Testing the limits of a MakerBot 3D-PLA-Print, at 500MPH, on a high-power 🚀

I designed a 6″x9″ bowtie fin-can assembly, lathered it in high-temp epoxy, and launched it on an Aerotech J450 Skidmark at October Skies. Here is a video compilation. So cool to see the fire through the fin can…. plenty of airflow to keep it going. The holes in the fins add torsional strength and minimize build material and weight.

This was an experiment at the physical limits of what a MakerBot Replicator can print, a 6×9″ bowtie fin can on a 4″-diameter airframe, lathered in high-temp epoxy. She had her maiden flight on an Aerotech J450 Skidmark, and the fin can survived the ascent wonderfully (from on-rocket camera). There was a bit of pitch-yaw-roll coupling at speed perhaps from the asymmetry and strap-on video cam. Unfortunately, I did not have enough BP to deploy the parachute, and she came back to Earth horizontally, without any spin, perhaps a bonus for the bowtie design. While the fins shattered on landing, I can make a replacement print easily overnight.

The Rocket POV video camera attached to the rocket with a sturdy zip-tie, thanks to a 3D-printed camera sled by Jamie Claye. Worked great all weekend… even on my second flight, where I overcompensated by adding too much BP, and instead of popping the chute delicately at apogee, it exploded outward and ripped the airframe in half…. great video to come!