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Apollo 11 Laser Ranging Retro-reflector


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Hi, I recently joined a garage kit company called Space Cadet Models.   The company was started by the duo of Karl Dodenhoff and Scott Brotherton - great space geeks.  I figured it would be a great way to put my 3d modeling and printing interests into good use and learn more about space-related subjects at the same time : )

 

I'm posting my progress really because all these WIP images will only go to waste --  you'll only get to see the produced model but not the behind-the-scenes stuff.  I think the journey should be just as enjoyable as the destination, though.  And who knows, you might like what you see : )   

 

This is the Apollo 11 version of the Laser Ranging Retro-reflector.  It's part of the surface experiments package.   The LRRR package was designed to be set up in 10 minutes.   It was used to provide measurements of the distance of the moon as it orbits around the earth.  It has a hundred of these cup-holder-looking compartments which actually house corner-cube prisms.  The prisms are flat on top but the "corner-cube" part of the name is actually a misnomer as they have 3-sided bottoms that are mutually perpendicular for reflecting laser straight back to the source.   It had an aiming handle that worked very much like a door latch --  Buzz Aldrin pulled on the aiming handle with his right hand, tilted the array into position and locked it in place.  The aiming handle had a pin at the other end that pushed through the holes on a bracket.   On the left hand side there was a "tilt handle" -- not sure how that was used.   I would understand if it was connected to the array as well but it's connected to the pallet so I'm not sure how that is used.

 

There was also something called a gnomon -- that wire on the side of the bracket that works like a sundial, throwing a shadow on a printed scale.

 

 

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Here's a youtube link about corner cube reflectors.

 

 

 

Edited by crackerjazz
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Posting these images here is a terrific idea CJ! 

I'm NOT on FaceBook, so I'm not aware of any groups there, but I did check to see if you all had a website and there it is ... on Shapeways. 

Very Interesting! 

 

And I'll assume your association with Karl is a freelance one? Or are you Full-Time, part owner, major shareholder?

 

Your images are lovely!  Your 3D skills are Outstanding! But if you have to work to a deadline ... hm-m-m-m ... !  :^ D

Plus these images are good promotion for Space Cadet Models too! Good on ya!

 

Thanx CJ

Pete

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Pete, thanks!   We're like a trio now : )    I'll be doing mainly 3D modeling and printing and maybe some vacuforming -- We'll try to move away from printing at Shapeways and do everything in-house as much as possible.    My biggest hurdle is that I'm doing this along with my day job so that means having to get up really early (I'm a real slave to my alarm clock now) to get some 3d modelling done before getting ready for work and doing more stuff before turning in at night.  Less time for aircraft modeling/painting, too, but I hope to be able to sneak in a little bit of that when I get the chance.   My F-14s have been missing the antennas and loadouts for the longest time and my F-16 cockpit has had only one panel with a single toggle switch completed.   And my LLRV, oh, man.  10 years in the making.   I feel like I'm getting better at 3D, though, and that might help push the LLRV project along.  

 

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Edited by crackerjazz
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Hi Manfred, thanks!   : )

 

Assembling the base/pallet parts.   Testing to see everything fits before printing anything.  I was thinking about making moving parts especially for the telescoping tubes but  the downside is potentially scratching paint.  Maybe if there's enough clearance it will work..we'll see.  By the way, that was the alignment handle on the left hand side, not a "tilt" handle like I mentioned in the first post.  

 

The tilt handle or aiming handle will be on the right hand side, connected to the array, to adjust the angle.

 

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Edited by crackerjazz
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This is looking ... pretty, pretty Goo-o-o-od!  ;^ D

I know Karl has a trove of reference material ( and I've used some of it for my 1/12 Cernan figure ) but I'm blown away by all this detail you're portraying Joe ... unless of course, you've making it all up! ;^ D)))

 

So, are you 3 going to offer this as a kit? or assembled for a 1/32 LM and ... what else are you guys planning to offer through this venture of yours?

The detail on this is stunning ... but unless it'll be kitted for a 1:1 scale kit, I hope all this attention to detail isn't wasted.

And a lot of the subject matter is available in 3D already, think  Apollo LRV, LM, CSM ... or are ya gonna focus on the Artemis elements? or Unmanned probes?

 

Keep up this lovely work CJ!

