So, I've been trying to figure out, do I want a lathe or do I want a 3D printer? I've done nothing but go back and forth in my head for months and months and months. I figured I would not have the patience or the know how to make rocket parts I wanted on a 3D printer. Most of the parts on Shapeways and other sites are so expensive. Thus the dilemma. Well, I finally broke down and purchased a small lathe to turn nose cones/fairings. The first rocket will be the Delta II in the 742X-10C configuration. I'm using the Delta II Pathfinder paper pdf I downloaded for the skins and up scaling them to fit the main body tube of a BT-70. This should make the rocket a little over 36 inches finished. I understand the Pathfinder rocket was a 79 configuration, but I cannot find a paper model with the 74. I'll just do my best. I do plan on blocking out the Pathfinder logo but will probably keep the 298 number and the stars.
I went around my elbow to my arse, but, here's what I did to make the below files. I took a screenshot of whichever page from the pdf and pasted it into MS paint. I know, old school. This is the only way I knew how. Anyway, I cut out each of the 4 skins and then created .pdf to print from. I could not get the alignment right with adobe up scaling so I just inserted them one by one in MS Word, centered them and then increased the print size. Since my shaky hands could not cut them out all the same size, I had to print on B&W paper, altering the percentages and test fit them on the 56mm tube. The percentages were between 222 and 225 percent of original.
I've done the maf and BT-50 tubes are super close to scale for the 4x Graphite-Epoxy Motors. I have some 12 inch balsa blocks on order and should be here sometime next week. That's what I'll make the fairing out of with the new lathe. Wonder how many I'll screw up before getting it right/acceptable enough for a model rocket. I'll CWF the fairing, sand and then paint. Don't how much nose weight I'll need. I guess I'll have to figure out how to attach it to the balsa too. Plus the weight will not be at the forward end of the rocket. I haven't done the maf on the fairing yet, but, I bet it'll be 8ish inches long. CP and CG might be awfully close. I'm sure I'll have a few people suggest openrocket ,but, OR doesn't support boosters. I ran into the same thing making the SpaceX/Boyce Aerospace FH. I digress.
I plan on using a 24mm motor mount and adding 3x clear fins to the bottom for stability. Any suggestions you might have will be appreciated but might not be used with my limited abilities. Let's see how it goes.
I went around my elbow to my arse, but, here's what I did to make the below files. I took a screenshot of whichever page from the pdf and pasted it into MS paint. I know, old school. This is the only way I knew how. Anyway, I cut out each of the 4 skins and then created .pdf to print from. I could not get the alignment right with adobe up scaling so I just inserted them one by one in MS Word, centered them and then increased the print size. Since my shaky hands could not cut them out all the same size, I had to print on B&W paper, altering the percentages and test fit them on the 56mm tube. The percentages were between 222 and 225 percent of original.
I've done the maf and BT-50 tubes are super close to scale for the 4x Graphite-Epoxy Motors. I have some 12 inch balsa blocks on order and should be here sometime next week. That's what I'll make the fairing out of with the new lathe. Wonder how many I'll screw up before getting it right/acceptable enough for a model rocket. I'll CWF the fairing, sand and then paint. Don't how much nose weight I'll need. I guess I'll have to figure out how to attach it to the balsa too. Plus the weight will not be at the forward end of the rocket. I haven't done the maf on the fairing yet, but, I bet it'll be 8ish inches long. CP and CG might be awfully close. I'm sure I'll have a few people suggest openrocket ,but, OR doesn't support boosters. I ran into the same thing making the SpaceX/Boyce Aerospace FH. I digress.
I plan on using a 24mm motor mount and adding 3x clear fins to the bottom for stability. Any suggestions you might have will be appreciated but might not be used with my limited abilities. Let's see how it goes.