3D printed "Planet Probe"-like rockets
Those of you that attended the August 2nd launch saw that I launched several 3D printed rockets akin to the Planet Probe rockets used for demonstrating the impulse differences between motor classes. (eg. A, B, C)
The original design was a cleaned up version from an .STL published on The Rocketry Forum. Those original rockets weighed in at 101.33 grams. None of them flew too high on the Estes motors I put into them. So, I went back to that original design and I removed some unnecessary weight/mass. The fins connecting the MMT to the cone were reduced in size and width, and the cone itself was reduced in width to 1mm. These changes now have the rocket weighing in at 52.31 grams! That's very close to half the original weight/mass!
I printed the rockets ASA which is ~15% less dense than PLA. It's also stronger, UV-resistant and a much higher plasticity temp making it a great material for rockets and rocket parts. It's also capable of being acetone vapor polished. This means that I can place these into a chamber with acetone and the vapor smooths the surface. I did this for the pieces of a fly-away rail guide and the result is that those look as though they were injection molded! I may, once I'm satisfied with these design changes, give these the acetone treatment to smooth the surface to reduce drag.