Would these work as body tubes?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

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

BABAR

Builds Rockets for NASA
TRF Supporter
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
11,534
Reaction score
6,151
And how would they compare with paper Tubes in strength and mass.

https://smile.amazon.com/Ultra-Thin...ra-thin+wall+round+tubes,aps,194&sr=8-46&th=1
i know I’d need to put some parchment paper or some other protector along the first say 6 inches forward of motor to prevent melting, and I know the tubes wouldn’t stay clear, they would soot up in a hurry. Thing is, I’d like to get one or two just to make curved fins for Horizontal Spin Recovery, but they come in lots of 50 For $40 plus shipping. That’s a bit pricy for just one or two, and unless I could use them as body tubes I have 48 useless plastic tubes that I don’t need and didn’t want to pay that much. OTOH, BT-50 outside diameter is
0.976"

These are

1.12 Inches

Difference 0.144 inches , about 3.6 mm.

with a bit of tape would fit a BT-50 nose cone.

would probably need to do thru the wall fins, as hard to get stuff to stick to this.

a plus is the absence of spirals, and @Dotini says they get brittle with paint.
 
From the description: "recommended for high volume applications where minimal protection is required. Some applications include calendars, apparel, wall graphics, art & craft goods or any other products that require a custom plastic package, while remaining low in cost."

So they're somewhat flexible rather than rigid. That should be ok, the ones Estes sells are somewhat flexible as well. Slightly thinner walled, 0.01", than Estes tubes (usually 0.013" or 0.021"). Pity you can't get just a sample.
 
Would it be possible to make curved fins from clear plastic sheets and just heat it with a heat gun and bend it over a form? Seems like that would be cheaper.
 
I got these from Amazon. They are clear plastic containers. 3" dia. by 12" tall. IIRC they could be bought individually. Perfect fit for 3" tubes and nose cones. There might be other sizes.20220929_002345[360].jpg
 
If they are similar to the BT-50 clear tubes that Apogee sells, they are not nearly as strong as paper tubes.

Apogee's clear plastic are 0.034 wall thickness, compared to a BT-50 paper tube which is 0.013 wall

PETG is about 2.5 times heavier than paper

So, I guess the bottom line is unless you have a good reason to use them... don't.
 
If they are similar to the BT-50 clear tubes that Apogee sells, they are not nearly as strong as paper tubes.

Apogee's clear plastic are 0.034 wall thickness, compared to a BT-50 paper tube which is 0.013 wall

PETG is about 2.5 times heavier than paper

So, I guess the bottom line is unless you have a good reason to use them... don't.
That is very useful information
 
Back
Top