Lunar Module Adapter with "locking Lips"

thingiverse

Like everyone else who prints the 6' tall Saturn V model, I found the "doors" that house the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) to be too fiddly and impossible to easily open and close. You need at least five or six hands to hold all the parts in place while "locking" them with the Service Module. My revised version features locking tabs on the sides and alignment tabs on the bottom, allowing you to install them in rotation easily without assistance. The last one may require a slight tilt to slip it into place, but they hold each other up and everything still fits snugly inside. I have also redesigned all of the stages so that they can be printed on large format printers, such as the CR10 and variants, and minimize the amount of gluing required, which can be a challenge with PLA. Printing in large blocks makes the model much more durable and allows it to be repeatedly stacked without needing constant access to superglue. I made an edit after discovering that the clearance between the LEM and the adapter door is less than a millimeter, causing the tabs to conflict at that spot. To resolve this issue, I posted a new door design with a gap in the tabs needed to clear the LEM's "legs." Although they don't lock as securely as the original set, they do address the flimsy door problem.