am printing more...
 
Do you need it to be full length, or just long enough to hold the alts, batteries, and switches? Kinda, suspended in the middle of the bay by nuts on the all thread holding it in place.
 
If not responds by the weekend, I might try a design.

Yeah, we are looking at a rainy ending to the week, and I thought I might do the same, thanks!


Do you need it to be full length, or just long enough to hold the alts, batteries, and switches? Kinda, suspended in the middle of the bay by nuts on the all thread holding it in place.

Very similar to what you just wrote I suppose, there will ample room for wires etc.
 
IMG_20170802_010549.jpg


Would something like that work for you? You might need to mod it a little before printing to match your setup, and it was used for a 6" rather than 5.5", but it might well fit, it was so spacious in there I didn't bother trying to fill it completely.
 
I modeled up a simple design over the weekend; the design holds two 9V batteries, and two RRC2L altimeters. Nothing too fancy, and the design definitely will not fill a 15" X 5.2" ebay volume.

DX3_E-BAY_SLED.jpg

DX3_E-BAY_SLED-02.jpg

I am currently printing a proof for fitment of batteries and altimeter. If all looks good, I will design in the "little features" that aid in wire management.

IMG_0520.jpg
 
I'm glad to find this area of the forum. I was told this was a great forum!!

I have a 3-D printer coming... or will when they ship it and I've been working on learning Fusion 360. I have had the pay version of Eagle for a while and I added Fusion 360 last year. Yes... it has taken me a year to decide which printer to buy and then another month to decide to buy it.
 
Over-all the proof part proved the concept. The changes that were noted have been incorporated into the final design which include; a wider cut to allow for easier battery insertion and removal; and a thinner boss where the altimeters will mount (also allows easier battery removal. Slots were added for wire tie management. The sled design is simple, and dedicated to the RRC2L altimeters only, so if I decided to run a different altimeter, I would have to modify and print another configuration of the sled.

Final print will utilize Hatchbox PETG in Orange:

DX3_SLED01.jpg

DX3_SLED02.jpg
DX3_SLED03.jpg
 
Printing of the first usable revised sled design has completed; but before I continue, I wanted to thank everyone for input ideas and inspiration for this design.

Printing finished last night (duration: 25-hour time). Here is what I set the print to:

Ulitmaker Cura 4.5.0

Hatchbox: Orange PETG (1.75mm)
Standard Quality 0.2mm
4 layers each on walls, base and top
100% infill
240° nozzle
75° Build Plate
Pattern: Concentric
Fan Speed: 50%

**more specs can be provided if needed**

The design is based on .094" wall thickness, including the battery lids.

IMG_0532.jpg

IMG_0535.jpg

IMG_0534.jpg
 
Nice Job. I have recently upgraded my altimeters and have decided to upgrade my Electronics Bays as well. Good information. Thanks for the thread.
 
Printing of the first usable revised sled design has completed; but before I continue, I wanted to thank everyone for input ideas and inspiration for this design.

Printing finished last night (duration: 25-hour time). Here is what I set the print to:

Ulitmaker Cura 4.5.0

Hatchbox: Orange PETG (1.75mm)
Standard Quality 0.2mm
4 layers each on walls, base and top
100% infill
240° nozzle
75° Build Plate
Pattern: Concentric
Fan Speed: 50%

**more specs can be provided if needed**

The design is based on .094" wall thickness, including the battery lids.

View attachment 433821

View attachment 433823

View attachment 433822
Looks great, will this show up on Thingverse?
 
Once proven, I will definitely add it to Thingiverse. I am eyeing further upgrades (no specific idea just yet) and am not sure I am in final configuration yet.
 
I don’t have any luck printing on 100% infil.
Can I ask why you decided on 100%

I’ve made a few myself all 4in LoC eBay sized.
The printing green one is for a single deploy nose cone tracker.
 

Attachments

  • D576DCAB-AB0F-421C-9EA6-F7F6B3294285.jpeg
    D576DCAB-AB0F-421C-9EA6-F7F6B3294285.jpeg
    158.2 KB · Views: 18
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    82.6 KB · Views: 20
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    116.5 KB · Views: 18
When I can, I print 15 to 35% infill for proto-typing, but for production use, I print 100%. Walls were right at .094. and less than 100% infill leave little room for strength.
 
Talk about an ideal application for a generic OpenSCAD script where simple user inputs could define the sled characteristics.
 
I just whipped something up for a MARSA54 sled that fits in 3 in LOC tube. Has a place for a labrat pull switch and Tattu 2s Lipo. 3/16 threaded rods. I will print separate end bulkheads. I like the concept of integrated bulkhead/sled, but I also like the ability to move the slide up and down slightly on the threaded rods.

I will laser cut battery cover.

Got some ideas for this on these forums.

1611433285382.png
1611433360251.png
 
Back
Top