03-03-2019, 11:22 AM
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Intermediate Rocketeer
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 50
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by teflonrocketry1
Keep in mind balsa is not the only wood used for fin material, there is also basswood, birch ply, cardboard and fiberboard among others; having these materials on hand will increase your overhead. However, you will get a good discount if you buy these in bulk. Do you have the ability to cut fins from RockSim, OpenRocket, CAD or other files? Can you profile fins (diamond wedge or airfoil) with your laser engraver? Can you laser cut G-10 fiberglass for high power rockets? Can you laser cut and slot body tubes? How easy would it be for you to cut a set of fins for something like the OOP Estes Orbital Transport http://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/estes/k-42m.tif ?
[snip]
Plastic nosecones can now be easily and inexpensively 3D printed even in small (30 to 50) bulk quantities, do you have access to a 3D printing facility? |
I have cut balsa, basswood, ply, card stock and fiberboard with good success. Fiberglass and carbon fiber are a no-go on the laser. Profiling the edges is also not practical due to time/quality constraints.
I can cut body tubes to length, slot and cut complex shapes as well as mark the body tube.
Cutting a set of fins shown in the K-42 example would be no problem from a technical front. I'd want to review Estes current policy on using legacy templates to cut things for customers to be on the safe side, though.
I can import typical CAD formats and pdf's with no issue. I can re-create geometry based on high quality raster images as well if needed. I never thought to try to import RockSIM or Openrocket formats, so I'll get back to you on that soon.
Lastly, I do have a 3D printer as well, but it is a relatively expensive process for production in my opinion. I have been working on improving that and will hopefully achieve some success in the coming weeks.
Thanks for the input!
Sandy.
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