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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6


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Hi everybody,

 

Shipped! super.gif

 

Just now, I've got Shapeways' pleasant message, that they have shipped the Intertank (€ 73,26). top.gif

 

up061801.jpg

 

Consequently Michael Key's 3D model seems to have been print-ready. speak_cool.gif

 

Now I'm very curious what the part will look like.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

meanwhile, the long-awaited package of Shapeways has arrived, at first again only a feather-light box with lots of air in it, which was carefully let out. cool.gif

 

6NTBQf.jpg

 

And before the last shell fell, one could already see the object of desire.  

 

F8PoUg.jpg

 

Compared with the accustomed images of the 3D model, the Intertank looks at first glance rather inconspicuous, because one can not really perceive the details due to the semi-transparent FUD look and really must look very closely,  cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif especially as there is sticking a lot of supporting wax in the fine grooves of the Stringer and Ribs, which still has to be removed. rolleyes.gif But stable feels the part anyway. 

 

iFzoEL.jpg

 

But what has attracted my attention immediately was the fact that the inner support tube was missing,  smiley_worship.gif through which I want to thread the support rod for the SRBs, which surprised me a lot and I can not explain,  noidea2.gif

 

vH1iOr.jpg

especially since the tube still was to be seen on Michael Key's3D model images, 

 

GXouQY.jpg

 

as well as in the 3D view on Shapeways' website, which is very strange ... smiley215.gif

tPEyM8.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (The Aerospace Place)

 

The later-planned steel rod (Ø 1.5 mm) could not at first be inserted into the opening and pushed through, but after a few attempts it was still possible, albeit with some difficulty. rolleyes.gif

 

After this first disillusionment I've tried out the provisionally taped front part of the ET,

 

xU2Z5M.jpg

 

which let fit tightly onto the intertank. 

 

fKYnb5.jpg

 

And here are some more images with an attempt to catch some of the details but what was not easy.

 

Here is a look at the two Fairings as well as the PAL Ramps and Cable Trays, although the latters can hardly be recognized. 

 

q1xVIE.jpg 

 

X2PqpG.jpg

 

In contrast to the narrow fit of the front part, I noticed perceptible clearance of the parts when setting the Intertank onto the rear part of the ET. 

 

JIMSXt.jpg

 

But otherwise the part is coming out quite well, I think. speak_cool.gif

 

537o8o.jpg

 

QrpYWe.jpg

 

Buz10l.jpg

 

And I just when I wanted to put the Intertank together with the ASTC rings in my new ultrasonic bath for cleaning, 

 

IYyFUY.jpg

 

as I noticed that the rear inner ring was broken and had detached nearly over half the length from the inner wall, as if it had not been tied to it at all. eek.gif

 

n62YMT.jpg

 

How this can happen is completely obscure to me, especially since the laser melts together the wafer-thin layers of powder when printing, really strange ...  hmmm.gif

 

To this amazing finding and the missing inner tube I have to consult Michael Key and hear what he means, then we'll see.  up040577.gif

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Hi everybody,

 

now again to the missing inner tube, from which even Michael Key was very surprised, because when he has checked the number of parts of the model on Shapeways' website, there was displayed it with "1", which means, that everything is connected. huh.gif

 

Then I looked at the 3D Panoramic view of the model at Shapeways' website once more very closely and found a setting where one can see that the tube on both sides clearly is not connected to the inner wall of the tank, which will now be the main subject of my complaint to Shapeways next to the crack of the inner ring. schlaumeier.gif

 

fwvhEw.jpg

 

As Michael Key has told me, it would be Shapeways' standard method of sending a reprint, whereupon I'd like to renounce because I don't want to have a part with the same errors.  i5684_no2.gif Instead, I should ask them for a refund and say that there are some other issues with the model, whereat I have informed the designer, who is ready to modify his model for a better version. Besides I could casually mention Shapeways' 100% Satisfaction guarantee" with which they apparently advertise. top.gif

 

I have informed Shapeways about this today and hope for their goodwill, to grant me a refund, in order to get an improved Intertank with inner tube in the second attempt.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

today I tested my new Ultrasonic cleaning bath.

 

Here is a vivid video of it by BANDELIN, on which one can see the ultrasonic cleaning of a chain in fast motion, and two images for comparison, in the initial state before cleaning,

 

up062004.jpg

 

and afterwards. cool.gif

 

up062005.jpg

 

I was surprised by the time of about 4 hours, which may have been due to the selected object. rolleyes.gif

 

But I did not let myself be guided by that when cleaning my first two ASTC Rings (FUD), especially since the device only allows max. 10 minutes.

