Ya so you can undervolt them but if you buy them in a 20 pack and rust them out intentionally maybe you should give some old rusty junk to your patreon supporters?❤️
2:20 As much as I love designing all my projects myself, when you find a cooperative someone with a legit idea that you can really use, MAN does that save time and materials. Its a great feel
You have 4 motors actuating four clamps- they are never gonna all release at the exact same moment- you also have 4 times the chance for a clamp delay or motor failure. I suggest you actuate the red clamp props all simultaneously by making a RING with a crown gear run by a single pinion geared motor so that 4 pins protruding inside the ring all strike the red props at the exact same moment. Alternatively, you could make the Ring Spring loaded so that it is counter wound 80 degrees, just shy of the next clamp over, to a single catch that when released would release the sprung ring to accelerate thru 80 degrees to strike all four clamp props simultaneously and with enough momentum to overcome any amount of upforce on the clamps. Either way- a large ring with cam pins, spinning outboard of the four clamp mechanisms offers a sure fire way to be certain that all four clamps are struck and released exactly at the same moment.
I thought of the same idea. Instead of the red pins have the large ring. Put a long ramp and cut out for each yellow hook. Now the ring can rotate one way to release and the other to lock the pins back in place.
The issue i see with that is for triple core launches. The current mechanism allows for him to move the clamps where he needs to. A single ring would limit that and would require a completely different mechanism. He doesn't seem to have issues with the timing of old set up, i assume that he's confident it will be just as reliable. At 5:37 he has slow motion of them actuating, one is slower than the others, but he stated that it's functionally irrelevant. Cool idea though.
Great! About the release mechanics, think again: Use a ring with three release points, activated by one servo only. Less is more and also more simultaneous and 3 point is more stable than 4. Cheers.
Interested to see how you’re throttling the solid motors! P.s. Those of you who want a simple flight controller for all your various projects, I just released my code over on my channel :)
Hold-down - two rods of simple solenoids, 180 degrees (or 120 degrees for three) from each other, inserted into 3D printed fuselage attachments with holes for the rods. Solenoid rods pull back into 3D printed enclosure with rods held back until rocket exhaust is no longer a factor. The end of the rods are protected from corrosion by lacquer coating and/or a thin disc of something non-corrosive epoxied to the end of each rod.
This in-depth on the launch pad is great! I think it helps give everyone a greater appreciation for the details and thought that need to go into ALL the aspects of a project like this, not just the complexities and challenges of the rocket itself. Keep up the good work and videos!
Hi Joe. Thanks for your fantastic and inspairing job. For hit the pins that are sostaining the clamps I suggest a ring moved for one servo (or two for safety) ensuring that the clamps gave out of the way at the same time every single try. Cheers!
Joey, we’re all behind you. Remember the Boeing axiom ( which they seem to have forgotten) KISS ( Keep It Simple Stupid). Best of luck, you will do well. Don’t feel bad, humidity kills Airbus too (Flew A340/A330 for 18 years)
You can definitely make covers for the new clamps, with just a slot for the clamps to retract in to. In this way, you use the clamps themselves as the sealing "door" for the cover. Use magnets to secure the covers, and you will be able to take them off easily as well.
Great video, Joe! I've been following your progress since this past March and have learned much so I've upped my Patreon support for you. By the way, other great folks in the discord helped direct me with info on the conformal coating for the board; great idea and it's something I will consider for my build. Could you allude as to which conformal coating you're using? I'm "speccing" on Amazon at the moment for some and it looks like there is quite a selection to choose from.
I didn't read all the comments to see if anyone mentioned this, but the new clamp release design looks like it's based upon a very ancient design for a sling trap. You know the kind where you pull a sapling tree over under high tension, with a slipknot loop attached, which is released by stepping on a twig or trip wire. Same concept. Ingenious using it this way. A trick I need to keep in the back of mind anytime I am facing a similar situation. I am an electronics guy, so the mechanical stuff is always lost on me.
The red and Yellow do look cool but it also helps identify what moved/didn't move when it should/shouldn't have more easily in playback. You know, when when you start with the Orbital Class rockets. Best of luck with the upcoming flights!
I want to say this, and I hope it doesn't sound wrongly worded, but... I am so very proud of your work on this channel. You are inspiring ton of young lives to seek STEM courses and learning and to dream big dreams. Big huge props to you!
@BPS.space The launchpad is looking great, I hope no one will mistake it for a water tower though :P Looking forward to seeing you try to propulsively land model rockets again!
Pretty impressed by the new launch pad. And I was really surprised to see how corroded those stainless screws were. Totally insane the damage these engines can dish out.
