Or just glue it on the surface.
Unique Rail Guides
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Or just glue it on the surface.
lr64
Well-Known Member
It would probably need a bit more surface against the tube, or maybe a reinforced area of the tube if it was cardboard. And it would have to be a material that glued well with an ordinary sort of epoxy.
lr64
Well-Known Member
Suggest putting a radius on those inside corners to avoid stress concentration. Also, is there an alignment feature on the bottom to keep it pointed the right way? Looks fine otherwise.
Work got a little busy last night. I design and modified a few for my needs. I will post them tonight.
This is a fun thread! I'm really liking all of the different ideas that have been presented.
Generally, I'm not worried too much about ultimate performance of my rockets, so "regular" rail guides are fine for most of my stuff. Like I said I gravitate toward "scale" looks. But one of the things that makes rocketry so much fun are the innumerable little problems to solve, and the innumerable ways to solve them.
I have a potential project I'm considering that would present some real challenges as far as getting it on a rail for launch. It would be a high power scale model of the Sprint missile, which is completely conical (pic below). I have a few ideas (none that I really like), but I would really love to see what you guys might come up with! I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll start a new one over in high power.
On second thought, I'll post it here in the Rocketry Watering Hole...
Would be very interested in a brain-storming session. Any and all ideas welcome!
Generally, I'm not worried too much about ultimate performance of my rockets, so "regular" rail guides are fine for most of my stuff. Like I said I gravitate toward "scale" looks. But one of the things that makes rocketry so much fun are the innumerable little problems to solve, and the innumerable ways to solve them.
I have a potential project I'm considering that would present some real challenges as far as getting it on a rail for launch. It would be a high power scale model of the Sprint missile, which is completely conical (pic below). I have a few ideas (none that I really like), but I would really love to see what you guys might come up with! I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll start a new one over in high power.
On second thought, I'll post it here in the Rocketry Watering Hole...
Would be very interested in a brain-storming session. Any and all ideas welcome!
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I am not worried about performance. I am working on several designs.
I printed a set. A little too tight on the tolerance for my rail and filaments.
lr64
Well-Known Member
You printed a set of mine? If you don't want to file them down, I could always modify the model for a bit more clearance. I think I used .010" all around. I don't actually know much about 3D printing tolerances, different processes, etc. I worked from a profile picked up from a 3D model of a rail I downloaded., and allowed, if I recall correctly, .010" between my part and the rail. It could easily be changed to .020".
The issue with many prints is they shrink as they cool.
Some of my Unistrut button designs:
What I found is that the squared off rear edges made them easier to print standing up.
What first comes to my [less-experienced-than-some-guys'-] mind is a sealed tubular structure (metal? [reinforced] plywood? fiberglass?) at a fixed, parallel distance from the central axis of the airframe, therefore entering/inserting into the aft centering ring and exiting from the lateral aspect/exterior of the airframe (this orifice could be covered during flight and/or display via a hinged flap) accommodating either a large rod or a rail, using buttons or guides internally.
As with [even Estes'] Saturns, I'm guessing you may need to add transparent fins for stable flight, but that was not included in your request for comment, so. . .
I'll be curious to read others' suggestions, too! Good luck!
boatgeek
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Is it a cluster? Will it be fast off the pad? If yes to both, put a square tube that fits over a rail up the middle of the rocket on centerline. If the rocket is long enough and/or liftoff acceleration is high enough, the rail doesn’t even need to come out the top of the rocket.
SCP
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Hey! I have done limited runs of that Uni-Strut Airfoil guide. I have some new ones coming that I was hoping to get the design complete and have a few prototypes at LDRS but my time is running out. It would be real exciting for this thread, hope to have something soon
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Piston launcher.
I Like the big aerofoiled ones. May I suggest a couple of possible options?
- Round off the upper edge all way round to significantly further the reduction in drag. See the apogee website for some info on the benefits of this.
- As the fixing option seems to be by screws into the wall of the airframe, a further drag reduction approach would be to print it with a fillet all around the base. I add an adhesive fillet around the base when I surface mount these type.
- Maybe have the base conformal to a few standard airframe ODs.