Pete

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Hi Pete, thanks!  Yes he's a treasure chest of reference photos and videos.  This will be a 1/6 kit.  I'm not so sure about 1/32, though, because it's so small already at 1/6 -- just 120mm (4" across).   Hopefully the details stay intact when printed.   The real device was just the size of a suitcase.   At 1/32 it will be like 22.5mm across -- smaller than a match box.   15mm at 1/48 -- that's thumbnail size -- it'll probably just disintegrate on the printer : )     

 

Right now it's mainly unmanned probes and EASEP/ALSEP packages.   Karl likes Soviet probes, too, so there'll be a good number of those.   

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Hi, some trial prints.  Sometimes you don't realize what you need to modify until you've actually printed out the parts and fit them together.  I printed the parts in triplicate as a bulwark against failed prints.  True enough one of the rail mounts didn't grow.   Actually I saw what seems to be a few layers of the mount stuck onto the FEP.    Need at least two models for Karl to bring to the Nats on the 20th -- if I can manage to print everything on time,  which I highly doubt.   And shipping times aren't exactly very consistent.

 

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You can see I have a cat with white fur  : )   

 

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Hey Joe,

 

wow, what a surprise to see your first 3D prints,:clap2: and congrats to this milestone! :thumbsup:

 

Keep it up and you'll soon be a master printer, so I can send you a new order soon. :yahoo:

 

It must be quite an effort to cleanly remove all parts from the support struts and not damage them ... :woot.gif:

 

BTW, how thin are these filigree fishhooks? :hmmm:

 

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Have fun and success further on! up040577.gif

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Hi some progress shots:

 

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The parts came out pretty good.   

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I made a mistake -- this is called an Alignment handle  -- not a Tilt handle as I mentioned in my first post.

 

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It feels strange modeling something like this  : )    We're so used to subjects that fly or move about or parts thereof. 

Edited by crackerjazz
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Hi Joe,

 

incredible work! :thumbsup:

 

It's great that you can now realize all your awesome modeling skills in printing, which you obviously enjoy a lot. up040577.gif 

 

But it looks like also to be immense effort in post-processing, right? :hmmm:

Edited by spaceman
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Hi Manfred, the support removal looks like a lot of work but they really just pull right off as long as you haven't UV-cured the part.    Then after curing when the part has hardened you can sand the stubs down.   Or, you can also use cutters for cleaner cuts.   Larger flat areas might show some lines so I plan the parts breakdown where the large areas can be sanded down easily.   And most of the parts that go onto the pallet I tried to put the supports where they go into openings and won't be touching surfaces so they wouldn't require sanding.

 

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Hot Dang CJ, this looks OUTSTANDING!

And the addition of the glue bottle really brings home the tiny scale of this piece of hardware. All those fine details make it look like it's larger than it is.

 

Two questions, how long did the BIG piece, the square with all the pockmarks in it, take to print? and 2, how much would Karl sell this for? I mean, just taking into consideration the time and material you've used, not counting the amount of research you've done, Karl would have to put an enormous price on this, or sell hundreds of 'em ...

So, now, all those little prisms go in, or is this done?

 

Gorgeous job CJ ... a perfect example of Eye-Candy!

Pete

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Thanks Pete!   : )      That part -- I had to set it to .015mm layer height to print quicker at 10 hours.   .02 layer height would save me more time.    As for price I have no idea yet, but Karl doesn't expect to sell lots of these.    I think the only people who might be interested to model this thing are 1/6 astronaut figure owners for displaying their figures with.   It's still missing a few greeblies in the pic.  And Karl and Scott did suggest something like a sandwiched layer of printed prisms but this prototype doesn't have them as  I don't have any clear resin at the moment and I wanted to see first if they'll even be visible from the bottom of the cupholders -- I guess they are.   And I wasn't sure about being able to print those successfully.  The only way to print them smooth and glossy (at least for the top sides) would be to print them face up but with the whole sheet having a big surface area I might have trouble with suction forces.  There's a good chance of printing failure unless I break them up into several rows maybe.   I was also wondering if a simple sheet of clear film might be enough to stand in as prisms.   But then I'd be able to depict the 3 bottom facets (of each prism) better by 3D printing - but the supports go on the bottom so that spells trouble.   So many things to consider -- I'll need to experiment a bit on that front.    

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