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Initial Mockup
Initial Mockup
At the beginning of the school year, the very first thing that was done was reverse engineering last year's payload structure. Last year's payload involved using raspberry pis to take various atmospheric measurements during rocket flight to determine human survivability during the launch.
A CAD Model was created based on this design, to see how last year's team went about construction. However, after enough analysis, some of the shortcomings of this design were figured out (such as using brittle acrylic sheets as the external shell). In addition, the scope of last year's payload was completely different from this year's, so the design can't be compared one-to-one. What this means was that the structure for this specific project needed to be built from scratch.
Sheet Metal Shroud Design
Sheet Metal Shroud Design
To address some of the shortcomings of last year's payload structure while also being able to accomodate the scope of this year's payload project, the intial design used a thick metal base (which served two purposes--to lower the center of gravity for upright landing, and to give an access point for screws onto the side), and a sheet metal "shroud", that was one giant piece that would be bent into shape using a press brake.
The idea of this design was to allow for extremely easy disassembly, which would be needed when performing work or maintenance on some of the internal subsystems (the landing flaps, the PCBs, the door latch, or the trigger pin).
However, as time went on, this design proposed some logistical concerns. First, 1/8" thick 6061 aluminum was planning to be used-- the team did not immediately have access to a press brake that could bend that thick. Second, Rowan University's water jet did not have a bed big enough to cut out the profile needed for this shroud-- it would have needed to be done elsewhere. Third, this design would be very difficult to modify once it was shaped. If new access holes were needed, it would be extremely difficult or impossible to do once it is bent. Lastly, the team was not confident that this design could be bent into shape while maintaining the 2 mm tolerance that was specified in the competition.
While this design was a step in the right direction, it was evident that a modified design was needed for constructability.
Modular Panel Design
Modular Panel Design
This design allows for each panel to easily be removed, and therefore be modified way more easily than the shroud design could. It also significantly increased the chances of staying within the size constraints during construction, as water jetting singular panels and screwing them together has less room for error than water jetting the entire structure at once and using a press brake to shape it into the desired size.
Final Structure
Final Structure
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