It's still not perfect on all the edges, but not bad. The Cricut software was actually really helpful in fine-tuning the size to fit the recess in the fins just right. In all, three layers of the prepreg were added. The fin can is currently in the oven curing. I plan on putting a camera on the rocket and I figure that no spin = good alignment.Īfter a pretty busy month seriously lacking in rocket projects, progress has been made. One thing I have found with 3D prints, there are definite steps to certain dimensions based on the width of the extrusion.īased on my measurements my 98mm fins appear to be very straight. For my next 38mm MD, I am going to extend the length of the jigs to cover nearly the entire fin, that should prevent any twisting as long as I have a good width of the fin slot. But at least it appeared they were all in alignment, even if a bit twisted. Doing some tests with the 38mm fins, the deeper the engagement of the jig (i.e., the longer the length of the fin held by the jig) the less twist I could apply to the top jig relative to the bottom. However that was mostly solved by adding a layer of tape on the fins, being careful to keep them all symmetrical. With my jig if the fit wasn't nice and snug over the fins, there was some play - I could twist the top jig relative to the bottom one. Watheyak, as you mention the key is to come up with a jig that solves exactly the issue you described, keeping the jigs centered over each other. The jury is still out as to whether I was successful in this regard or not. I'll elaborate on how I'm trying to control that in my next post. The other issue that keeps me up at night is that none of this is going to work at all if the fins aren't on exactly straight or if the fillets aren't exactly the radius (.25") that was specified in Fusion. DXF file, which can be imported into the Cricut Design Space software. I'm pretty new to Fusion still, so a big thanks to Bob Heninger for helping me figure the sheet metal part out. I used the sheet metal tool to simulate the carbon fiber in order to be able to convert it to a flat pattern. So next I modeled the whole thing in Fusion. Due to this fact, I peel the carbon fiber and it's carrier off the Cricut carrier sheet in one piece. In this case I'll be using unidirectional prepreg that comes stuck to it's own carrier paper. Some of the Hexcel spread tow products that are becoming more popular would be a good candidate. But some of the newer, more modern products come on a carrier of their own. Regular carbon fiber would come off in shreds. This method wouldn't work for all carbon fiber, as it has to be stuck down to a carrier sheet to be cut, then peeled off after the cutting is complete. It's also capable of adding quite a bit of pressure to the wheel. The Maker has a cutting wheel attachment that is similar to what I'd be using to cut it anyway. I finally decided that I might be able to cut the carbon fiber on our Cricut Maker. More pondering and laying awake happened. Plus better aesthetics and style points, right? Having a nice clean edge at the border of the pocket would help making sure it stays in place. Thanks to a very talented co-worker, I have four fins that are straight-up rocket art.īecause of that curve in the corner of the pocket, it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a very precise and accurate shape for the tip to tip reinforcement. This pocket, plus the bevels, made for some complex machining requirements. This project started by modelling the fin in Fusion 360. As illustrated in the link above, the tip to tip reinforcement sits in a pocket machined into the face of the fin. In this case it's Garolite G-11, just like in his thread. So my fins start with a high temperature core, and are one piece, rather than a separate leading edge.
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