1/2 Inch Motor with
Delay Element
March 13, 2002
This is a further development of my "Drill Press
Special" reusable aluminum motor
(Click here to see it) For this project, I
made a better aluminum nozzle and a delay chamber
Project Goal:
Create a more advanced motor for actual flight tests
in the local park
Project Parameters:
-
Same as before, cheap and simple to make
-
Simple to re-use with minimal prep and limited
number of parts required (i.e. no o-rings and liners etc.)
Construction Results:

New lightweight nozzle with longer divergent cone. All
aluminum construction as 50+ tests of previous aluminum nozzle show no wear with
bates grain. The forward closure seen above is a separate delay chamber which
eliminates the need for o-rings and washers.

This is what it looks like before assembly. In order
from left to right:
-
Forward delay chamber with ejection charge holder-
The ejection charge is held in place with a little ball of wadding
-
Ejection delay- The grain is made with the
rolling
technique but the key to its success was suggested by a fellow Arocket
list member. He suggested wrapping the delay in kraft paper and epoxy. This
provides a durable delay insulator that holds up well for the entire delay
burn.
-
Delay Closure- threaded inside and out, this
compresses the epoxy/kraft paper roll of the delay element and eliminates the
need for any additional sealing features such as o-rings etc. A small hole in
the aft end allows the delay grain to ignite.
-
Grain- Same
rolling technique as before, but am now using Dextrose (
http://www.nakka-rocketry.net/) with the KNO3 since
it is easier to work with than sucrose. This is shown wrapped in a wood
glue/Kraft paper liner but I think I will start using the epoxy in the future
since I am doing it for the delay element now anyway.
-
Casing- Same 1/2 inch aluminum tube with .049 inch
wall. 7/16 thread on the inside of both ends using a tap.
-
Nozzle- Turned on drill press with new "loose bed"
technique. I clamp a cutting tool to the drill press bed, put the part in the
chuck and lightly push the loosened bed into the part. This allows me to
create the angle and even round shapes as well. New technique for threading
these parts is to place the die on the drill press bed while the part is still
in the chuck. I then hand rotate the chuck while putting a little downward
pressure. This insures a perfectly straight thread. Also doing it with the tap
for the casing to insure it starts properly.

Closeup of the nozzle, OK I am pretty proud of this
particular piece!
Of course, now I have an even better one found
here!
Conclusion:
I ended up with a lightweight motor that has a
consistent delay element. Delay time will be modified as necessary by drilling a
hole into it to the required depth. Now that the delay element is working
consistently, it is time to put it in a rocket! I will post the results here
later.
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