On the way to develop a spaceshot rocket, there's always the concern of weight. One of the experimental procedures to reduce weight is to use carbon fiber motor cases. Why carbon fiber? It has a higher strength to weight ratio than aluminum. Therefore, a carbon fiber case can provide similar case strength at a lower weight (compared to the aluminum cases we've used in the past).
After the decision was made to experiment with carbon fiber cases, we understood that we would have to custom-make the cases to fit project needs. We did not have machines to accomplish this task, so we made one. With inspiration from MIT Rocket Team alum Andrew Reilley, we designed a filament winder by modifying Reilley's model.
Development timeline: July 2023-Present
Requirements:
Design Decisions:
Filament Materials used:
Curing Process:
Winding process:
We took inspiration from MIT Rocket Team alum Andrew Reilley's filament winder: https://reilley.net/winder/