spaceman Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 OMG, one might think that you invented the thing ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 My gawsh CJ, Manfred's correct! The effort you and your printer are putting into these details is re-e-e-markable! Tis genuine eye-candy! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 (edited) Thanks, Manfred and Pete! : ) I really have my printer to thank -- I thought you guys might want to meet her... She's feeling out of sorts today, though. There's some knocking sound that I hear whenever the build plate touches the FEP. And this goes on for the first few layers of the raft then goes away. I really can't pinpoint where it's coming from. I've checked all the screws on the build plate and the rails and there don't seem to be anything loose or anything. She still prints ok, though. I wonder if it's some sign of impending failure. What I don't remember, though, is if the sound has been there from the beginning and I just wasn't paying attention. Has anyone else experienced the same? Edited November 22, 2022 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Then give him a break to recover ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mhvink Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Hey CJ, has this project "died on the vine"? What you have done so far is nothing less than amazing! I would love to see it completed. Are you considering selling some printed components or even the STL files? Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) Hey Joe, I hope you are doing well and you had a great jump into the new year. What's wrong with you and or with your printer, has it stopped working or are you tired of going on with 3D printing? Chin up, my friend, and grit your teeth. Edited January 13 by spaceman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 Hi Manfred, Mike, sorry for the lack of updates. Was planning to get some traction on this the past year but other non-modeling-related stuff took my time. And then for a long time I was sick. I'm still in recovery but it might take a couple more months before I could get back to anything. And I may have to re-learn how to 3D-model again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mhvink Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Joe, Sorry to hear about your illness. Take care of yourself and get better. We need guys like you around for a LONG time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptKirk Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Well said. Even this mere lurker wishes you well - along with anyone whose ever tried making something this sophisticated no doubt. Watching the awesome output of your hobby makes the world a better place. I hope you find time for more... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 22 hours ago, crackerjazz said: Hi Manfred, Mike, sorry for the lack of updates. Was planning to get some traction on this the past year but other non-modeling-related stuff took my time. And then for a long time I was sick. I'm still in recovery but it might take a couple more months before I could get back to anything. And I may have to re-learn how to 3D-model again. Hey Joe, then first of all, get well soon, my friend, everything else will follow step by step. Edited January 14 by spaceman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 (edited) Thanks so much guys. I've been healing up slower than I anticipated but I've been feeling better the past week so I worked on some 3D stuff -- just the 3D modelling -- no actual printing. I spent some time working on the engine tube and related parts and get some stuff coming along before I head back to work in a couple weeks. I've forgotten how to work the software : ) It's coming back to me in snippets : ) Did those airbleed valve actuators on either side of the tube. Where I know the pipes might fail to print such as these little P-trap-looking things -- I made sure to mold them on. I remember when I started working on this project I never considered such things, having absolutely zero knowledge on printing. But now I'm checking everything as I go. If you notice wraparound fuel line pipe - there are bolts above it. If the the engine were to be printed vertically each of those bolts will need to have supports which will be a nightmare. In this case I made them touch the wraparound tube to support them. And the tube is flat at the bottom. And where there'd be nothing to support the bolts from below I molded them on. Reworked the fuel control unit. I was trying to make sense of some stuff at the top. Had to cross-reference pics from the engine manual, photos of CJ610 and CF700 parts (as the CF700 is is basically a CJ610 with an aft fan) as well as Tony's LLRV photos to see where modifications need to be done. Deleting some parts not used on the LLRV. Fuel control unit on CJ610. Drawing from CJ610/CF700 manual. Deleted this part as it's not used on the LLRV. Port is covered up on the accessory gearbox. Checking some landmarks here and there... LLRV photo from Tony. worked on this cover and the throttle control. There are some additional boxes that will hide them from view but I feel better having those details in there : ) Interesting photo of innards of the fuel control unit. Top