Hybrid Propulsion Manufacturing

Fuel Grain Manufacturing:

  • Scaling up fuel grain manufacturing from 3” to full length 25”.

  • All members of the manufacturing team were able to gain manufacturing experience.

  • Experimenting with various casting setups, currently using a canvas phenolic casting tube, aluminum coring rod, and 3D-printed endcaps sealed with window caulk. Hot wax is poured in from the top, and allowed to cool and shrink before pouring more wax to fill in the gaps. 

  • Currently have manufactured a full-size fuel grain, but stress cracks formed while removing the fuel grain from the casting setup makes it unusable.

  • Looking to experiment with different manufacturing setups in the future and streamline the manufacturing process.

  • Join fuel grain manufacturing if you are interested in the manufacturing process of rocket fuel grains, gain hands-on experience in rapid prototyping, and learn more about manufacturing in general

Subscale casting setup

20” fuel grain prototype

Fuel grain cracking from stress during removal

Igniter Manufacturing:

  • Manufacturing and testing iterations of igniter using the “rocket candy” formula of sorbitol and potassium nitrate.

  • Experimented with different igniter shapes, currently using the “inverted cone” design.

  • Experimented with burn rate additives to decrease total burn time of igniter, the latest igniter iteration with iron oxide added as a burn rate modifier achieved a burn time of 5s for 122g of the igniter.

  • Looking to further reduce burn time down to targeted 4s in the future. Optimizing the igniter shape to work better with the soft, malleable nature of the igniter. Exploring different burn rate additives and igniter formula. Investigating proper storage methods and procedures for igniters.

  • Join igniter manufacturing if you want to gain hands-on manufacturing experience with high energetic materials, rapid prototyping, safety and testing of high energetic materials and more.

Igniter prototype inside 3D printed mold

Ignitor with burn rate catalyst mixed in (Red Iron Oxide)

Nytrox Manufacturing:

  • During the engine design phase, it became quite evident that pure nitrous oxide is rather prone to decomposing in the feed system which then causes critical failures. Luckily, Nytrox is an alternative that offers safer operation.

  • Nytrox is cheap, stable, non-toxic, non-cryogenic, and you can set its vapor pressure during manufacturing.

  • Team is currently working on assembling the Nytrox manufacturing set-up and getting approval to manufacture locally.

  • Join the Nytrox team if you’re interested in gaining hands-on experience with propellant manufacturing and learning more about safety during mixing procedures.

P&ID for Nytrox Manufacturing