After building myself a 100% reusable air cannon, I wanted to create something fun to launch! I designed and printed several different rocket designs before realizing how easy it would be to make them modular! I then remodeled all of the designs to fit a common thread. Now there are endless possibilities for nose cones, fins, and body lengths. Each combination has unique flight characteristics and they are all very fun to launch!
All of the models were generated from scratch in Solidworks, then 3-D printed with PLA. Surprisingly, the PLA was able to withstand air cannon pressures upwards of 60 PSI. The rockets are hollow and fit snugly on the end of a 3/4 in PVC pipe. That pipe pushes high pressure air into the hollow rocket thus launching it into the air! According to some crude theoretical calculations, and verified by some real world testing, the rockets consistently launched with an initial velocity up to 50mph. Of course, the initial velocity can be adjusted by lowering the pressure built up in the air cannon.
Right now, there is no mechanism to slow down the rocket. All testing and launches were performed in safe, spacious areas where the projectile would not damage anything. In the clip to the right, we launched a test rocket into the lake, then paddled out to retrieve it.
I also created a specialized rocket cone to accommodate a small action camera. This design was much heavier than prior rockets, but still achieved an apogee elevation of at least 50 ft.
For me, this project was a fun way to study and experiment with basic rocketry aerodynamics. The modular nature of these rockets makes it easy to play around with different configurations. Some combinations fly straight, long, and well! Others are unstable, spin into oblivion, or simply have too much drag. Having modular components makes experimentation easy, and of course they're very fun to launch!