view of FCU. More pipes to be added later. Rechecked some stuff at the bottom of the aft fan intake. With the addition of piping I had to add alignment tabs on the parts to make sure they go on only one way. Updated these things that connect to the gimbal frame. They really look different -- one of them connects to the gimbal actuator. Also added that watering-can looking thing and the large thermos bottle : ) Looking busier now : ) Initially I thought about adding pipes and hoses manually after printing using wires and styrene rods, but I think it would help the modeler to have them already on the printed parts so I'll be adding them where they can either be molded on or supported. More parts to be added but my goal is to be able to print this part as a single piece. The air intake at the top has to be separate, though, because of the compressor face. Edit: I just rechecked -- these parts I'm currently modeling (and those fan parts I've already printed) are in 1/24 scale. I'd already forgotten - I thought they were 1/32 : ) Edited February 21 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mhvink Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Joe, Outstanding work as always, but you can either design it as a 1-to-1 exact replica or make it manufacturable. Even the big plastic companies go through that dilemma. You have to take some license as to how much detail you do. When it's all said and done, sitting on a table at a contest, 98 out of 100 people will not see any errors that you will scream "NOT RIGHT!". They won't say "That connector should be a Molex, you made it a Tyco connector" (IYKYK). Make it buildable and let us worry about adding our OCD details to it. It gives us something to grumble about . . . 🙂 Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) Hey Joe, what a comeback after such a long time, simply overwhelming, like in the good old days. I'm glad you're feeling better again and are regaining your strength. Just have fun 3D modeling and printing again, it's the best medicine. But don't take it too exactly, like me also too often, nobody is perfect. Edited February 21 by spaceman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 (edited) Thanks, Manfred! Hope to get some consistent traction going on this thing as my health comes back to normal. Hey, mhvink, will try my best not to get hung up on details : ) It's just that the pull is so strong : ) But yeah, it slows things down immensely. For now I've been giving more time to making sure the parts fit together. The parts look nice and huge on the screen but they're really small. The compressor face, for example, is just 16mm across. What I'm really amazed about, though, is that after eyeballing this thing and trying to follow some drawings from the CF700 maintenance manual which doesn't really have any dimensions, all I could do was pray that I got the engine dimensions right. Then a few days ago I came across an old General Electrics leaflet being sold on ebay showing the dimensions of the CF700 engine - something you won't find anywhere else, not even in the maintenance manuals. This was the very info I should have had from the outset. Anyway, I hurriedly converted the 53.6" inches shown on the drawing and with trembling fingers checked it against my engine model at 1/24. I couldn't believe my eyes -- I was off by just 2+ millimeters : ) At that moment I felt like it was my birthday : ) I would've gone out to celebrate if not for my condition : ) Reviewing some stuff: Maybe I'll put the engine hoses/piping on the backburner for now and model the gimbal. Then I can assemble the gimbal and engine onto the frame and check the motion, at least on the software. After which I can revisit the electronics tray and how it connects to the central frame. Edited February 21 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptKirk Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Awesome project. Literally. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SpacecraftGuy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 You know, if you're not already, by the time this is finished, you will be the world's leading authority on the LRV. I wonder what Neil Armstrong would have thought about your project. I wonder if he might have actually had a story. But even if he did, he probably wouldn't talk about it. Truly beautiful work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 CaptKirk, SpacecraftGuy, thanks for the kind words, guys! Oh, I don't know about becoming an expert on the LLRV but I'm sure learning a lot about 3D modeling : ) I've modelled the gimbal: My only problem is that it's quite thin at 3+ mm. I was thinking about hollowing it out and filling it with 2-part putty for rigidity but I'll probably do a test print first -- I'll print it as a solid and see if it will bend under strain. It doesn't really need to be super strong as the printed engine is quite light but we'll see. It's just about 65mm across so it fits build plate printed flat and will be one solid printed piece. I'll be using brass rods for the pins. Two pins go on here: And 2 here for the engine: With the 4 pins attached, engine is now free to swivel: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 (edited) What a great feeling witnessing your resurrection, Joe! Hang