Tomach 2.6" Build Progress: Electronics Bay, Nose Cone, Motor Mount

I've gotten a good amount of work done on the Tomach since the previous posts.

The First Time Fitting Everything Together!

Electronics Bay:

Updates since the last time:

• Electronics sled is finalized (assembled and layout complete)
• The bulkhead plates have been JB Welded together
• I have also installed the "switch band" (the small piece of body tube that attaches to the electronics bay
• I have installed the forward tube retention hardware

Work needed to complete electronics bay: Install wire for the e-match attachment points into the bulkheads. Drill the two air sampling holes/altimeter arming holes.

Electronics Bay: JB Welding the Switch Band

Switch Band Taped in Place while JB Weld Cures

Hex Nuts JB Welded in Place for Forward Tube Retention

Nose Cone:

The little bit of work that was needed for the nose cone is complete.

• The bulkhead is assembled with an eye bolt and epoxied into the nose cone coupler
• The nose cone coupler has hex nuts JB Welded in place, in the same manner as the electronics bay. This will allow for secure nose cone retention as well as simple access inside the nose cone if needed.

Hex Nuts JB Welded in Place

Looking Inside the Coupler to the Bulkhead

Completed Nose Cone
(Note the black screw that is visible.
There are two that hold the nose cone to the coupler.)

Motor Mount and Drogue Recovery Harness

A decent amount of work was done here as well since the previous update.

• I built up a third "centering ring" with masking tape that aligns with the forward end of the fin tabs. This is to prevent the future internal fillets from leaking all over inside the motor mount.
• I placed heat shrink tubing in place on the Kevlar recovery harness at the end of the motor mount tube. This will prevent fraying over time during descent when there is tension and vibration on the harness.
• I also applied a combination of electrical tape and heat shrink tubing on the Kevlar recovery harness at the exit of the body tube, for the same reasons as above.
• The motor mount has been JB Welded in place in the main body tube.

Work needed to complete the motor mount: Fin installation and internal/external fillets.

The Masking Tape "Centering Ring"

Showing the Alignment with the Fin Tabs

Motor Tube: Recovery Harness Protected by Electrical Tape and Heat Shrink Tubing

Aft Airframe Tube: Recovery Harness Protected by Electrical Tape and Heat Shrink Tubing