Rocket Fin Bracket

thingiverse

This fin bracket allows you to bolt the fins to your rocket. It is sized for an Estes BT-60 body tube, 1/8" fins and 4-40 screws. I saw in a back issue of Rockets Magazine (Vol 10, #1) from several years ago that a student launch team had made a 3D printed fin bracket for their rocket. "This system had three slits for the fins to fit inside, and the fins were then bolted to the 3D printed piece. The entire piece was then screwed into the body tube into wood strips that were attached to the rocket’s motor mount. This created one system that was attached to the rocket using bolts and screws." This seems like a great idea! We've made 3D printed fin cans before, but the weak link is always the fins. And when one breaks, you can't just replace a single fin either. With the bracket idea, you could use fiberglass or wood for the fins which could be stronger than 3D printed fins. The fins would be removable for transport and individually replaceable. If the fin bracket itself broke, you could print another bracket and make the next one thicker where it broke. You would only have to unbolt the bracket and bolt the new one in its place instead of having to deal with removing a glued in broken part.