3D printing compartments for GPS tracking my rockets

For Christmas, my family gave me a Featherweight GPS tracking device in addition to my 3D printer.  This led me to begin exploring ways to 3D print a device to hold the Featherweight GPS device in my rocket.  Featherweight provides STEP files for holder integrated in 38mm nose cone, but not something I knew how to use.

After some research I found a Featherweight pod design by Jamie Claye on Printable.  I tried printing them the way the files came, laying on their side multiple times before I learned to reorient the object in Ultimaker Cura before printing them vertically and correcting all the problems.  This is designed to hang on the shock cord

Laying out the Featherweight pod parts for slicing in Cura

His Featherweight holder is designed to hang on the shock cord and protect the GPS device.

Featherweight Tracker Pod design by Jamie Claye

Separately, I found some great designs for 4" and 3" body tubes that include bases that screw into the bottom of nose cone with large ebay surface I could drill into and attach my Featherweight GPS.  On further review, I decided to take the STLs for the 3" and 2.6" bases, remove the generic eBay sled (by deleting it in Tinkercad) then add in the pod base (above).

The same author, Jamie Claye, shared some great 2.6" nose cones on Printable with screw in bases.  I printed these 2.6" nose cone with Featherweight pod base for Super Big Bertha and printed a 14" Honest John nose cone in one piece, with a screw in base, that is better than the one I 3D printed from the Open Rocket plans because this has the thrust control nozzles on the nose cone and this one comes in one piece (plus the screw in base).  Incidentally, this is the biggest object I've ever printed, and my Kobra Max still had another couple of inches to go (the printing area is 17.7" high x 15.7" wide x 15.7" deep).

Printing a 14" Honest John nose cone and Super Big Bertha with screw on bases (Featherweight base in back)

I also took the 4" base shared by Inverted Pursuits Lab, resized it to 2.6" in Tinkercad then edited the design to remove the eBay down to the base before merging in the Featherweight pod element.  This unit I can use to help track the Super Big Bertha and the Maxi Brute Honest John (below, left).  The 3" Doorknob files, edited to remove the eBay and add the Featherweight pod element, can be used on my Doorknob and Leviathan (below, right).

14" Honest John nose cone and 2.6" Featherweight pod base (left);
9" Doorknob & Leviathan nose cone and 3" Featherweight pod base (right)

I need to downsize the 4" sleeve and base to fit the 2.6" Executioner, V-2 and old Silver Comet; that's printing now, and I hope to test fly one of these with my new Featherweight GPS system at next month's club launch.  I'll post an update on my Launch Reports page when I get the GPS to work.  If I shoot the Maxi Brute Honest John or my Super Big Bertha with GPS and the Jolly Logic Chute Release I'll have a much better chance of recovering the rocket, though there will be hundreds of dollars of technology at risk every time I push the button to launch!

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