WOW!! Way to go, I can't wait to see it FLY. I've always wondered were you fly your rockets from. I think I'm just right down the road from you, I live 40miles west of Nashville Tn. Congratulation on your Success so far. 🚀🚀
if you run a thin wire (or aluminum foil) under the engine, when it burns through, you could use that as a sensor to tell you the engine has lit and have it release the hold down clamps. (or two tungsten electrodes (TIG rods work well) with a voltage bias and have it measure the plasma from the flame if you want more complicated but more robust). Small weights on the end of the servos to act like wee little hammers could be fun too... (You do have static friction, it is now just easier to address). As always these videos are a whole lot of fun and look forward to the next!
you can put 1 high torque Servo underneath and have it pull on a ring that would pull all four of those clamps open at same time that would hide the servo so it's not getting corroded plus you don't have to worry about the timing of the clamps and one opening before other one does because they will all be tied together
A thought - I noticed that the posts holding the clamps shut aren't necessarily releasing at the same time which seems like it could be an issue. If the posts were printed attached to a disk parallel to the launch pad, you could use a pair of servos to bump it and all would release at the same time. You'd probably need something slick like PTFE or whatever as a bearing surface for the circular slot that holds it in position but it seems like that could synchronize the release better.
you can 3D print a housing cover for the servo so you mostly only need to replace the servo arm rather than the entire servo. Think like an open top box where the servo arm protrudes out of a cut out on the side of the box as for your boards you should also 3D print covers for your boards if theyre on the launch pads in general rather than just coating them just for added protection once the rocket clears the platform. Its excess filament but i mean components add up lol Good work so far!
Insanely cool bro, keep going. Oh, time for bells and whistles... Add 4, one in each corner, led flood lights, to light up that beautiful rocket for those crispy mega cool shots at dusk or even just for display photos at night.. Whatcha think???
I would recommend replacing the four motor design with a geared ring with notches on the inside. If you have a ring that goes around the entirety of the clamps and have notches on the inside that would push the pins out of the way, it would allow for a more unified retraction of the clamps. You could use the servo motors to turn the ring, and it would be a cheaper and more simplified design. This launch pad is already really awesome how it is though! Keep up the good work!
If you put a sensor in the flame trench (IR sensor or spring-loaded deflektor plate) the launch pad can detect ignition and only move the clamps when it detects flame or thrust. When using side boosters, this can even prevent lift-off unless all rockets are running. In my opinion, the deflector plate approach would be more reliable because it doesn't care so much about soot buildup. Simplest way to implement that would be a plate on a long-bladed micro switch with a low spring force. Another way to implement that would be a pressure transducer in the flame pipe.
Don't know if anyone already suggested this, but add a simple thrust/flame detector. Could be something as simple as some thin gauge wire between two probes. When the circuit opens, you know the rocket is lit (regardless of the fuel source) and start a short timer to automatically fire the hold down clamps.
Yay, a long-ish video of Joe looking positive and the launchpad looking ... cute! (Sorry, but that’s what you get for the happy colours 😛) Looking forward to the next firing!
I absolutely agree with your reason for painting parts though I find that placing that "anodize green" callout in my drawings is much more of a guilty pleasure than paint.
I may be getting to this late, but can you spray-paint or coat the exposed metals with a protectant like Rust-o-lium (or that conformal stuff mentioned) to mitigate the rust issue? For the Launch computer, what of a transparent lid like on those outdoor weather proofing plug-socket covers the plastic ones with see-through cover (should help protect the works with minor modification)? Awesome channel - subbed!
I wonder if you could incorporate some kind of load cell into the pad to allow it to release only when the motor comes up to pressure... Even a simple photoresistor behind a plexiglass screen to watch for the flame might be enough, or some kind of pressure or flow sensor in the flame trench. It would probably help with reliability of the system overall as well, as while BP motors don't often fail to ignite, they do still occasionally, especially with the crap Estes calls igniters these days.
so cool! Have you ever thought about maybe teaming up with the guys at FliteTest to make like an airplane launched rocket or something else similar! Maybe like a multi stage rocket and then you send a plane up to catch the final phase as it's returning. Or they also have these super cool videos about a guy who made these ultralight rocket planes that had their wings fold up and they used a basic rocket motor to get the planes up in the sky but at the top the wings fold out and the motor falls off and the plane slowly glides back to earth. They seemed rather complex and delicate however I think it is something that you would be able to make with a few tries! You could even make some fake missiles to launch from a big military plane, Idk how to soften the landing when fired into the ground or at any thing. You could just make them with reusable cores that are protected to keep the launch mechanism that hold it on the plane and then create a bunch of easy to make nose cones. you could make the fins removable too to keep them from getting damaged. that would be awesome so like please do something that combines rockets with an RC plane or something like that!
Hmmm.....the past launches are the most beautiful launches i have ever seen (i like launches of bps than spacex) i just cant stop imaging the future missions....all the best joe