 

up062006.jpg

 

The device has 5 pre-set cleaning intervals, 90 sec., 180 sec., 300 sec., 480 sec. and 600 sec., which are automatically switched off by the timer. Obviously there is no on/off for security reasons, which I consider to be a disadvantage, especially when I think of cleaning the Intertank with its lots of fine grooves, which will certainly have to run for a longer time. up047089.gif

 

That's why I asked the manufacturer if there is no other option than having to restart the timer over and over again. smiley_worship.gif

 

Anyway, I've let clean the FUD rings twice 600 seconds, so for a total of 20 minutes with some drops of rinse aid, after which they looked whiter than before, which has already been described by other guys. 

 

up062007.jpg

 

This can be seen by this comparison between the cleaned FUD rings (left) and the uncleaned FXD rings (right), although it is not serious.

 

up062008.jpg

 

And here are the two FXD rings (right) after 20 minutes of cleaning.

 

up062009.jpg

 

BTW,  the liquid looked so cloudy after cleaning of total of 40 minutes cleaning time of the four ASTC Rings, which shows in comparison to the picture before the cleaning already a quite enriched state with detached wax. huh.gif

 

up062010.jpg

 

As far as to my first ultrasonic cleaning attempts. up040577.gif

 

BTWShapeways is still remaining silent, whatever that may mean. smiley215.gif 

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Really nice work on the FDX Rings and the Intertank.  I found that the FUD, is sort of hard to see details until it's primered.  Also, my wife uses an ultrasonic cleaner for her jewlery items.  I didn't think to use it in this maner.  Nice job.

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Thanks Rich and Mark, 

 

only a short but good news, Shapeways has meanwhile accepted my complaint and granted me a refund.  speak_cool.gif

 

Now, Michael Key can do some minor changes. top.gif

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Hello friends,

 

only some thoughts to minor changes of the IT. cool.gif

 

In consultation with Michael Key we will now omit the inner tube completely, as there would probably be problems with the removal of the support material, which could possibly resist the ultrasonic cleaning. Then one would have to drill out the tube, which seems to me but too risky. rolleyes.gif

 

BTW, I did not want to believe it at first, but there was one thing which I have noticed in retrospect on the 3D print, what I have overlooked at the 3D renderings. smiley_worship.gif

 

The front part of the LO2 PAL Ramp of the 3D model has almost the same width as the back part of the LH2 PAL Ramp, but this is a mistake and does not match the original optics. i5684_no2.gif

 

The LO2 PAL Ramp is too narrow and therefore needs to be widened, as one can see in these images. And actually, both ramps end up on the stringer top and do not run to the valley as before. rolleyes.gif 

 

ZwPtd6.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (The Aerospace Place)

 

6nKUr9.jpg
Source: NASA

 

But that can certainly be corrected so that the optics are right again. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

actually I had thought that Michael Key had to make only small changes. But it came different again ... huh.gif

 

First, he has omitted the inner tube as well as modified the LO2 PAL Ramp (right) as desired, which looks  much better. cool.gif

 

Wjrm8n.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (The Aerospace Place)

 

However, I noticed that he did not modify the LH2 PAL Ramp in the same way, which I took for granted and therefore have not said it again. smiley_worship.gif

 

3WRtXf.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (The Aerospace Place)

 

But about his change of the diameters of the IT to reduce the slightly too large overhang at the rear end (Ør 60,0 mm) I was then quite shocked, because he accordingly must have misunderstood my image with the diameters of the Airfix Intertank and the values measured at the 3D print (red on white ground).  eek.gif 

 

But in hindsight, I must confess that the picture has become rather confusing and misleading. rolleyes.gif

 

bQxTXg.jpg

 

Because he had now set the front diameter (Øf) of the IT to 57,0 mm and the rear diameter (Ør) to 58,0 mm, so that it is consistent with the front and the rear part of the ET. As a result, there should be no overhang of the IT, neither front nor back, but which in reality is not the case because of the Stringer/Ribs and has never been up for discussion, on the contrary. i5684_no2.gif 

 

Maybe that the rejuvenation of IT by 1 mm seemed to have got mixed up him, which was obviously difficult to implement in modeling.    hmmm.gif

 

The bad thing was that he had already uploaded this disimproved Intertank to Shapeways. undecided.gif

 

After that I have showed him the different diameters of the three ET parts again clearly in the following pictures and explained the differences. top.gif

 

D2 and D3 are the small overhangs of the Airfix IT that need to stay that way.