in there, my friend, the show must go on! Edited February 22 by spaceman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Thanks, Manfred! : ) Doing the Weber ejection seat. Had to work on this because I wanted to finalize the attachments to the frame. I had to practically redo my already-completed seat as the original one wasn't fit for printing. Tony's LLRV-1 photos were useful in eyeballing the bracket angles. Hope I got them right or I'll have trouble connecting them to the frame later on. Sometimes the software will allow you to make corrections to the sheet metal bend angles but oftentimes I get all sorts of errors so it's better to get them right the first time. Just a few more final details to add like these things above. The seat will be housed in a box cockpit actually but I felt it's still great to have a good representation of the ejection seat that saved Neil Armstrong's life. Getting back to work next week. Life sure gets in the way of the hobby : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Added the supports behind the headrest and some other stuff I see in the pics. Just the back cushion to add : ) Also made sure that all thicknesses are good for printing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptKirk Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Having worked on a seat CAD model, I know how deceptively complex these can be. Yours looks terrific. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 (edited) CaptKirk, thanks! : ) Hopefully it prints out all right. It's been more than a year, though. I remember zilch about the slicer and printer so I'm really anxious about getting back to it. I'd probably be making the same mistakes as when I first started. Worked on the thrusters (aka rocket clusters). Some photos from Tony: I'm using the thruster assembly from my old (non-printable) file but with a lot of modifications. Those thin-walled (actual-thickness) folded sheet metal cages on the original file won't print scaled down. Incidentally, I was in contact with Wayne Ottinger a number of years ago. He was involved in the actual LLRV program. One of the things he mentioned is that the rocket clusters were configured with 4 rockets only in actual use so I'll have to delete one. 4-rocket config (although the outside-facing thruster is missing from the LLRV on display at Edwards AFB). I wonder if that LLRV is still there. It's missing a lot of parts and is sporting a mock-up engine or a portion of it. I think the monograph mentions the engine had been scavenged for parts for use on another test aircraft back then. But how I'd love to see the aircraft in person with a tape measure on hand : ) Or maybe someone can do a 3D scan of the whole thing someday : ) Started modifying the sheet metal parts. Was thinking about filling in the spaces inside those housings. Deleting more parts. I realize how strange my original LLRV 3D model was. When I was a new to the software there were a ton of parts I couldn't combine because of zero thickness geometries, preventing combining parts. I dismissed the errors not understanding what they meant and proceeded to model without combining and ended up with a ton of loose, uncombined parts. Actually, uncombined parts will still print (as if they were combined) when you save them as stl, but the problem is when you try scaling subassemblies down. I tried just that and the individual parts scaled down on their own centroids ending up like in an exploded view. Blocky sheet metal parts : ) This is at .3mm thickness. I could go as low as .2 or .25mm on the printer for thin walls that don't extend too far out, but I did notice that at .3mm the edges look sharper on the printed part. Best printing orientation would be vertical. Edited February 28 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 I've been examining these photos of the LLRV on the tarmac. I wanted to see what other rods I needed to add and noticed that except for those rods towards the middle connecting to the central ring, it seems like the electronics tray is carried just by these rods. I think if you break them the whole rear end will collapse? On the scavenged LLRV I see this additional rod, which I don't see on the LLRV above, so I'm not sure if it's just an add-on or if it was there initially but deemed unnecessary and removed to save weight. I noticed also that this is longer on the LLRV in this pic, compared to the one above. Modelled a printable landing radar as well as other parts: Not sure if the frame will fit on the build plate or if I need to break it down further. I'll have to check. Modelled the rear tray: And the helium tanks: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spaceman Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Hey Joe, I'm totally thrilled, like when you were 3D modeling for my STS-6 project that time, your 3D modeling skills are out of this world. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptKirk Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 ^ Manfred says it all. I was just trying to figure out how to model those elliptical domes and it blew my mind. Well it blew my CAD skills, certainly. It's great just to watch and learn. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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