Water Rocket Forum

Announcing the release of the Top Secret U.S. Water Rockets Split Collar Launcher Mechanism with Quick Release Clamp!

U.S. Water Rockets is celebrating our 10th Anniversary since the team was founded by releasing our top secret Water Rocket launcher release mechanism! It's been 10 years since we first decided to capture the Water Rocket World Altitude Record (but we were involved with the hobby long before that) and we have decided to celebrate by revealing the design of our secret launcher release mechanism, to try and rekindle competition for the record. We are proud to bring you the U.S. Water Rockets Split Collar Cable Tie Release Mechanism and Quick Release Clamp released for free under Creative Commons Licensing!

This launcher design is incredibly efficient at restraining and launching high pressure water rockets, and does so very easily. If it works that well for advanced water rockets, it obviously works great for all other water rockets of any size and pressure. The best part of the design is that it is really easy to make, and does not require any fancy tools or trade skills to build. It also is very inexpensive!

To learn more about this new launcher design, please click the link below to read the article on our main website and read the history. There, you can also watch the video presentation we have created for this launcher, and see the construction tutorial we have created to help assist in the fabrication of this new design!

Main R&D Article Link: http://www.uswaterrockets.com/research_ ... report.htm

Tutorial Link: http://www.uswaterrockets.com/construct ... torial.htm

Happy Launchings!

Cool launcher. I really like the simplicity. I can't believe you guys use cable ties and a full bore launcher at the pressures you use. I really didn't think they would hold.

SaskAlex wrote:Cool launcher. I really like the simplicity. I can't believe you guys use cable ties and a full bore launcher at the pressures you use. I really didn't think they would hold.

If you do the math you will see that the standard cable tie has been given a bad reputation. We use cable ties rated for 100 pounds. They fail around 190 pounds, and stretch at about 150. With 20 ties around the rocket, we get a guaranteed 3000 pounds of retention force. So a rocket nozzle with one square inch of surface area would be well within the capability of the ties at 3000PSI.

A 22mm nozzle is actually 0.589207244831564 square inches, so there's a lot of room to grow in pressure or nozzle diameter!

Since you are revealing this, How about a photo of your personal version, mounted up to your X12?

Nick B wrote:Since you are revealing this, How about a photo of your personal version, mounted up to your X12?

Hi Nick,

How about you go first:

http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 479#p14479

Everyone really wants to see your video. If you are afraid to post to youtube, you always could upload it as an attachment here on the forum.

Besides, there are photos on our website already.

Have a nice day!

Hold on, I've gotta run upstairs and get popcorn ;-)

U.S. Water Rockets1 wrote:

Nick B wrote:Since you are revealing this, How about a photo of your personal version, mounted up to your X12?

Hi Nick,

How about you go first:

http://www.wra2.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... 479#p14479

Everyone really wants to see your video. If you are afraid to post to youtube, you always could upload it as an attachment here on the forum.

I am coy.

Honest. We refrain from using Facebrag, or hosting most photos or videos anywhere on the web. We are not much into thrusting our personal world into the web.

By the way USWR, great idea!

I kept thinking about incorporating an archery release but a pair of vise-grips would be cheaper and less "hair trigger".

Bugwubber

The only problem with this is that the vice grips limit the design of the fins. Unless there higher up on the rocket.

Water Rocket Expert wrote:The only problem with this is that the vice grips limit the design of the fins. Unless there higher up on the rocket.

That's why we glued the blocks onto the sides of the collar. It allows the bottoms of the fins to protrude past the big vice grip clamp. The idea can be adapted to any type of rocket with small changes. The concept of splitting the collar is the main point of the design.