 

13EK65.jpg

 

On this image one can see the connection diameter D2.1, which has to fit into the ET front part (D1.1), and the diameter D4.1 of the heel of the ET rear part, which has to fit into the Intertank,  

 

ezNa5y.jpg

 

whose inner diameter D3.1 can be seen here.

 

XpZJtO.jpg

 

Hopefully this should have made it clear that we need the overhangs, so I asked him for the necessary changes in the hope that he could clench his teeth and be able to do it. cool.gif

 

Apparently Michael Key has that now understood and has adjusted the LH2 PAL Ramp as well as the rear IT diameter D3 to 59,0 mm and the front diameter 58,0 mm and then uploaded his model again.  speak_cool.gif

 

And so the Intertank now looks at the Shapeways-Website, whereby he has become even cheaper by the removal of the inner tube with € 69,44. top2.gif

 

710x528_22701380_12505311_1521334724.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (The Aerospace Place)

 

I just ordered it again and hope that all good things come in threes.  up040577.gif

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Glad to see you are mainlining your addiction again Manfred!  This is all going to look so cool when you are done.  ;)  Thanks.

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Hello everybody,

 

another subproject are the Ice/Frost Ramps on the LH2 External Tank, and maybe Michael Key can also help me again.  up040577.gif 

 

In fact, there are 17 Ramps, whereby the rear three ramps looking slightly different than the front 14.

 

up061786.jpg
Source: NASA

 

And that's how most of the Ramps for the GO2/GH2 Press. Lines look like. 

 

up061788.jpg
Source: NASA

 

My ARC friend Bill (niParts) has already modeled a Set of these Ice Ramps in 1:72, but in 1:144 they are much smaller and could possibly be problematic for 3D printing. rolleyes.gif

 

up061789.jpg
Source: shapeways.com (niParts)

 

In reality, the ramps are 2' x 2' x 1' , and accordingly 4 mm x 4 mm x 2 mm for the ET (1:144).

 

The diameter of the GO2/GH2 Press. Lines is 2'' = Ø 0,35 mm (1:144) and is used as the reference gauge.

 

The openings in the ramps are slightly larger, approx. Ø 0,5 mm, as one can see on this image.

 

up061790.jpg

 

Possible that the small wall thicknesses for Shapeways pose a problem,   up047089.gif but which I do not hope. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,


in 2015, Mike (egt95) started his project Space Shuttle Discovery STS-41D  based on the Revell Stack (1:144) and the Newware Space Shuttle Enhancement Kit 1/144 (NW131)and had especially introduced the Newware Kit in detail, which consists of 196 parts (93 Resin, 103 PE) and 60 Decals (including templates for SRBs and ET). up039822.gif

Then he started building the Orbiter, and now continues also with the Shuttle Launch tower. 

 

At the end of the last year, when I started to deal with the Intertank and the SRB's  Aft Skirt Thermal Curtains (AFTC), I got to know a friend of the Britmodeller Forum (PZRGREN), who also had used this Newware Kit and asked him for detail photos, especially from the ET and the Ice/Frost Ramps, etc. ... 8) 


Thereupon he has sent me some interesting photos of his ET with the SRBs, where one can see some of the kit parts installed. up045518.gif

 

20170121_174656.jpg

Source: britmodeller.com/forums (PZRGREN)

 

20170121_174707.jpg

Source: britmodeller.com/forums (PZRGREN)

 

20170121_172917.jpg

Source: britmodeller.com/forums (PZRGREN)

 

Since the representation of the ramps in the construction manual of the Newware Kit is very detailed and clear, and the resin parts also make a very good impression,  

 

up048426.jpg
Source: arcforums.com (egt95)

 

I asked my friend to send me some close-ups of the Ramps. Then he offered surprisingly, in addition to the photos to send me also his spare parts and the instructions, what I have thankfully accepted, a really nice gesture from him. up040576.gif

 

rwy2SN.jpg

 

FgRLd7.jpg

 

3KJ6AV.jpg

 

And since I have seen in the instructions that in the associated PE board among other things even the tiny hinges for the Payload Bay Doors of the Challenger are included, which he does not need because he has built the Atlantis I've also asked him about it. 

