I’ve done 3D modeling and rocketry, and combining the two seems like quite a good idea to me. Still don’t know if that’s a swaying factor in purchasing one, though, let alone if materials from the printer would hold up for multiple uses with minimal damage.
Second question- what material would I use, say I do end up purchasing one? It would need to be heat resistant, hard but still light and strong, accurate when being printed, and a melting/softening point preferable above 90C. Sorry if this is a bit out there, just wondering.
A printer is 100% viable for hobby rocketry, xyla foxlin recently launched a completely 3d printed rocket check out the video for some more info
That was awesome/ inspired me to make a rocket but maybe subsonic lol
TIL hobby rocket makers have a high risk appetite. And are awesome.
That said there isn't a damned thing I'd get out of my printer that I would put anywhere near supersonic travel.
You just described ABS.
Nice! And this is exceptionally cheap!
You need to print well ventilated tho
Yeah, I intend that for most 3d prints. I have a fume hood, too, already so that may help
What chamber temp can you get up to on your printer? Only other issue you could run into basically
40C is generally considered the minimum for ABS/ASA
Maybe down the line a plate upgrade if adhesion becomes an issue
Oh, I don’t actually have a printer yet. Sorry if that didn’t come across right, but this may be my reason to actually purchase on of these. (That and printing a rocktopus.)
No I just missed that sentence at the beginning my bad
Whatever you get, I would keep in mind that you have to have an enclosure for ABS. A lot of core xy printers have them, but if you buy a bedslinger you will have to build one. Also make sure the bed can get up to around 110°C.
I'd get something with dual material (for precise supports on complex/curved geometry) with a dedicated exhaust you can direct to an extraction. It may be out of budget but dual head XL is ideal for this with a fan exhaust in the rear and two tools for soluble/zero interface supports
If OP is willing to wait a little while the Core 1 INDX looks like it could also be a pretty viable shout, and should be cheaper than an XL.
Is smaller and op probably doesn't need all the extra tools
He mentions purchasing one in the OP, so he just needs to make sure he buys one that supports ABS.
You don't need good ventilation, just comes in handy
You do with abs. Styrene gas has been shown to have bad long term health effects
I have a friend who does rocketry as a hobby, and uses a lot of 3D printed parts. He swears by Polymaker's HT-PLA-GF. And it's PLA, so no enclosure.
They're extremely common in hobby rocketry, commonly used for servo mounts, control surfaces, winglets, et al.
You can also use them to 3d print moulds for foaming compounds.
there are also a number of foaming filaments on the market now too
I believe Estes sells .STL files to build their rockets.
This, I saw their adds for 3d printed rockets on reddit and was shocked to see a relevant ad for something I would likely buy.
Sure beats the rando prescription ads that have no relevance to me 😆
Tooling; moulds, assembly jigs, mounting frames for avionics. Some have even printed entire thrust vectoring assemblies.
Estes makes a rocket kit you 3d print parts for
The best part is iterative design. The hardest part is retrieval. There are many resources for diy engines. We use OPENSCAD for parametric design and iterative changes.
3D printing is perfect for rocketry. Hell, I can't think of a single hobby or industry where 3D printing can't fit very well into, besides maybe french toe wrestling
No clue, but just so you are aware, not all printers can easily print all materials. If it can be used and IF someone suggests material, make sure you buy a printer that will work with that material.
The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is a cheap(ish) option that will print all sorts of high temp materials (ABS, PETG-HT, PETG-CF) without a lot of trouble.
If your budget is higher, the Bambu X1 Carbon will do all the same materials with even less trouble.
Yes, absolutely, but it might be a bit of a rabbit hole. Decent modern enclosed consumer printers can deal with PET-CF, PA-CF, and PC-CF which are likely of interest as well as ABS, PETG and PLA which are more everyday materials. If you want to go as far as PPS, PAEK or PEEK then you may have to spend a bit more but they're incredible.
More likely if you're after really heat resistant you'll be printing forms and moulds and laying up composites or casting ceramics.
I say this as I've just cancelled a print as my PA6-CF is too wet and needs to go back in the oven at 110C for a few hours. But it stuck to the build plate this time, by careful use of home made polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) solution on an FR4 buildplate.
You should watch a few integza videos on YouTube and you will see how far you can stretch printing for rocketry.
the above 90C part is the only problem. most people print PLA or PETG, which both soften under that.
you'll probably end up using ABS, ASA, or so. Those are nice, but they do need an enclosure and air filtration. So if you do end up going for it, buy something that can have those. like a P2S from Bambulab or similar.
Sure. I’ve designed and launched one myself with PLA. Was only good for two launches before the engine port got warped enough to not be able to fit the last engine in.
Yes. YouTube has a lot of content creators who do exactly this.
Yes, I would get a couple printers, at least 1 enclosed printer for materials like abs, asa and polycarbonate...also make sure you have hardened steel nozzles...however I would recommend you research all the filament on the market so you have an idea what filament your going to use for your rocket designs...personally if I was going to do that I would get atleast 2 enclosed printers..but thats me
https://preview.redd.it/eevjbja1bv9g1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b074308fa039564e22a14f8cf60df2c4510950cd
Absolutely! Check out some of Xyla Foxlin's vids on youtube
https://youtu.be/HU3YnVzqExA?si=6dviPnfFbqNLnPFQ
BPS space on YouTube also does a lot of stuff with 3d printing for rocketry, and his stuff is pretty high powered for hobby rocketry.
BTW speaking of high powered hobby rocjetry, the project he is working up to is a full space shot, AKA 100km up. I don't think he has orbital plans, or at least not yet.
The next step up for hobby rockets are Billionaire hobbies like SpaceX and Blue origin.
There's a filament for your hobby, it's called Pla Aero. Its properties make it strong and lightweight.
Estes has 3 printable rockets for sale. Guarantee there are forums with more free plans.
There are lots of hobbies where a printer is really useful, but you often can't print the whole thing. Printing works best when you combine it with other skills, or off the shelf parts. For example, you could buy a carbon fibre tube that's lighter and stiff than anything you could print, but a printer can make custom shaped brackets for whatever you want to put in it.
I would recommend and X1E or an H2B (both bambu labs printers) for their heated chambers and high nozzle temperature. There are printers that have better chamber and hotter nozzles (like the vision minor printers) but the Bambu ones are very cheap for the features.
As for materials, I am not into making rockets but I would suspect you would want be able to print materials like ABS, PC and PPS (polymer's fibron is excellent). All of these and more can be printed well in by the printers I have suggested (I have done so many, many times)
I would have a look through YouTube as there several channels that use FDM to make their rockets
And one more thing- I do assume this would not make much of a difference, but most simple two stages work by an initial fire off, and a burst at the end, which is, in essentially, a bomb going off 1200 ft in the air. This is to shoot the nose cap off and deploy the parachute, but fast, explosive shock is a little concerning for integrity of the body tube.
As long as it’s easier for the stages to split than for the body tube to split you should be good lol. Worth testing or printing a few to bring to the field lol. I know some folks use mechanical releases to program the chute release but I’m not sure off hand if I’ve seen anyone stage engines with that method. Even in a multistage off the shelf rocket it’s still just toilet paper rolls though lol
You can make all sorts of things related to rocketry with a 3d printer. It would be very useful.
As far as materials. PETG is pretty strong and good up to 80-85c, so it might work for you. ABS is generally good up to 100, but requires a more complex set up to print.