 

up062035.jpg
Source: arcforums.com (egt95)

 

And he kept his word and in the meantime has sent me the promised things. up039822.gif

 

up062036.jpg

 

up062037.jpg

 

As one can see on this image, there are a few spare parts of almost all the Ramp types, on which I will go into detail, one of which lies on the cent coin. And I have to admit, the parts look really nice, whereby one should not be shocked by the chunky resin blocks. i5684_no2.gif One just has to separate it carefully enough so that there is still something left over from the midgets.  smiley_worship.gif

 

up062038.jpg

 

The openings for the two Press. Lines are actually hollow, and here I have inserted a nickel silver wire (Ø 0,4 mm), which I will use.

 

up062039.jpg

 

The openings are dimensioned slightly larger than real necessary, so that even a Styrene rod (Ø 0,5 mm) fits through, and there is enough space for the Evergreen Strip (0,75 mm x 1 mm) for the Cable Tray, as suggested in the kit, which is slightly oversized, wherefore I will use a smaller strip (0,5 mm x 0,75 mm) that is placed here. cool.gif

 

up062040.jpg

 

The spare parts are indeed not sufficient, but are well suited as a template for the 3D modeling, top.gif since of this R23 Type alone 14 pieces are needed, as one can see from this kit drawing. 

 

up062041.jpg
Source: http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/nw131.htm

 

With that I want to let it go for now. up040577.gif

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On 23.3.2018 at 8:38 PM, Kagou said:

Awesome work Manfred :thumbsup:

 

Before assembling  , do you put yours Shapeways pieces under UV lights or sunshine?

 

Pierre

Thanks Pierre, bow.gif

no, I only want to clean them in my Ultrasonic bathup040577.gif

 

Thanks Nigel and Mark for your nice words, I do what I can.  bow.gif

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12 minutes ago, roma847 said:

Thanks Pierre, bow.gif

no, I only want to clean them in my Ultrasonic bathup040577.gif

 

Thanks Nigel and Mark for your nice words, I do what I can.  bow.gif

Shapeways designer "Model Monkey" has some excellent advice about preparing these parts on his website. He says:

4.  I heard that I have to sit the parts in sunlight for a while before I paint them. Is that true? Yes, for products printed in "Frosted Detail" acrylic plastic and "Black High Definition Acrylate" plastic.  During the printing process, liquid resin is hardened by ultraviolet light. Microscopic bits of resin may remain unhardened. Let your parts sit in direct sunlight or under a UV or fluorescent lamp for several hours to fully chemically harden the resin. The parts will appear a translucent white when fully hardened.  Heat will not harden the resin, only UV light does.  UV light breaks down an inhibitor in the liquid resin allowing the resin to harden.

 

For the entire FAQ, see here: https://modelmonkey.wixsite.com/modelmonkey

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Thanks Space Ranger for this link to Model Monkey's Website with a lot of interesting tips around 3D printing. bow.gif

 

Thereupon I have laid the Intertank half a day in the blazing sun and hope that it is now completely cured. Now I have still to clean it in the ultrasonic bath from the supporting wax, certainly also for a few hours due to the very fine stringer and ribs structure. 

 

But one thing has irritated me though. While Shapeways recommends that the wax support material can easily be removed using Acetone or Simple Green solvent, Model Monkey claims the opposite, because Acetone will melt Frosted Detail plastic.  eek.gif

 

Whom should one believe more now? up047089.gif

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29 minutes ago, roma847 said:

Thanks Space Ranger for this link to Model Monkey's Website with a lot of interesting tips around 3D printing. bow.gif

 

Thereupon I have laid the Intertank half a day in the blazing sun and hope that it is now completely cured. Now I have still to clean it in the ultrasonic bath from the supporting wax, certainly also for a few hours due to the very fine stringer and ribs structure. 

 

But one thing has irritated me though. While Shapeways recommends that the wax support material can easily be removed using Acetone or Simple Green solvent, Model Monkey claims the opposite, because Acetone will melt Frosted Detail plastic.  eek.gif

 

Whom should one believe more now? up047089.gif

You're most welcome. As to whether acetone can be use, I'm no expert; all I know about cleaning Shapeways parts is what I've read on the internet! I have some Shapeways-printed parts but haven't had a chance to use them yet. I'd suggest a trial using some of the supporting material which is usually attached to a part. Clip it off, dunk it in acetone or Simple Green, and see what happens!

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Trial and error is a good principle to gain experience. speak_cool.gif

 

But unfortunately, I have no support part on my Intertank with which I could test and I'm not up for sacrificing my IT if the test fails. up040577.gif

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